Our Latest Perspectives
Healing Is Never a Solo Performance
“Healing is never a solo performance.” This is the conclusion of Gavin Francis, citing psychotherapist Jerome Frank. It is also my most recent experience of the God in whom I do not fully believe.
About a year ago, I posted a Perspectives article about my struggles with belief. In the article, I admitted that, for the last ten years, I had been a Christian minister who mostly did not believe in God, though I had heard God’s voice or felt God’s presence at multiple times in my life, an experience that had hinted at healing.
Notes on Preaching
In a culture addicted to scrolling and soundbites, preaching is a way of managing people’s attention. Usually in these articles, I reflect on the management of other aspects of a congregation—governance, planning, staffing, program evaluation, and budgeting. Today, I’ll talk about attention management and share some “hacks” I use to help me manage people’s attention while I’m preaching.
What Bylaws Should and Should Not Say
Most bylaws should say less than they do. They’re full of advice about how officers and other leaders ought to do their jobs. Some of this advice is good, some bad, but almost none of it belongs in bylaws. Bylaws are mostly about power. They should say how people get into positions of authority, which of them gets to decide what, and how leaders will be held accountable for what they do.
When Polarization Spawns Radicalization
Over the last four decades, political polarization in the United States steadily intensified. While most visible at the national level, its effects ripple outward—straining families, communities, and congregations. Yet polarization is not the greatest threat. More dangerous yet is the path from polarization to radicalization—when some individuals or groups embrace violent means to achieve their ends. Congregations must do what we can to mitigate this process.
When the New Employee Disappoints
You had great expectations for a new hire. A few months after hiring, it becomes clear they are not suitable for the role or organization. They are failing to perform the most important parts of the job and behaving inappropriately. What should you do? Cut your losses and move them out as soon as possible or invest time and energy in trying to turn things around?
Staffing in a Part-Time World
One of the most striking changes I have seen In my consulting work since 2012 is in how often congregations hire part-time employees. For everything from cleaning and building maintenance, administration, finance, program staffing, and pastoral care, I see part-timers doing work previously done by full-time staff. Some regret this; I think we should embrace it.
Preaching Our Principles—Not Our Politics
In the most unorthodox political season since I started paying attention to politics 50 years ago, the polarized national environment has thoroughly invaded local congregations. Pastors, priests and rabbis report pressure from some congregants to “Speak to the issues!” and from others to “Stay away from politics!” Many congregational leaders worry about the nasty tone of the national discourse and feel compelled to call for civility. What should a congregational leader say or do amid such omnipresent political tensions?