Should a Church Close?
Sustainability is increasingly difficult for the ever increasing number of churches worshipping small numbers each week. Lovett Weems captures the dilemma for church leaders and…
Browsing: Change
Articles
Engaging in the Public Sphere: An In-depth Interview with Kevin Slayton
How can church leaders better engage the public sphere and expand their prophetic witness? Kevin Slayton, a pastor with a passion for public policy and…
“Engaging in the Public Sphere” featuring Kevin Slayton
Podcast Episode 146 How can church leaders better engage the public sphere and expand their prophetic witness? We speak with Kevin Slayton, a pastor with…
Saying Goodbye in the Sermon
Beverly Zink-Sawyer says the sermon can provide a way of offering a good and gracious “goodbye” to a pastor, preacher, or member of the congregation…
Guidelines for Healthy Clergy Transitions
Susan Nienaber says all major life transitions can be hard, but ministry transitions come with unique challenges. She provides helpful guidance on how a pastor…
Innovating to Build Communities Where All Can Flourish: An In-depth Interview with K Scarry
How can a passion for helping people flourish lead to social innovation? K Scarry share about social innovation and the ways she is supporting local…
“Innovating to Build Communities Where All Can Flourish” featuring K Scarry
Podcast Episode 145 How can a passion for helping people flourish lead to social innovation? We speak with K Scarry about social innovation and the…
New Pastors Should Make Time to Listen
Sidney Williams writes that a top priority for a new pastor needs to be listening to the stories of congregants to discern needs, learn who…
Quiet Acts of Strategic Resistance Open a Congregation to its Neighbors
Laura Heikes, pastor of a predominantly Anglo congregation in a Texas border town, shares how her congregation became more present to the people and culture…
Risking Experiments for God’s Reign
Where is God’s movement taking place in new ways for new times? Cherished narratives, programs, language, and structures are no longer producing the fruit associated…
Healing Fractured Communities: An In-Depth Interview with Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz
How can congregational leaders be healers and agitators at the same time? In this in-depth interview, Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz reflect on the new…
“Healing Fractured Communities” featuring Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz
Podcast Episode 139 How can congregational leaders be both healers and agitators at the same time, especially given our fractured landscape and the diversity of…
Improv Church: The Power of Connection — An In-Depth Interview with Katie Phillips
How can an improv comedy show explore the intersection of faith and real life in community? Doug Powe and Katie Phillips talk about how Improv…
Healing Fractured Communities
All proceeds support the Dr. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Scholarship fund. Congregational leaders are charged with caring for those inside and outside of faith communities.…
Leaders Help Their Communities Dream Big Dreams
Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech proposed a big dream for what America can become. What big dreams do you have for…
“Improv Church: The Power of Connection” featuring Katie Phillips
Podcast Episode 137 How can an improv comedy show explore the intersection of faith and real life in community? In this engaging episode we speak…
God is Already in Your Neighborhood
Incredible things happen when congregations commit to being present in and praying for the spaces around them. The authors of a new book, Leading Faithful…
7 Questions to Determine if Your Advent Traditions are Still Meaningful
Meghan Hatcher says planning for Advent is the perfect time to assess whether a ministry tradition is still serving its intended purpose. She suggests seven…
Leading with Love — An In-Depth Interview with Elaine Robinson
Is your leadership so preoccupied with strategies and actions that you’ve lost sight of the ultimate why? In this interview, Elaine Robinson shares why love…
“Leading with Love” featuring Elaine Robinson
Podcast Episode 134 Is your leadership so preoccupied with strategies and actions that you’ve lost sight of the ultimate why? Elaine Robinson shares her belief…
Innovating Faithfully through Action Learning Experiments
The authors of a new book, Leading Faithful Innovation, explain how engaging in simple, repeatable, and affordable learning experiments can create an environment where people…
There Is No Such Thing as Church Revitalization
William Chaney says revitalization is the wrong goal for churches in decline, since it implies a return to the past. Churches need to instead rewrite…
Building Inclusive Communities: An In-Depth Interview with Brandan Robertson
How can church leaders build an inclusive community of faith? Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff interviews Brandan Robertson, the “TikTok Pastor,” about social…
“Building Inclusive Communities” featuring Brandan Robertson
Podcast Episode 132 How can church leaders build an inclusive community of faith? In this episode Jessica Anschutz of the Lewis Center staff speaks with…
4 Key Characteristics of Missional Congregations
Congregations that want to move forward and live more missionally need to understand and embody four key characteristics, says F. Douglas Powe, director of the…
Leading Faithful Innovation: An In-depth Interview with Dwight Zscheile
What if congregational change didn’t focus on setting goals or planning new programs? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center Staff interviews Dwight Zscheile, coauthor of…
“Leading Faithful Innovation” featuring Dwight Zscheile
Podcast Episode 130 What if congregational change didn’t focus on setting goals or planning new programs? Dwight Zscheile believes finding a faithful way forward involves…
Leading Voices: “All Great Leaders Take Risks”
“All Great Leaders Take Risks” is presented by Rev. Dr. Jessica Anschutz, associate director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. In celebration of the…
4 Tips for Experimenting with Change This Summer
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe says that the summer is the perfect time for a congregation to test possible changes through short-term experiments. He…
Leading Voices: “Leading Change Means Making it Easy for People to Do Hard Things”
“Leading Change Means Making it Easy for People to Do Hard Things” is presented by Dr. Dwight Zscheile, Vice President of Innovation and Professor of…
