Young people today are probably more likely to be confronted by Christianity for the very first time through Ann Rice, Mel Gibson, or the Idiots Guide to the Bible then in a Church Pew, they decided one day to sit in.
Tag: growth
Radical Hospitality
The first thing to know is that we will not be able to grow more people like us. If we want to grow we must be prepared for something new, for our own change. (based on Dr. Doubleday)
What Innovative Churches are Doing
This is a blog in an emergent fashion focusing on larger to mega churches and their leadership focus. I found this through Hartford Seminary.
Kennon Callahan
He is the founder of the Center for Continuing Education at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. Dr. Callahan is the founder of the National Certification Program in Church Finance and Administration, providing training and certification for pastors and church administrators. He has received many awards and recognitions, including being elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Church Business Administrators.
via Twelve Keys Seminar with Kennon Callahan via Prof. Doubleday
Religious Identification in the US
This is a link to an interesting GALLUP poll about religion, done in 2009.
Seminaries face financial woes
Among the 175 “free-standing” institutions in the Association of Theological Schools, 39% were “financially stressed,” with less than a year’s worth of spendable assets, a fall 2008 report says. That’s up from 26% a year earlier, and the data don’t reflect fallout from the stock market crash in the fall.
Change
Change is not an extreme makeover. Real change happens slowly and through time, when we learn to confront our loss.
Claim we have been claimed
Our task in Christian education is to claim we have been claimed.
Confirmation model
- Information
- Understanding
- Application
- Feeling
- Experience
This should lead to transformation allowing us to go deeper, both personally and analytically.
The depth can lead to commitment change.
Thoughts about growth
Growth happens during anxiety, before we enter into automatic phase of being reactive. When we turn into automatic we stop growing and start to bite.
Vision and Mission for Þjóðkirkjan
The Icelandic Church went through an interesting process, creating a vision and mission document for the years 2004-2010. It was both interesting to see who participated in the creation of this overall document and who did not.
I have not spent a lot of time in Iceland since this document was formed and I wonder about its impact, but in 2010 it will be re-assessed and hopefully in an honest way.
BSC/BSR material from Harvard Business
This is a list of articles from Harvard Business about BSC/BSR material. Continue reading BSC/BSR material from Harvard Business
Evidence of working on spiritual growth
Israel Galindo mentions marks of spiritual growth.
the bookshelves in their study contained books more recent than those they bought in seminary (it’s amazing how many pastors seem to stop reading once they finish seminary)
Evidence of working on spiritual growth | G.R.A.C.E. Writes.
St. Mark’s
From time to time people around me talk about St. Mark’s in Yorkstown. The church with one pastor and a cook.
LPLI – Assessment tool for Pastors
The Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary has developed a new online leadership assessment instrument called the Lewis Pastoral Leadership Inventory™ (LPLI). Specifically designed for clergy, the LPLI helps pastoral leaders identify individual strengths and weaknesses to improve their ministry effectiveness. The LPLI uses a three-fold understanding of fruitful leadership encompassing Character,Competence, and Contribution. LPLI users receive a personalized leadership profile report that can be used for self-discovery, gathering feedback from others, setting goals for improvement, identifying continuing education needs, and tracking progress over time.
Emergent church generates talk
A short article about the Emergent Church in Columbus from The Dispatch.
Young Adults as Church Consumers
More than looking for a good performance, young adults desire to connect with the experience of worship. They embrace the future and the past at the same time. Young adults want to be challenged by the message, and they want to participate in a worship experience.
UCC and new Churches
UCC just recently published a report about new congregations in their system and how the stand in comparison to longer active congregations.
Congregation Size and Greiner’s Growth
I need to look at Larry E. Greiner and his writings about organizational growth In light of Alice Mann and Rothauge and their theories about size transitions.
Larry E. Greiner can be found in The Organizational Behavior Reader (8th) on page 501.