Browsing by Rob Blezard
Rise of the Dones
You’ve heard of the “Nones” — those whose religious affiliation is None. But there is a growing multitude of church ex-members who have simply left church for a variety of reasons. They’re sometimes called the de-churched. They have not abandoned their faith. They are not Nones. Rather, call them the Dones. What can we do about it? (Photo by Lukas Kastner, used by Creative Commons license.)
Greening Your Office
With simple steps that are easy to implement, you can make your office more energy efficient and cut down on waste. How many can you achieve by next week? From LutheransRestoringCreation.org. (Photo by Zhao!, used by Creative Commons license)
Unleashing Our People’s Generosity
Here are questions you frequently hear: “What is the secret to creating a culture of generosity in my local church? Why does stewardship come so easy to some congregations but is so hard in mine?” This article from the United Methodist Church provides some insight. (Photo © laurent hamels – Fotolia.com)
From Anxiety and Greed to Milk and Honey
So far as I know, the Bible says nothing explicit about subprime loans and the financial implications of such risky economic practice. There is a great deal, nonetheless, that the Bible has to say about such a crisis as we now face. I will comment in turn on a biblical perspective of an analysis of the crisis and a biblical perspective for an alternative economic practice. [Written in 2009, this prophetic article in Sojourners still speaks to our time.] (Photo by Glenn Thomas Hvidsten, used by Creative Commons license.)
7 Steps to Stewardship Success
Stewardship begins with you, the congregational leaders who know best the needs, resources and culture of your parish. Here are seven ideas that can assist you in shaping a stewardship program that produces your desired results. (Photo © kbuntu – Fotolia.com)
15 Things the Church Needs to Do In 2015
It’s that time of the year again, when we stand on the precipice of a new year and look forward to what is in store for us in 2015. Given the events of 2014, the church now also has a monumental opportunity to provide healing, justice, care, and compassion in new and exciting ways — ways I believe are important for the church in the upcoming year. Read them all, inSojourners, and see which fit your context. (Photo by Courtney Dirks , used by Creative Commons license)
“This Will NEVER Work”— Why Congregations Resist Change (and How to Respond)
Every congregational leader has had this experience: A well-presented great idea — bold, creative, innovative and missional — is met with a tsunami of resistance. This article from ChurchLeaders.com talks about the top pretexts for resistance and how to handle them.
MLK: Beyond the Dreamer
As the country marks Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, a veteran activist explains why it would be a mistake to remember King as only a great civil rights leader. In his final years, he began to move toward an ever-more-profound and radical understanding of what would be required to deal with the nation’s domestic and […]
5 Questions to Guide Your Financial Resolutions
Are you thinking of making some financial resolutions for 2015? Start with these “financial health” questions, since a recent study showed them to have a high correlation with net worth. If you don’t like your current answers, here are some ways to improve your answers for this same time next year, from Forbes.com. (Photo by […]
When Your Church Seems to Be Dying …
No church leader I know wants to see another church close its doors. We need every local church, now more than ever, if we’re going to fulfill the Great Commission as soon as possible. But each local church in history has tended to have its own life cycle. Some are revived and have a whole new life. Others disband and dissolve. And many churches limp along in mere survival mode for a couple of decades until their stalwart generation is gone and then close their doors. If you think your church might be dying, here are some possible next moves. (Photo by Tom Blackwell, used by Creative Commons license)
