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Leading Ideas
Delivered every Wednesday, our free e-newsletter Leading Ideas offers articles by thoughtful, cutting-edge leaders on subjects you care about — navigating change, reaching younger people, financing your ministry, communicating effectively — to help you be the leader God is calling you to be.

The Lewis Center is committed to helping congregations and denominations thrive and grow by providing ideas, research, resources, and training for vital and fruitful leadership. Through Leading Ideas, we share vignettes of leaders and congregations, book reviews, leadership quotes, and helpful “right questions” built around the premise that leaders don’t need answers — they need to know the right questions.

Leading Ideas
0 Anti-Racism 4 Reals

How can church leaders counter racism in real time? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff interviews Sheila Beckford about strategies for equipping church leaders to do the hard work of anti-racism to bring about real change. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading. Jessica Anschutz: Your book, Anti-Racism 4REALS offers real action steps for…

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Leading Ideas
0 Thanking God It’s Good Friday: Intergenerational Children’s Ministry

Jessica L. Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff reports on an intergenerational ministry that teaches children about the significance of Holy Week and Easter. She shares insights for how congregations might launch a similar effort to educate children and reach new people. “Thanking God It’s Good Friday” (TGIGF) is a ministry developed by Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church and…

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Leading Ideas
0 How One-to-One Conversations Reintroduced a Church to its Neighbors

Travis Norvell, pastor of Judson Church in Minneapolis, describes the blessing and insight that flowed from his decision to schedule 110 one-on-one conversations with neighbors and community leaders. The result was ministry more focused on what people actually need and want instead of what the church thinks they need and want. I have tried door-to-door evangelism and found it wanting.…

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Leading Ideas
0 6 Touchstones of Financial Integrity for Churches

Lovett H. Weems Jr. and Ann A. Michel of the Lewis Center explain the importance of systems that guard against financial impropriety. They outline six major touchstones that maintain sacred trust by creating an atmosphere of trust and transparency in stewarding a church’s financial resources. Sadly, cases of pastors or parishioners who embezzle church funds are too often in the…

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Leading Ideas
0 Leading through Conflict

David Woolverton says there are two types of church conflict — conflict that destroys teams, ministries, and congregational vibrancy and conflict that cultivates growth by driving toward a transformative end. The key variable is a leader who sees their leadership role as not merely resolving the conflict but rather developing healthier ways for the congregation to carry out its mission.…

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Leading Ideas
0 Understanding Conflict

How can leaders respond to conflict in healthier, more productive ways? Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. interviews Brian Brown on perspectives and practices that can help keep conflict from diverting too much energy from our churches. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or continue reading. Douglas Powe: Can you share a bit about how you…

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Leading Ideas
0 How to Get People to Follow You When the Way Is Uncertain

How do we lead in a time of chaos, confusion, division, and uncertainty? Carey Nieuwhof suggests five practices that can help leaders maintain focus and influence. How do you get people to follow you when you don’t know where you’re going? That’s the new leadership paradigm we’re in. As the pace of change accelerates and the chaos continues, it’s hard…

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Leading Ideas
0 Should Your Church Consider Selling Property?

Real estate expert Domenic Dutra outlines factors to be considered in determining whether selling church property might be a faithful course of action. The ideal selling situation, he explains, isn’t rushed by fiscal emergencies but is generated out of a careful planning process aligned with the ultimate mission of the church. Chances are, if you’re thinking about selling church property,…

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Leading Ideas
0 Moving Forward With Hybrid Worship

Effective hybrid worship requires that churches ascribe high and equal value to in-person and online worshipers. Olu Brown outlines key steps a congregation should take to assure that their worship is accessible and welcoming to those not in the building. Leaders in a post-COVID-19 world have the new challenge and opportunity of managing worship on dual platforms: virtual and in-person.…

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Leading Ideas
0 4 Truths About Ministry Revealed by the Pandemic

Tom Berlin says that two years of global pandemic have revealed some key truths about the nature of ministry. Serving in this difficult time has raised the challenge of embracing new skill sets, forced a renewed reliance on the Spirit’s sustenance, brought the centrality of Christ-filled relationships to the fore, and magnified the importance of our foundational callings. I took…

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Leading Ideas
0 Centering Marginalized Voices to Lead Change

What practices can help church leaders learn from failures and address conflict in ways that lead to fruitful ministry? The Lewis Center’s Jessica Anschutz interviews Tyler Sit about centering marginalized voices, meeting the needs of the community, managing conflict, and other leadership lessons he has learned as a church planter. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on YouTube, or…

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Leading Ideas
0 People Support What They Help to Create

David McAllister-Wilson describes how a style of leadership that engages others not only engenders support and buy-in but also promotes better decision making and more effective outcomes. While top-down solutions are tempting in these uncertain times, investing time and effort in collaboration is ultimately more effective. The best leadership advice I ever received is “people support what they help to…

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Leading Ideas
0 Why Church Leaders Can’t Afford to Wait and See

Tony Morgan says churches can’t wait passively to see if things return to normal. Nor should they long for the return of old systems and strategies that often weren’t working even before the pandemic. The task of leaders in this moment is to create urgency, embrace change, and bring clarity to the mission God calls us to. The next season…

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Leading Ideas
0 7 Strategies to Engage New Givers

How can congregations invite new givers to begin their journey of generosity? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff outlines seven strategies more likely to connect with newer, younger givers. Comprehensive research on giving patterns among American Christians has revealed that one in five gives nothing to church or other charities. This might seem quite shocking, but it’s highly likely…

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Leading Ideas
0 9 Indicators that Reveal a Church’s Innovative Potential

Meghan Hatcher says particular characteristics within a church’s organizational culture foster an environment in which innovation thrives. She outlines nine key indicators strongly associated with an organization’s ability to innovate revealed through research by the Innovation Laboratory at the Center for Youth Ministry. Congregations nationwide continue to face unpredictability as we enter a third year of the pandemic. Ministering from…

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Leading Ideas
0 The Building Blocks of Congregational Renewal

What does it take to turn a congregation around? Lewis Center Director Doug Powe interviews Ed Brandt, a long-serving pastor who recently retired as chief of chaplains for the U.S. National Guard. Brandt describes how success in ministry is grounded in the hard but essential work of reaching out to the community, forging new connections, getting to know people, listening,…

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Leading Ideas
0 4 Shifts for More Authentic Community Engagement

Dan Pezet believes churches can forge meaningful connections with their neighbors through impactful community ministries. But only if the church’s motives are perceived as genuine, not self-serving. He outlines four mindset shifts required of church leaders who seek to engage their community more authentically. For a society that is skeptical of the Christian church, it is a breath of fresh…

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Leading Ideas
0 Thinking of Redeveloping Your Church Property? Know First Where You Stand

Rick Reinhard says more and more congregations are looking to rent, sell, or redevelop unused buildings and property. But before launching into the real estate market, churches should take time to understand the value of their property, the key players in their community, and where decision-making authority lies in their congregation or denomination. A struggling house of worship may own…

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Leading Ideas
0 Challenge and Opportunity for Predominantly White Churches

The demographic makeup of localities across the U.S. is rapidly diversifying. Some predominantly white congregations perceive this as a challenge or even a threat. But Lovett H. Weems Jr. suggests it can be an opportunity for them to make a positive difference as “hosts for Christ” welcoming newcomers to their communities. Whitney M. Young Jr., a civil rights leader and…

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Leading Ideas
0 Leveraging Your Church’s Assets

Your church may have more resources than you think. In an interview with Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff, Jacqueline Jones-Smith explains how Christ Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, once slated for closure, turned itself around by embracing a more entrepreneurial mindset and taking stock of its physical and human assets. Listen to this interview or continue reading. Ann Michel:…

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Leading Ideas
0 How Parents Pass Religious Faith to their Children

What determines whether children will carry on the faith of their parents? Past research established that parents play the critical role. Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff interviews noted sociologist Christian Smith about new research examining how parents shape their children’s faith and the critical factor of talking about religion in the context of day-to-day life. Listen to this…

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Leading Ideas
0 7 Spiritual Practices for the New Year

Jayne Davis suggests a few spiritual practices that can help anchor you to God and bring joy, meaning, and deep rest in the coming new year. They include gratitude, wonder, sabbath, and asking questions while deepening your relationship with God and others. There is something very empowering about a new year — a clean slate, a fresh start. Whether you…

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Leading Ideas
0 4 Principles for Engaging Donors Who Care About Making a Difference

Baby boomers and Gen Xers are currently the most critical donor base for most congregations. James Elrod says these generations want proof that their gifts are making a difference. He outlines four principles for measuring and reporting results. A fundamental challenge for any church is to articulate to its members that their donations are making a difference because the church…

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Leading Ideas
0 What to Watch in 2022

F. Douglas Powe Jr. and Ann A. Michel of the Lewis Center staff name some of the changes church leaders should keep top of mind as we embark on 2022. They include still evolving patterns of worship and congregational life, worrying attendance trends, churches reevaluating their building needs, and underlying demographic changes that challenge assumptions many churches hold regarding their…

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Leading Ideas
0 How to Organize an Intergenerational Morning of Service for MLK Day

Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff reports on how a Connecticut church has made the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday a time for intergenerational learning and service. She shares tips on how churches large or small might launch a similar effort to educate and inspire young people and connect with the broader community. In 2013 when Maria-Pia Seirup learned…

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This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.