Tag «Monday/Wednesday Featured»

The Looming Deferred Maintenance Crisis in Many Churches (and How to Solve It)

“It’s a custom color. Bradenton plum.” The church council member and I laughed together about the project in front of us. He had been part of the original capital campaign in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “The color was popular then, but I think it’s time for an update,” he said as we prioritized…

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Church Leaders Wandering Past the Cross

Many years ago, I visited a rocky hillside in Jerusalem that some scholars believe is the site of Jesus’ crucifixion. On this hillside were three trees that reminded me of the crosses at Jesus’ death, and in front of the hill was a busy bus station. The stench of diesel fuel hung in the air….

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Five Cautions about Church Budgets for the Next Twelve Months

The call from the pastor was not that unusual. Indeed, it was a part of a pattern we’ve observed at Church Answers. “Hey Thom,” the pastor asked, “Are you seeing anything about church giving declining? We thought it was a temporary pause at our church, but giving is consistently down about five percent.” While we…

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Why Your Congregation Is Likely More Optimistic about the Future Than You Realize

Over 80% of churchgoers predict a promising future for their churches. Is this figure what you would expect? Until I saw the research, I would not have guessed optimism was so high among churchgoers. Where did this statistic originate? The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) conducted a national survey in August 2022 of almost 6,000…

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This Book Changed My Life 10 Years Ago

It was ten years ago that I did something I had never done before. I turned a short blog post into a book. Much to my joy and surprise, the book became one of the bestsellers in its genre. It stayed at number one on the bestselling list for quite a while. Now, nearly two…

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The Top Ten Next Steps for New Church Members

Congratulations! You joined a church. Now what? While every church has a different procedure for church membership, there are some simple things you can do to honor God in your decision. These items apply to everyone. First, read your Bible every day. A national research study revealed something remarkable. The number one way people grow…

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4 Reasons Why It Matters that Church Leaders are Praying Leaders

I am convinced that prayer is the most difficult spiritual discipline to develop—even for church leaders. Prayer assumes that we live in dependence on God, and I fear many of us are less dependent than we might admit. Prayer is our recourse for a problem more than an expression of a relationship with God. It…

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Comparing Your Church’s Current Data to 2019

There is always a danger in basing an article on numbers. They can seem to be ultimate or penultimate goals when they should be neither. Numbers, however, like a thermometer, can be a rough gauge of our current health. In that regard, looking at churches’ data can be a good exercise. Though the data is…

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How to Check Back into Your Church Job If You Have Been Checked Out for a While

Tens of millions quit their jobs during the Great Resignation. Beginning in March 2021, most areas of the economy experienced a mass of people leaving their current places of employment and seeking other jobs and careers. Over two years, a large portion of workers considered career changes and geographic relocations. The hospitality, education, and healthcare…

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Six Common Patterns in Toxic Churches That Fire Pastors

The title of this article might engender some visceral reactions. I get it. It is not a pleasant subject. For church members who have observed it taking place, it is a painful situation. For those pastors who have been fired, it is traumatic. It is traumatic for the pastor’s family as well. Please read the…

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