Slant33.com, a website designed to "help challenge, inspire and equip youth workers through thoughtful dialogue and varied expression from youth ministry’s leading thinkers and doers," recently asked three of its contributors to answer an important question about leadership: "What three books do you recommend on leadership development?" Danny Qwon, a youth minister for almost twenty years and a current Ph.D. student in organizational leadership, recommended one book designed with youth Read More …
Review of Church Unique (#0210)
Will Mancini. Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement. Jossey Bass: 2008. ISBN: 9780787996833. Meet the Author Will Mancini is the founder of Auxano – a church consulting group with a unique approach to developing a church’s vision frame before providing traditional consulting services. Mancini’s pastoral experience includes helping lead two congregations to grow to over 3,000 in weekend attendance:Clear Creek Read More …
A Full Scale Replica of Noah’s Ark Coming Soon in Kentucky (#0209)
Over the last several days I have read more about Noah's Ark than ever before thanks to all the publicity given the venture following a press conference announcing a group's plans to build a full scale replica of Noah's Ark in Kentucky. Rather than take a build an ark and tourists will come approach, the ark will serve as a main attraction in a theme park slated to open in the spring of 2014. The rest of the theme park will be constructed at an estimated cost of $125 million by a Read More …
The Gap Between Saying and Going: A Church Attendance Reality Check (#0208)
How many Americans attend church regularly (two or three times a month or more)? Extensive research suggests that the number who say they do so is between 35 and 45% of the adult population. Interestingly, new research by Phillip S. Brenner suggests that there is a significant gap between what Americans claim about their church attendance and their actual attendance. Philip S. Brenner is a University of Michigan research fellow at the Institute for Social Research. Read More …
What Kind of Parents are a Part of Your Youth Ministry? (#0207)
Recently, Andy Blanks wrote an insightful article for churchleaders.com about the four types of parents present in most youth ministries. He names and explains the four categories of parents in reference to their views on discipleship: Christ-followers Making Christ-followers. These parents understand that the biblical model of discipleship calls for the chief disciplers to be mom and dad. Students are taught the basics of a vibrant faith-life; but not just in words only. Read More …
Most Pastors Don’t Identify Obama as Christian (#0206)
Almost every American with a television or access to the internet has been exposed to stories questioning the sincerity of President Barack Obama's Christian faith. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, those indentifying President Obama as a Christian have declined from 51% in October of 2008 to 34% in August of 2010. During that same time period, those labeling him a Muslim have risen from 12% to 18%. Among those who state that President Obama is a Read More …
Leveraging Facebook – 7 Suggestions for Your Church (#0205)
Roughly half of all American congregations now have a presence on Facebook. While creating a presence is an essential first step, leveraging that presence requires effectively utilizing it and educating those who have affiliated with your page. Randy Vaughn, one of two real life twin brothers who have teamed up to create The Marketing Twins, recently blogged about how churches can effectively utilize Facebook as a part of their social media strategy. He recommends churches Read More …
Review of Cracking Your Church’s Culture Code (#0204)
Samuel R. Chand. Cracking Your Church's Culture Code: Seven Keys to Unleashing Vision and Inspiration. Jossey-Bass: 2011. ISBN: 9780470627815. Meet the Author Samuel R. Chand is an author, conference speaker, and consultant. He has written five books including Cracking Your Church's Culture Code: Seven Keys to Unleashing Vision and Inspiration (2011), Ladder Shifts: New Realities, Rapid Change, Your Destiny (2006), What's Shakin' Your Ladder? 15 Challenges All Leaders Face Read More …
Should Clergy Act More Like Nurses? (#0203)
Gallup has conducted an Honesty and Ethics survey since 1976. The survey has been conducted on an annual basis since 1991. Nurses were added to the list of professions included in the survey in 1999 and have been rated as the most honest and ethical every year since except 2001. Shown below in the form of a bar graph are the results of the 2010 survey: So What? In 2010, clergy ranked 7th among the professions surveyed. Just over half (53%) of all respondents rated the Read More …
Review of Saving Jesus from the Church (#0202)
Robin R. Meyers. Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus. HarperOne: 2009. ISBN: 9780061568213. Meet the Author Since 1985, Robin R. Meyers has served as the Senior Minister of the 750 member Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City, which has been recognized as the fastest growing United Church of Christ congregation in the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference. In addition, he serves as a tenured professor of rhetoric Read More …