Two common issues church leaders struggle with have to do with determining what is successful versus effective and how to interpret people’s participation in educational events—or lack of it.
Classic Christian Education theorems to guide your teaching and learning this year. Check out the list of ten!
How healthy is your church? BFST can provide a comprehensive framework for understanding and assessing congregational health.
What does it take to be an effective leader? That’s a complex and perennial question that has spawned countless books, lectures, seminars, courses, and workshops (and innumerable moments of personal self-doubt on the part of anyone in the lonely leader position). There seems to be no end to the number of people asking this question […]
One insight from the Pastoral Excellence Program participants is that ministry is hard and getting harder. One particular challenge clergy face is increased incivility, not only in the culture but within the churches they serve. Lloyd Rediger, in his book Clergy Killers, provides insights into some possible reasons for this outbreak of incivility: First, the […]
As a student of Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST) for over thirty years, I’ve gained a lot of self-understanding about my functioning, how to be in relationships, how to function in interlocking systems, how to regulate anxiety, the importance of being grounded in values and principles, how to navigate triangles, and how to function up. […]
In the landscape of American Christianity, small churches represent not just the majority of congregations but the heartbeat of faith communities across the nation. According to recent studies, approximately 65% of all Protestant churches in America have fewer than 100 weekly attendees, with nearly 40% averaging fewer than 50 people each week. These statistics reveal […]
Identify the Problem or Challenge: Give yourself and others considerable time to define, describe, and analyze the problem or challenge you are facing. Otherwise, you may start by trying to solve a non-existent perceived problem. As my engineer son says, “Solve the problem, not something else.” This includes avoiding the tendency to over-focus on personalities […]
Money and what it represents is a complex issue in congregations. As an educator, I’m interested in how people acquire what they learn, including perspectives, values, and habits. We know that certain things need to be learned in particular ways. As such, I’m intrigued by how often we teach things incorrectly or, sometimes, the wrong […]
