Our Latest Perspectives
A Bigger Brand (Part 2): Rootedness
I want to suggest “rootedness” as a potential brand or image for congregations. In a highly mobile, rapidly changing society, who isn’t attracted to the idea of being rooted instead of rootless?
How to Repel Millennials
Most observers would agree that the campaign to keep Millennials out of our congregations has been nearly a complete success. Despite our best efforts, however, young adults occasionally are spotted…
What Can We Expect, When We Pay So Little?
Healthy employment relationships require accountability. Accountability involves setting clear expectations, providing ongoing feedback, and inviting employees to step it up if performance falls short of expectations. This fundamental cycle of communication seems easy enough to grasp, in theory. In practice, many of us demonstrate a failure of nerve when it comes to holding church employees accountable. We grapple with whether we can expect much from our employees, especially when we pay them so little.
Are You Being Bullied?
Many ministers, male as well as female, have experienced bullying. We tend to excuse it—“every congregation has someone like this”—or think we caused it somehow. We may feel powerless if the member is important or seems to be tolerated by others. We don’t often talk about what’s happening to us because we’re ashamed or because we think we’re called to forgive bad behavior. But at work and at school, there’s a name for our experience and there are policies for dealing with it. It’s time we were clear about bullying in the church as well.
Teams Made Simple
One good way to make things happen is to organize a team. At their best, teams benefit from members’ varied strengths and reach results no one imagined in advance. But what makes a team effective? A lot has been written about teams—by John Wimberly and George Cladis among others—and I don’t mean to replace or duplicate their work. Instead I want to share a simplified approach to that has been useful to me in building teams, and to my coaching and consulting clients. You may find it useful, too!
After the Earthquake: Congregations after the U.S. Election
Most Americans were surprised by the outcome of the November 8 election. More than 90% of Clinton supporters and a plurality of Trump supporters expected Clinton to emerge victorious. Congregational leaders faced a dilemma the following weekend. How does one speak both to those who were celebrating and those who were grieving?
A Place We Can Trust and Be Trusted
In strategic planning, congregations think a lot about their “brand.” What do people think of when they drive by or hear the church’s name? Do they associate the congregation with great music, inspiring preaching, effective social justice work, quality day care, or self-help group meetings? Lately, I have been recommending to my clients a brand that needs to be built by congregations across this country: A congregation where people can trust each other and will be trusted.