Too often our leaders lead from unexamined fear and frustration. We need to lead from our hopes as embodied in the vision of the Beloved Community.

No person is perfect. How do we ask each other to return to covenant when someone makes a mistake?

Supporting one another is important, but if that is primarily what you do, then your congregation will decline. For a congregation to be alive, vital, and growing, it must have a sense that it exists to serve as well.

Emotions play a major role in the leadership of congregations, and if we do not take that into consideration as leaders, we will walk into situations that tear at the fabric of communal life and possibly thwart any growth that had been planned.

Small congregations are trying to do too much. They are struggling to put together a quality meaningful worship service and a Children’s Faith Development Program every Sunday. Let’s try something different.

Don’t try to do everything! Instead, figure out what your congregation does well, and do it, and do more of it!

In its 7th year and with about 40 adult members, a small congregation in the South realized it was stuck—its membership hadn’t increased in 3 years. True, a few new folks joined each year, but the new folks only replaced those who had moved or left for other reasons. ...

If you’re listening to this CD, chances are you think your congregation is small. But not all small congregations are alike. These differences are not just about numbers. They’re about attitude, and group behaviors, and organizational structure. It helps to know how your congregation does...

Change is always difficult, yet it happens every day in our lives in small and big ways. It is also is a regular component of congregational life. When a visitor shows up on a Sunday, the dynamics in a congregation have changed, particularly if the newcomer stays. We all need to be aware of the...

Before we decide whether we want to be an institution, it might be helpful if we thought about what an institution is, and what it is not. ...

Families with children no longer feel a sense of obligation to attend church. Participation in a religious community is often considered one option among many competing interests. How do you go about creating a multigenerational culture in your congregation?

We need to think beyond increasing the membership rolls and focus more on developing what the workshop leaders called an “outward orientation.”

Great leaders continually examine their motives. They ask themselves, “On what principle am I taking this stand? Am I acting for the common good? Am I trying to push a personal agenda? Do I just want my way or is there a principle at stake here?” Great leaders will admit to themselves when they...

A 2008 Sermon by the Rev. Gail Geisenhainer describing her transformative first encounter with a UU congregation.

This classic 2008 video workshop from the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, CO helps congregations improve welcoming and close the revolving door of membership by increasing engagement.

Practical advice about successfully founding and sustaining a group to provide fellowship and support for our active duty service folx, reservists, veterans and their families.

2008 UU University Nick Carter, President of Andover Newton Theological Seminary.

Who cares about Congregational Polity? Doesn’t it just boil down to the fact that we as a congregation can do whatever we want with no interference from any bishop, or presbytery, or Pope, or even the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston? Perhaps. Consider a deeper theological...

A president of one of our congregations reports their unwelcoming experience visiting another UU (Unitarian Universalist) congregation.

Excerpts from conversations between ministers of a dozen congregations that experienced significant growth in the early 2000s.