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Church planter and consultant Paul Nixon responds to the frequently asked question about the cost of new church starts drawing from his own experience and that of numerous judicatories and new congregations. Recent data in the United Methodist Church show a typical range of between $300,000 and $500,000 in denominational subsidy per new church plant, depending on the region and…
Two knowledgeable new church developers, Phil Schroeder and Dan Jackson, reflect on Paul Nixon’s six observations about “How Much Should It Cost to Plant a New Church?” from their experience in North Georgia and Florida conferences. Paul Nixon has laid out six insightful and helpful observations in his article “How Much Should It Cost to Plant a New Church?” In…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says the current governance structure does not fit the realities of a global United Methodist Church. He suggests that General Conference focus on theological and historical identity, mission, and values, while Annual Conferences focus on context-sensitive structure and regulations, including clergy standards. As if more evidence were needed to show the desperate plight of the church, the…
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 draws from Carey Nieuwhof some reasons why a church may need to close. In the last few years, we at the Lewis Center for Church Leadership have observed an increasing interest in information regarding the…
Actions by the recent Special General Conference have left many confused and despairing of the possibility of any way forward. At the same time, there is an energy and passion to shape a better future. Lovett Weems puts these troubling times in perspective by recalling the power of hope when events do not engender optimism. The first spring flower you…
Perhaps the most impactful task for bishops and superintendents is matching pastors and congregations through the appointive process. Despite their best efforts, some matches do not work. Lovett Weems suggests one way to learn from these situations to reduce the number of such mismatches. Bishops and cabinets are now in that crucial time of matching the gifts of pastors with…
It was recently announced that 26 U.S.-based Annual Conferences paid 100 percent of their general church apportionments in 2018. Lovett H. Weems, Jr., draws upon Lewis Center research to explain how some conferences are able to do this and what the implications are for all conferences. How Do Conferences Pay 100 Percent of General Church Apportionments? A recent United Methodist…
A recent editorial in Christianity Today magazine acknowledges how the magazine failed in confronting racism during critical years of the civil rights movement. Lovett H. Weems, Jr., reflects on the power of such repentance and how such failures cross all theological boundaries. The December 2018 issue of Christianity Today carried an editorial with the provocative title, “Where We Got It…
Bishops and their Cabinets are entering the season of appointment-making. Many bishops and superintendents have developed careful processes and then seek to improve them each year. In this article, Bishop Ken Carter and Superintendent Cynthia Weems share the process used in the Florida Conference. United Methodists bishops and district superintendents take the work of appointment-making very seriously. Pastoral leadership in…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., highlights some of the significant findings in the Lewis Center’s annual Clergy Age Trends Report. Of note is the modest downturn in recent years in the number of clergy under 35 as well as the number and percentage of young women clergy, following a decade of improvement. Download the 2018 Clergy Age Trends Report. For over…
Data from the Lewis Pastoral Leadership Inventory™ (LPLI) suggest that younger clergy share many of the same strengths as their older colleagues and that they get high marks for their creativity and new ideas. The challenges seem to be sustaining that creative edge over time and translating new ideas into fruitful outcomes when it comes to worship attendance and discipleship…
For many years the Lewis Center has monitored the presence of younger clergy in the church. Why do these trends still matter? Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Ann A. Michel remind us that despite modest progress in the past decade, encouraging the ordination of more young candidates for ministry is just as important as it was when they first articulated…
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff reports on William B. Lawrence’s book A Methodist Requiem that examines the legacy and impact of the church from several different angles and considers what’s at stake in a potential split. At a time of great concern about the future of United Methodism, William B. Lawrence reflects on the importance of the Methodist…
Recalling the sermon Albert C. Outler preached 50 years ago at the birth of the United Methodist Church, Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that Outler’s hope for “a church repentant in order to be a church redemptive” is vitally relevant today in the face of the divisions currently plaguing the United Methodist Church. In recent weeks, much attention has been…
David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary, posits the metaphor of a delta region to describe the dangerous yet fertile waters the church must navigate in our times. He sees a promising course in Methodists reclaiming their identity as progressive evangelicals believing in a personal God who expects things of each of us personally. The church in the U.S. is…
David McAllister-Wilson sees the distinctive spiritual heritage of Methodism as something uniquely suited to our times — a legacy that cannot be sacrificed as the denomination considers whether staying together is the way forward. Our Genetic Legacy Living things thrive over time if they adapt and yet stay true to a basic identity. Why can’t humans fly? It’s because the…
Donald W. Haynes, a retired pastor and district superintendent, suggests that key questions raised by the Way Forward Commission should be considered in light of the history of other issues that divided Methodism and the consequence of those divisions. Haynes asks, do we risk the loss of voice in our own generation as our nation and world need our unified…
On the first day of a new year, all United Methodist churches begin working toward their common mission “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” To achieve this mission, the United Methodist Church in the United States has: over 30,000 local churches with nearly 7 million members with thousands of clergy and lay leaders, and…
A few years ago, I received a call from a member of a Staff-Parish Relations Committee of a very large United Methodist Church. She said their pastor was retiring after a long tenure, and she was assigned to make some calls for the committee, with the bishop’s blessing, about potential successors. I assured her that there were much stronger options…
The Lewis Center for Church Leadership conducted research across the United Methodist Church about “second pastors,” those who follow founding pastors. This project was commissioned by the North Texas Conference, and Jim Ozier from that conference does training on this topic. You may find the report at Findings about Pastors Who Follow Founding Pastors. Download and read report (PDF).
When thinking about the appropriate roles for any part of the church, it is important to ask, “What is the ‘calling’ of this unit”? What is it that the entire church looks to this body to do, so that if it does not do it, no one else can or likely will? What are those things that no other group…
Originally published Dec. 12, 2017. United Methodists are facing major decisions about our legacy and future in the coming months and years. Myriad actions taken over many past years have set up a classic win/lose situation, particularly regarding human sexuality, quite common in today’s politics but strangely out of character with the generous spirit of our Wesleyan heritage. Many United…
The Constitution of the United Methodist Church identifies the annual conference as “the basic body in the Church.” The annual conference admits persons into ordained ministry, and it is from the annual conference that clergy go to their assignments. Clergy hold their membership in the annual conference and not in congregations. With the focus on local churches in recent times,…
The United Methodist Church faces a looming adaptive challenge that can only be addressed by major learning, innovation, and prayerful discernment. United Methodists in the United States have a future only to the extent that we can reach “more people, younger people, and more diverse people.” This phrase, now commonplace among United Methodists, emerged out of clues from multiple conversations…
Dr. Kenneth H. Carter, bishop of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, addresses the challenge of reaching more people. He explains the need to reach the 80 percent of people who are not inclined to find their way to church on their own. He advocates moving toward a “mixed economy of church” in which the work of strong,…
Dr. Janice Riggle Huie, a retired bishop of the United Methodist Church now serving with the Texas Methodist Foundation, addresses the challenge of reaching younger people. She explains how the “pipeline” that used to transport young people through children’s, youth, and campus ministry, and then back into local congregations as spiritually mature adults is now “full of cracks and leaks.”…
Rev. Dr. Joseph W. Daniels, Jr., lead pastor of Emory United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, addresses the challenge of reaching more diverse people. He maintains that churches must learn to see their communities as their congregations and embrace the neighbors that surround them. Meeting the metrics of the Kingdom of God involves meeting people’s tangible needs.more. Watch now.
What are the challenges we currently face for which we presently have no answer but must address if we’re to live into God’s future for us? — Alan J. Roxburgh Most of us with denominational responsibilities spend much of our time trying to help congregations rethink their ways of operating in these changed times. The need is great. However, all of us…
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.
