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The Congregational Consulting Group, organized in 2014 by former consultants of the Alban Institute, is a network of independent consultants. We publish PERSPECTIVES for Congregational Leaders—thoughts on topics of interest to leaders of congregations and other purpose-driven organizations. —  Dan Hotchkiss, editor

John Wimberly

Why “Spiritual but not Religious” is a Good Thing!

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As a baby boomer, I am disappointed by church members in my generation who, all too frequently, dismiss millennials and others who describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” It is a theme I hear constantly in my consulting practice. “Why focus on them when they have already told us they are spiritual but not religious?” or “They have no desire to join or even attend a congregation because they are spiritual but not religious” are comments I hear every single time I work with a congregation.

The Experience of Church

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Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks Coffee, believes the key to the company’s success is not the coffee but “the Starbucks experience.” A visit to Starbucks is a sensory event filled with smells, sights, and sounds—from the aroma of fresh ground beans to the greetings from the staff, from the names of drinks and sizes of drinks to the fast, free Wi-Fi. Customers expect good coffee, but without the full Starbucks experience, coffee is just coffee.

A Bigger Brand (Part 2): Rootedness

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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?

A Place We Can Trust and Be Trusted

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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.

Planning Ahead … Way Ahead

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In the church, we tend to think of strategic planning as involving a time frame of three to five years. That is a reasonable time frame for most plans. However, the church also needs an entirely different form of strategic planning that looks ahead 10, 20 or more years.

Priorities Lost in the Madness

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It’s easy to prioritize short-term concerns at the expense of longer-term priorities. As pastors, we only have so much time. Our members only have so much time. If we don’t focus on the short term, we’ll have chaos in the fall. However, if we don’t focus on the long term, we’ll have difficulty realizing our strategic goals.

Staff Designs

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Lately, I have been getting a number of requests to evaluate the staffing designs of congregations with worship attendance in the 200–400 range. I am asked to assess the current staffing design and propose some options for the future. What are some of the trends I am noticing as I work with congregations about their staffing designs?

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