PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS
To do new things well, congregations must learn
 
Congregations don't just do something new. They must learn to do something new.

"If it's a matter of consequence, congregations don't just do new things," said the Rev. Tim Shapiro, the president of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations. "They learn to do new things -- learning that is a durable change of behavior or attitudes or ways of thinking."

Over his 14 years with the Center for Congregations, Shapiro has worked with more than 1,100 congregations, and the Center has worked with more than 4,000. The stories and patterns Shapiro has observed are set out in his recently released book, How Your Congregation Learns: The Learning Journey from Challenge to Achievement.

The Center for Congregations is a nonprofit funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. whose mission is to help Indiana congregations find and use resources and to share what it is learning with a national audience. As part of that work, the Center in 2015 revised and relaunched the Congregational Resource Guide (CRG).

Shapiro spoke recently to our colleagues at Faith & Leadership about his new book, which includes stories about congregations of many types as well as reflection questions designed to help lay and ordained leaders learn how to do something new. 

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IDEAS THAT IMPACT: CONGREGATIONAL LEARNING
Pastor as teacher, congregation as learning community
In our contemporary context, vital congregations must be more intentional about teaching and embodying a way of life, writes the author of What's Theology Got to Do With It?: Convictions, Vitality, and the Church.
 
Digital disciples
A Lutheran pastor in Pennsylvania uses social media to engage youth in the ancient teachings of the church, a reflection of his deep belief that God is everywhere, including online.
 
Every congregation can have an online school 
The Internet gives even small congregations the ability to offer vibrant adult education and formation programs, an Episcopal priest and founder of the online learning website ChurchNext.tv says in this interview.
 
Read the interview with Chris Yaw »
 
FROM THE ALBAN LIBRARY
 by Tim Shapiro
 
Change isn't always easy or intuitive. How Your Congregation Learns introduces churches and leaders-both lay and ordained-to the process of the learning journey. By understanding learning dynamics and working to become a learning community, the congregation will be able to move more purposefully to achieve its goals. 

Congregations face many kinds of challenges. Some are mundane: the roof leaks; the parking lot needs repaving; the microphones don't work well. Some tests are transcendent: How should lives be honored? What is God calling the congregation to do and be? How can generosity be taught? Throughout life people face challenges for which they are not prepared-the death of a parent, a new job offer, making a decision about where to live. So it goes that congregational leaders face challenges that are just beyond the grasp of their abilities. This book addresses the just-beyond-the-grasp challenges and shows how real congregations can learn from them.
 
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