Is your board members’ time well spent? Ask them! If your board is like many others, you’ll tap into a deeper well of dissatisfaction than most leaders suspect.

by Dan Hotchkiss on January 14, 2019
Is your board members’ time well spent? Ask them! If your board is like many others, you’ll tap into a deeper well of dissatisfaction than most leaders suspect.
by Dan Hotchkiss on November 5, 2018
Churches and synagogues often serve as incubators for soup kitchens, food pantries, nursery schools, retirement homes, arts programs, and other worthy ventures. Once those ventures are established, how much control should a congregation have over them?
by Dan Hotchkiss on October 8, 2018
It’s not easy being a pastor, priest, or rabbi. People come to congregations bearing an incredible variety of hopes and aspirations. When reality falls short—as it inevitably does—the clergy leader often takes the fall. That process is almost always painful, even when it turns out to be a good thing for all concerned. A lot […]
by Dan Hotchkiss on August 20, 2018
Every year about this time, I get calls from lay and clergy leaders who want help writing a mission statement. They hope that with a clearer sense of mission, their congregations will stop reliving yesterday and start building tomorrow. I think they’re on the right track, and once upon a time I would have joined […]
by Dan Hotchkiss on June 11, 2018
Some churches grow, and others shrink. Most oscillate for decades around a size that it finds comfortable. When a church gets too small for its own comfort, it plugs newcomers into spots left vacant by those who have departed. When it grows too big, it lets newcomers know they are not needed. This oscillation can […]
by Dan Hotchkiss on May 7, 2018
Planning only matters if it makes a difference to your congregation’s work. If, after a weekend of planning, staff and volunteers wake up Monday morning and do just what they did before, then all your planning was for naught. Grand statements of mission and vision have no value unless someone turns them into action steps.
by Dan Hotchkiss on March 19, 2018
If you are an exceptionally bright, talented, attractive person, you can energize a congregation quite a bit by doing everything yourself. But if you want to make more happen than you personally can lead, you need to learn to delegate.