The New Church Family
Given the title of Linda Ranson Jacobs’s new book, Attract Families to Your Church and Keep Them Coming Back (Abingdon Press, 2014), one might assume…
Author
Ann A. Michel
Ann A. Michel has served on the staff of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership since early 2005. She currently serves as a Senior Consultant and is co-editor of Leading Ideas e-newsletter. She also teaches at Wesley Theological Seminary in the areas of stewardship and leadership. She is the co-author with Lovett H. Weems Jr. of Generosity, Stewardship, and Abundance: A Transformational Guide to Church Finance (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021) available at Cokesbury and Amazon. She is also the author of Synergy: A Leadership Guide for Church Staff and Volunteers (Abingdon, 2017), available at Cokesbury and Amazon.
Educating All God’s Children
Any church leader looking to be convinced that the state of public education in America is a Christian concern need look no further than Nicole…
Levers of Change for Congregations
Bishop Robert Schnase, author of the popular Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (Abingdon, 2007), has inspired thousands of congregations to focus on what is most…
REdesigning Churches: Creating Spaces for Connection and Community
Kim Miller’s REdesigning Churches: Creating Spaces for Connection and Community (Abingdon, 2013) provides valuable how-to advice on reviving tired church interiors and offers inspiring examples…
Developing a Thank You System for Your Church
Saying thank you promptly and regularly is one of the simplest and most effective things a congregation can do to reinforce good stewardship and enhance…
Wide Welcome: How the Unsettling Presence of Newcomers Can Save the Church
Jessicah Duckworth’s book Wide Welcome speaks to the question of how congregations can best welcome newcomers, engage them in Christian practices, and nurture their faith.…
Mission-driven Church Mergers
In their book Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work (Jossey-Bass, 2012), Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird examine the recent wave of church mergers. The book makes…
Preaching and Money
How can the issue of money be addressed honestly and effectively from the pulpit? Two new books guide preachers in defining a homiletic posture that…
Strengthening the Ministry of Lay Staff
Many churches rely on lay staff workers to lead critical ministries of education, formation, outreach, and worship. Yet lay staff rarely have the level of…
Three New Books on Effective Pastoral Ministry
The pastoral excellence movement has given rise to a growing body of literature analyzing the nature of effective pastoral ministry and offering advice on how…
Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation
Many church leaders bemoan the absence of younger people from their pews without bothering to consider the contextual factors that must define ministry with new…
Mutual Mentoring
In a traditional mentoring relationship, an older, wiser colleague provides wisdom, counsel, and advice to a younger, less-skilled aspirant. Today, however, the notion of reverse…
How to Make the Most of your Church Newsletter
Even in this day of instantaneous communications, the church newsletter is still an important part of a congregation’s overall communication strategy. Why? Because it is…
New Ways of Viewing Faith and Money
Many Christians tend to oversimplify the essence of scripture’s teaching with regard to money in such statements as “Christians must tithe” or “the faithful will…
Making Your Church Kid and Family Friendly
The start of the school year is a great time to roll out the welcome mat for families and children. The following tips come from…
Preaching in the Small Membership Church
Lew Parks’s newest book is ostensibly a preaching primer with good, solid advice on some of the basics, such as selecting a good biblical translation…
Giving Up to Our Potential
The oft-repeated claim that churchgoers are the most generous of Americans was always a reassurance to me as I labored in the vineyard of stewardship…
Tips for Strengthening Adult Education
How can your church offer a strong and inviting program of Bible study and Christian education for adult learners? It is important to offer a…
The Crisis of Younger Clergy
The Crisis of Younger Clergy explores the reasons why having a proportionate number of young persons entering ordained ministry is so vital to the future…
Young Adults and the Future of the Church
How are twenty-and thirty-somethings shaping the future of American religion? Robert Wuthnow, a noted sociologist of religion, considers this question in After the Baby Boomers (Princeton University…
Congregational Leadership in Difficult Times
What would your congregation’s worship service look like next Sunday if your sanctuary burned to the ground tomorrow, if a beloved pastor announced that he…
Coaching and Christian Leadership
Coaching has become a popular topic in Christian leadership. A number of books and resources, as well as training opportunities, are available to help church…
Igniting a Ministry
Ultimately Responsible: When You’re in Charge of Igniting a Ministry contains plenty of practical advice on how to jumpstart tired programs and engage church members…
Focusing Your Message
Ann Michel offers a variety of suggestions to help churches improve different kinds of communication by prioritizing messages. Sometimes church members are poorly informed because…
Outside-in Thinking Improves Church Communication
Ann Michel writes about tailoring the methods of church communication and the content of messages to specific internal and external audiences. Why does church communication…
A Healthy Youth Group
An excerpt from Amy Jacober’s book, The Pastor’s Guide to Youth Ministry, includes a top ten list. There is no one way to do youth…
Women and Leadership: New Ways of Thinking
Ann Michel discusses how decades of ordination of women has led to progress with regard to the understanding of women’s leadership, but challenges remain. This…
Becoming a Good Samaritan Church
Combining caring ministry with proclamation of the Gospel is the key to effective ministry says Robert Pierson, according to reviewer Ann Michel. In Needs-Based Evangelism,…
Servant Leadership: Jesus & Paul
Ann Michel reviews Efrain Agosto’s book which suggests Christian leadership involves core New Testament values — service, humility, love, justice, suffering and sacrifice. Efrain Agosto’s…
Divided by Faith and United by Faith
Ann Michel reviews two books abut the relationship between race and religion. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by…