Strategies for Staff Retention in 2022
I sat there, holding Mark’s book in my hand, recalling all the holes I’d been dancing around for years, and wondering, for the first time, if maybe dance floors didn’t have to have holes.
Celebrate the Wins
Years ago, I had the privilege of coaching basketball under a guy who knew how to turn the tables of a bad team into one that started to believe in themselves. Honestly, at first, coming from sitting under other coaches who yelled, screamed and pointed out all the mistakes, it was weird for me to…
Creating Culture in Your Congregation
One of the true greats in youth ministry, Mike Yaconelli, wrote a book in 2002 that presented a difficult challenge to the modern Church. In Messy Spirituality Yaconelli challenged the Church, which was filled at the time with me-generation Baby Boomers and young, upwardly-mobile professionals (Yuppies) of the 90s, to lay aside its pretense and…
Financial Stewardship
How will God use YOUR church in the coming year? Every church has the ability to build a thriving, sustainable stewardship ministry by attending first to two key foundational areas: 1. Architecture: the structures of sustainability and 2. Atmosphere: the culture, climate, and ethos that sustains the health of the congregation. So why do countless…
CHURCH STAFFING: Building a Balanced Team
Introduction Have you ever wondered why some church staff teams just seem to have it all together, seem to always get the job done effectively, and yet seem to be composed of this hodgepodge of people who have very little in common? Welcome to a very balanced church staff with its eye on a common…
Short Term Fixes or Long Range Plans
Most consultants know the scenario all too well. A phone call comes in — “We need help in our ___________ area.” A conversation ensues during which the consultant lays out how our strategic visioning process works, including how it maximizes effort and focus into an efficient whole. After a few moments of silence, the caller…
Five Ways to Create Workplace Harmony
Many of us work with people very different from us. Our supervisor might have very different expectations of how ministry should look. They may also have different life experiences they bring to table, giving them a different approach to how they relate with people. This affects how you do ministry together and can very quickly…
BIG TRENDS: The Millennials Have Left the Building; Enter the iGeneration!
Introduction On March 1, 2018 Michael Dimock, President of the Pew Research Center, shared in an article called “Defining Generations: Where Millennials End and Post-millennials Begin” that the Pew Center would use the year 1996 as the last year of the Millennial Generation. And while there is some disagreement amongst experts in the fields of…