| | | | | | | | | | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Many congregational and nonprofit leaders are still setting annual organizational goals. Good goals (the "what we want to accomplish") begin with good questions ("why is it important for us to accomplish this work?"). We therefore offer a few crucial questions for your organization or congregation to ask as you assess your hoped-for impact this year and beyond. We know that these questions are important, for they flow from for our fresh research on both "start-up" and established congregations across Jewish and Protestant denominations, and nonprofits with historic ties to faith communities, which you can read about in Leading Congregations in a Connected World: Platform, People and Purpose.
What would it mean to make "engagement" an organizing principle and not just a series of activities?
Shifting toward engagement as an organizing principle is to become a community where people come together or take part in something that is meaningful to them. It is a community where passion or purpose hold the community, not membership status.The shift may seem subtle, but this slight change in focus made a big difference in the organizations in our study. Leaders shared with us that the routines of committee work, communications, and programs as they "have always been done" no longer have the holding power to keep people connected to the organization's or congregation's mission.
However, when they shifted their focus from membership to engagement as an organizing principle, it not only ignited the passion of members and participants but it also rippled through the organization and changed the culture as a whole. Pastor Greg Meyer of Jacob's Well, MN, one of the thirty-four leaders whom we interviewed in our book, expressed this idea beautifully when he said, "Of all the things we are stewards of with our community, their attention is one of the biggest, and it is almost the hardest. It is almost easier to get people to give than to get their attention."
Read more from Hayim Herring and Terri Martinson Elton » |
| IDEAS THAT IMPACT: TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERSHIP
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Theatrical improvisation is an apt analogy for the Christian life and leadership, says the Anglican minister and scholar. Both are about trust, faithfulness and imagination.
Read more from Sam Wells »
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Today's congregational leaders are called to be spirit persons, who wear the mantle of the mystics, healers, prophets, and sages. Claiming our role as spiritual guides is a matter of seeing God's presence and then encouraging its emergence within the congregation.
Read more from Bruce Epperly » |
The challenges congregations are facing require employees, across levels and roles, to exercise leadership skills to understand the situation, make sense of how to respond and involve others to make things happen.
Read more from David Odom »
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Develop leaders with a $50,000 grant
Leadership Development Grants from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity nurture an institution's strengths and cultivate innovative leadership development practices. Apply by March 31, 2017, for up to $50,000 to fund a yearlong project to develop your staff and volunteers.
Learn more and apply
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THE CHURCH AND MENTAL HEALTH: The Reimagining Health Collaborative at Duke Divinity School
Do you feel called to work for the health and wellness of your community? Does your church have health ministries in place, but long to do more? Does your church want to work with other congregations and organizations to develop theologically-based wellness programs in your community?
The Reimagining Health Collaborative invites churches and Christian communities to engage more fully in God's healing and restoring work through innovative and faithful practices of health and health care. This year's cohort will focus on the church and mental health.
Approximately 45% of Americans will develop some form of mental illness - especially depression, anxiety, and substance use. Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents and adults. Living with mental illness, particularly serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is filled with both challenges and opportunities. The church must be equipped and energized to respond faithfully.
Your congregation is a great fit for RHC 2017: The Church and Mental Health if: Your congregation feels called to learn from and to walk faithfully with persons with mental illness in your congregation and community.Your congregation wants to explore and discover new models of ministry, and develop a lasting relationship with another organization within your community.You believe God is at work healing and restoring the world in Jesus Christ, and want to participate in this healing work. To learn more, please see the program page. Applications must be submitted to [email protected] by April 15th, 2017. |
Leading Congregations and Non-profits in a Connected World: Platforms, People, and Purpose by Hayim Herring and Terri Martinson Elton
This new title in the Alban library shares emerging practices for leading and organizing congregations and nonprofits in our increasingly networked lives. Drawing on studies of congregations across denominations and nonprofits with historic ties to faith communities, Hayim Herring and Terri Elton share practical, research-based guidance for how these organizations can more deeply engage with their communities and advance their impact in a socially connected world. Learn more and order the book » |
ORDER NOW & SAVE ON LEADING CONGREGATIONS & NON-PROFITS IN A CONNECTED WORLD
For more insights and practical tools, you can purchase this book at a 40% savings for a limited time!
Just use code ALWK217 when ordering online at www.rowman.com or by phone at 800-462-6420.
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Offer Expires 3/29/17.
*Discount cannot be combined with other special offers and only applies to purchases made directly from Rowman & Littlefield. eBooks must be ordered online and cannot be combined with print orders. |
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