Speak to the intersection of theology and life. If your theology doesn’t “become flesh” it won’t provide anything useful.
Speak to the Middle Space
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Tag: Healthy Churches
Rethinking How We Interpret Scripture with Rachel Howell
In this episode, we talk with Rachel Howell about Biblical interpretation. A scholar and missionary herself, Rachel has taken a deep dive into Alexander Campbell’s influence on Churches of Christ in the way we view and interpret Scripture. She will critique some areas of imbalance and suggest what it might look like to build an even healthier hermeneutic as we move forward.
Balance your Commentators
As you prepare to speak, how do you go about researching what you will share? It might help to balance out the commentaries with which you’re interacting.
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Helping Your Tribe Be Healthy
What does it actually look like for people to get healthier incrementally? How do we help dysfunctional tribes become high-functioning teams? Here are a few ideas.
Don’t forget this one BIG thing on your mission trip!
Short-Term mission trips have the potential to do a lot of good abroad, but also at home! Here’s something you definitely want to do as you go on your trip.
Make Serving A Joy
Not Employees Volunteers aren’t employees. When you’re leading in a church setting, there isn’t a single person involved who doesn’t have the real option of
Pastoral Leadership: It’s About The Sheep
The Shepherding Metaphor A good shepherd cares about his sheep. When we talk about leadership, we would do well to stay close to that imagery.
Short-Term Missions for Long-Term Impact
Dr. Mark Adams shares information about his original research into best practices for Short-Term Missions when he completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Lipscomb University. How can a congregation’s involvement in short-term missions help the congregation to become more missional at home?
Short-Term Missions for Long-Term Impact
In the video, I walk through: Basic info about short-term missions and their rapidly growing popularity Brief information about the missional church movement, and why
Questioning Forward: A Case Study for Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change
I’ve enjoyed posting about the assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry. In this video, I explain how I utilized this method at the Old Hickory Church of
Questioning Forward: In This Together
I’ve been making posts about Appreciative Inquiry, an effective method for studying an existing group of people and discerning how to implement positive change in
Questioning Forward: Better Than When It Started
I’ve been sharing reflections on the different assumptions of a group evaluation method called Appreciative Inquiry. One assumption that seems especially obvious is that in
Questioning Forward: Speaking Your Reality
When Genesis describes God creating the universe, God is speaking the world into existence. “Let there be…” In the beginning was “the Word”, John tells
Questioning Forward: What Gives You Life?
People are like plants. We grow best when we are close to what gives us life. When it comes to sunlight, the scientific term is heliotropic.
Questioning Forward: Differences Matter
Differences matter, and it is important to value them. For smaller churches trying to grow, one way they undermine themselves is by insisting on uniformity.
Questioning Forward: Bringing What’s Best
Appreciative Inquiry assumes that people have an easier time moving into the future when they can bring parts of the past with them. Another slightly
Questioning Forward: How Tradition Can Help
Don’t be too hard on older folks. They’ve seen and been through a lot. It isn’t uncommon to hear someone throw the older generation under
Questioning Forward: Inquisitive Impact
Working with people is much different than working with test tubes. A scientist can work with substances in specific amounts in controlled environments. He or
Questioning Forward: The Power of Focus
Robert Cialdani’s book Pre-Suasion (2016) contains a staggering amount of evidence that a person’s focus shapes their reality. I would argue that this is the underlying
Questioning Forward: Every Group Has Its Strengths
One of the core assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry is that in every organization, some things work well. An unfortunate aspect of leadership is that it
When Churches Choose Faith Over Fear
Fundamentally, the church should be a community of people in whom the Spirit of Christ is alive and well. Where the Spirit of Christ is