Category Archives: Leadership

Sarah Rainer: Six Guidelines for Ministers Who Counsel

Interesting post from Sarah Rainer on guidelines for pastors (ministers, in the Churches of Christ, of course) who counsel. Also for elders. 1. Competence A lack of training in counseling and mental health issues would indicate that a pastor should … Continue reading

Posted in Ministers, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Racial Diversity in American Churches

The Pew Research Center has recently posted a graph showing the racial diversity of various American denominations.

Posted in Racial Diversity in Church, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Church Growth: Carey Nieuwhof on Multisite Churches

Fascinating post by Carey Nieuwhof on the trend toward multisite churches, that is, churches with one leadership but multiple campuses. Mega churches once used multi-site campuses as a Band-Aid strategy for growth. They either became too big for their space, … Continue reading

Posted in Multisite Churches, Uncategorized | 21 Comments

Direct Hit: A Follow Up Question from a Reader

I get emails (and insomnia) — Jay…I ran across your thoughts on church leadership. If one wants to be trained in how to lead a church to grow, especially a CoC preacher like myself, where would you recommend? Preferably, I … Continue reading

Posted in Church Growth, Direct Hit, The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Direct Hit, Part 5 (Developing Resources; Bringing in a Consultant)

We’re studying through Paul D. Borden’s Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field. Developing Resources The pastor must develop three teams to help him as change agent — 1. A prayer team to bathe the process in continuous prayer. … Continue reading

Posted in Church Growth, Direct Hit, The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Direct Hit, Part 4 (Urgency)

We’re studying through Paul D. Borden’s Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field. Urgency The missional vision of the church must be seen as urgent, or else the church will always find a different priority to pursue. And the … Continue reading

Posted in Church Growth, Direct Hit, The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Direct Hit, Part 3 (Wisdom, Exegeting the Community)

We’re studying through Paul D. Borden’s Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field. Wisdom Wise leaders guide but do not overrun sheep. They never ask more of their sheep than they are willing to do as leaders. However, they … Continue reading

Posted in Church Growth, Direct Hit, The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Direct Hit, Part 2 (Communications, Courage)

We’re studying through Paul D. Borden’s Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field. Communications Borden recognizes how very important communications are to church change and growth. He sounds a little extreme, but I think he’s exactly right. Every spoken … Continue reading

Posted in Church Growth, Direct Hit, The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

The Future of the Churches of Christ: Direct Hit, Part 1 (Leadership, Barriers)

I’ve stumbled across a book by Paul D. Borden, Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field. Paul led the American Baptist Churches in the northwestern US to be revitalized and to grow. Now, the American Baptists are considered mainline churches, … Continue reading

Posted in Church Growth, Direct Hit, The Future of the Churches of Christ, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

The Progressive Churches of Christ: Community Disciplines

So if it’s important that we think in terms of story and community and formation into the image of Christ, then the scriptures likely provide us with community spiritual disciplines that help this happen. And, indeed, it’s true. For example, … Continue reading

Posted in Progressive Churches of Christ, Spiritual Formation, Uncategorized | 5 Comments