Competencies for Leadership

I often use General Motors as an example of the top-down model of organization and leadership that is the opposite of what our congregations need to be nimble and vital (and I might add, attractive to...

The new year offers a new opportunity to take stock of how your congregation is serving its mission. Invite your leadership team to take stock of your...

It was mid-afternoon and my sixth grade classmates and I were in the middle of a lesson. Suddenly, the deep voice of the principal boomed over the...

As leaders of a congregation, it may be tempting to assume everyone else has (or should have) the same level of commitment to the institution of the chu...

The descriptions of the values of many "spiritual but not religious" people line up pretty nicely with what our UU religious communities could be, or at...

Young Adult ministry has been a challenge for congregations of all liberal protestant denominations for decades but the game is changing in ways we...

In my last blog post I wrote about the Baby Boomers and the Millennials.  I received a few requests to write about the generational cohort labeled Gen X (rough birth years 1960-1985),...

Imagine that your congregational leaders are talking to the bank loan officer in anticipation of a major capital campaign project.  The loan officer asks who has the authority in your...

Church leaders that I work with are often frustrated with the slow, almost glacial speed of change in congregational life.  What might take a month or two in the workplace takes a year in the...

If I could give one piece of advice for congregational leaders who wish to grow others into leadership, I would say, "Have one-on-one, personal conversations.  Ask about their passions....