The youngest Baby Boomers reached retirement age in 2011. 10,000 Boomers a day will hit that milestone every day through the year 2030. While not all will retire upon turning 65, it is reasonable to expect a good number will retire at some point not long thereafter. Clergy Retirement Boom Charles M. Austin's cover story in the latest edition of "The Lutheran," illustrates the significance of Boomer retirements in the life of the Lutheran church. More specifically, he cites Read More …
Gen Y
Attracting Millennials (#1423)
Aaron Earls recently shared six reasons why many congregations fail to reach Millennials: not online, too inward focused, not trustworthy, not diverse, too institutional, and don't offer real community. So What? Overall, I think Earls' list is helpful but incomplete. The number one reason I find congregations don't reach Millennials is because they don't make reaching this generation a priority. In fact, I have been a part of conversations this year in which Read More …
Reverse Mentoring (#0564)
Leslie Kwoh's Wall Street Journal article, "Reverse Mentoring Cracks Workplace," describes the practice and benefit of reverse mentoring in the workplace. A reverse mentoring relationship involves young employees mentoring old senior level staff. The relationship offers executives the opportunity to learn technology and social media skills while providing the younger workers with "a rare glimpse into the world of management and access to top-level brass." So What? The church, Read More …
Could Church Membership Soon Be A Thing Of The Past? (#0397)
Will Mancini is an author, pastor, and speaker who founded Auxano – a church consulting group with a unique approach to developing a church’s vision frame before providing traditional consulting services. He recently blogged about why church membership is no longer as helpful a construct as it once was. In addition to references to churches that have moved away from church membership in favor of partnership, Mancini suggests five reasons churches should consider making the Read More …
No Generation Left Behind: Social Media in Ministry (#0331)
Earlier this year I wrote about generational differences in online activity based on data from a Pew Research Center study that showed how many people in each generation participate in various online activities. The percentage of people who participate in a given category tends to decline from generation to generation, but even the oldest generations still engage in a significant amount of online activity. Increasingly the digital divide or gap between those who Read More …