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Shareholders or Stakeholders?

Shareholders or Stakeholders?

When a church takes its stakeholders seriously – and not just its shareholders – the circle of ministry grows and becomes stronger. Real change involves both the way we think and the way we act. We have to think ourselves into a new way of acting, and act ourselves into a new way of thinking. Attitude and behavior go together. One attitude adjustment churches can make that will change their behavior is to begin to think about stakeholders, not shareholders. Shareholders own a

“Do You Lead Yourself?” A Simple Method for Self-Leadership

“Do You Lead Yourself?” A Simple Method for Self-Leadership

The first three questions a leader should ask when facing a new situation are: What is really going on here? What should be going on here? How do my habits and foibles contribute to the maintenance of what is going on here? Of the three the third question is the hardest one to answer, but so often the most important one if you want to be effective as a congregational leader. The reason why the third question is hard to answer is found in the synonyms of “foible”, of which som

Imaginative Risk Taking In Canadian Congregations

Imaginative Risk Taking In Canadian Congregations

Our Flourishing Congregations Institute research team—based at Ambrose University in Calgary, Alberta—spent April to June 2016 interviewing and facilitating focus groups with over 100 Catholic, mainline Protestant, and conservative Protestant leaders in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, SW Ontario, and Halifax regions. The purpose? To explore how leaders of self-identified flourishing congregations describe and explain the optimal traits and characteristics of a flourishing congr

The Preaching Tag-Team Challenge

The Preaching Tag-Team Challenge

Do you long to see teens and young adults more solidly connected to your church? Are you a preacher or do you belong to a church that has a preacher? If you answered “yes” to both of these questions, I invite you to take on the “Preaching Tag-team Challenge.” The best way to explain the challenge is to tell you this story. I serve as a small group leader in the youth program at the Meadowlands Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in Ancaster, ON, and Abigail was part of this

The Adaptive Church: Lessons from Evolution

The Adaptive Church: Lessons from Evolution

Whatever you may think of evolution and its place in a Christian understanding of creation, the science is clear that DNA does evolve and change. Humans, plants and animals make adaptations over time. Interestingly, we are now becoming more aware of how DNA can be changed through personal and generational trauma! Evolution is a characteristic of nature, but also of organizations like the Church. Many church leaders love to use the term ‘our DNA’ when talking about the cultu

Clarifying Our Way Towards Flourishing

Clarifying Our Way Towards Flourishing

I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was about 14 years old when I experienced my first earthquake. It happened in Montreal, QC, an unlikely place, and it lasted just a few seconds. But that feeling that everything around you is shifting right before your eyes is unforgettable. The same type of thing is happening as it relates to the church and the shifting culture around us. We've read about it, we've studied it, but now we are feeling it. Things are moving and chang

How Must Pastors Flourish for their Congregations to Flourish?

How Must Pastors Flourish for their Congregations to Flourish?

One afternoon I sat in the dean’s office of a Canadian seminary. He excitedly said to me, “Roger, I have a new book for you to read. We’re giving it out to pastors and denominational leaders. It’s based on a seven-year research project in the U.S. that reveals what it takes for pastors to survive and thrive over the long haul. The authors discuss five themes of effective ministry, and we want to do something about it.” He fetched it from his bookshelf and handed it to me. The

“Can You Imagine A Church Where….”

“Can You Imagine A Church Where….”

I don’t know about you but sometimes I forget why I got into this in the first place. Sometimes I find I can lose my way and get focused on the wrong things. Sometimes it just seems like we are busy being busy and have forgotten the business we’re actually in! Ever felt that way?! Fortunately there are other times too though… Times where I can imagine and see a different reality, a church that is growing people into mature followers of Jesus and truly experiencing the power o

Weak Leaders make Weak Churches?

Weak Leaders make Weak Churches?

“I don’t know why anyone would come to our church.” The pastor’s voice faltered as he tried to control his emotions. “The music is terrible, sometimes there is no one there who even plays an instrument. People visit and they don’t come back.”It was 1995 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was interviewing pastors as part of my Ph.D. research. I had called this pastor several times, but he refused to meet with me in person. I think he was too ashamed. He could not understand how

The Church in Exile

The Church in Exile

The experience of living in a Post-Christian culture is settling in as a reality for the contemporary North American church. The ongoing move to the margins can leave Christians feeling discouraged and even doubtful about where God is in this time of exilic experience. Why would God allow this to happen? Why does God not show his power more clearly in a time like this? How are we supposed to move forward in a time when the Christian message is losing traction in an increasing

The Attributes of Strong Leadership & Tilling the Soil

The Attributes of Strong Leadership & Tilling the Soil

Jim Collins writes that it’s not just good leadership that moves organizations or communities toward excellence, but “Level Five leadership creates the shift.” According to Collins, the two primary attributes “Level Five” leaders possess are professional will, and personal humility. By professional will, Collins is referring to both the vision a leader has of where the organization is going, and the passion to make that vision come to life. Level Five leaders hold an outward

Transforming your Church

Transforming your Church

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God (be transforming). You'll be changed from the inside out. (Romans 12:2; The Message) In the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz, a sweet (albeit naïve) Dorothy experiences a tornado of change and all she knows is where she isn’t… Kansas! The Canadian culture and church have gone through a tornado of change and sometimes all we know is where we are not… “Kan

Getting Children’s Ministry Out of the Basement

Getting Children’s Ministry Out of the Basement

“I wouldn’t touch that job with a ten foot pole...” I said that. Not only once, but repeatedly when I was approached by Tenth Church to consider applying for the Pastor of Family Ministries position. Why would I willingly take on a job that exposes me to the constant criticism of parents, the chronic lack of committed volunteers, the professional status of an intern, all for the fraction of the salary that I made in my old job? You have probably guessed the outcome: God di

Ebb and Flow Decision Making*

Ebb and Flow Decision Making*

Congregations within our Baptist family lean towards one of two poles while making decisions. Some elect leaders to give spiritual leadership but then reserve the right of veto through grumbling and mistrust. Others, sit back and abdicate decision making to those in the back room. In each case, outcome ownership is limited. Scripture teaches both the principle of spiritual eldership and the principle of the priesthood of believers. Healthy congregations practice both, rhythmi

Your Church Needs More Charisma. And Maybe Less.

Your Church Needs More Charisma. And Maybe Less.

My research has been in the area of megachurch leadership, and I have heard two common remarks about the charismatic leader. From congregations searching for a pastor, comes this wish: “If we could just find a dynamic, charismatic leader, our church would surely flourish!” Coming from the opposite assessment of charisma, is this critique of megachurches: “They may have a charismatic leader, but what will the congregation do when he or she abuses their power, or gets hit by a

THE SAFEST PLACE IN THE WORLD

THE SAFEST PLACE IN THE WORLD

Some years ago a friend told me that he had asked his 16 year old daughter what she considered to be the safest place in the world. She pondered this question for a few moments, and then replied, “it would have to be last month at our annual congregational retreat, when we ended by forming a large circle, holding hands, and singing “Bind us Together” acapella. I had been part of that same circle, so I spent quite a bit of time pondering her response. What was it about our co

“Thinking One Can”: Believing Your Congregation Can Flourish

“Thinking One Can”: Believing Your Congregation Can Flourish

Do you remember the children’s book The Little Engine that Could? The story was first published over 100 years ago in a curriculum for Sunday school children. It was re-published in 1905 under the title Thinking One Can. I think every flourishing congregation travels the flourishing path with the little tank engine’s attitude: “we think we can!” One cannot overstate the importance of capability beliefs when it comes to congregational motivation to pursue its vision for the fu

Flourishing. Really?

Flourishing. Really?

At the outset of this research project we delineated five traits from existing literature on flourishing congregations: clear self-identity, committed leadership, desire to grow, hospitable community, and vibrant spiritual life. We loosely held these five traits as starting points for conversing with leaders across the country, not because we set out to prove and reinforce these points but rather to engage what leaders would add, emphasize, or take away from this list. This w

The Church as a City of Refuge

The Church as a City of Refuge

This June, my wife and I visited the village of La Chambon sur Lignon, in the mountains of France near the borders of Switzerland and Italy. It is small hamlet in a remote place, surrounded by deep valleys and dense forests, with a shallow reedy river bending through it. It is far from any major centre. Which was what made La Chambon perfect for its one claim to historical significance: it was the only community in Europe that sheltered Jews during WWII. There were individual

God Doesn't Always Say ‘Go’!

God Doesn't Always Say ‘Go’!

I’m a pretty active guy. Can’t sit still. Always on the go. So, I love preaching Genesis 12:1 and Matthew 28:19! These verses provide the most concise sermon title, which just happens to double as the application: “GO!” After all, God commanded Abraham to ‘pack up and get moving’ and Jesus commanded all of us to ‘shake off our tendency to settle and move on’, right? Our assumption is that we’ll flourish when we move. So you can imagine the surprise when we felt like G