My oldest daughter once brought home from junior high school an art piece she had sculped from clay. She presented it to me with no explanation other than, “Hey mom, look what I made at school.” “Oh,” I replied trying not to reveal in my tone the true sense of disgust Read more…
I grew up in the 80s, and I engrossed myself in movies we call classics now. Star Wars, Goonies, Ghostbusters. I loved all of them. One of my favorites was Back to the Future. While the time hopping in the film gets confusing, it makes me wonder what message from the future Read more…
The Wizard of Oz was one of my favorite movies as a kid and I see its reemergence as something worth noting. Recently I found myself reflecting on three of the characters from the original movie and realized each has something to teach us about leadership. While the scarecrow without Read more…
Preparing for Amazement focuses on the health of people and congregations. To aid you in thinking through such health, I want to take a moment and consider what it means for congregations to ask another question focused on spiritual health: Do we practice spiritual disciplines on a regular basis? Before Read more…
In working with churches around the world for more than two decades, I have had the opportunity to observe trends, good and bad throughout the years. One of the more challenging trends recently has been the dramatic rise of church hubris. Hubris: ‘excessive pride or self-confidence.’ Many theologians over the Read more…
Out running through our neighborhood with a friend the other morning, I inhaled a whiff of intense exhaust emitted from a car passing by. I coughed to regain rhythmic breathing to maintain our pace. Just being in the world in that moment and place, breathing in the toxins was inescapable. Lately I’ve been Read more…
I have had the honor of working full-time for a number of churches in a number of roles over a 20+ year period. Of those jobs that I had and quit (yes, from some I was fired) the reason for my departure always boiled down to one or more of Read more…
In a recent blog post, I wrote about the Great Resignation and the impact on the church. In that post, I noted that I would be writing more about the pastor and church staff shortage in a future post. Welcome to that post! Many research organizations that study church trends Read more…
On an unusually warm winter day in Columbus, Nebraska, I found myself before an art display at Pawnee Park called the “Quincentenary Belltower.” It was dedicated in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the “new world.” The belltower housed ten bells within an “aesthetically pleasing Read more…
In 2021, the United States experienced what has come to be known as the great resignation; a voluntary mass exodus from the workforce. There are many reasons for this exodus, most of which we will not cite or debate here, instead examining the great resignation through the lens of the Read more…
