Blog Archives

The stress of the movable Sabbath

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

Someone at church once asked me, “When is your day off?” I replied, “Friday.” “Wow.” He said. “I wish I could have Friday’s off. Must be nice.” “Well, I don’t get many Sundays off. That must be nice to have…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, Church, churches, congregation, Facebook, Formation, leadership, ministry, Relationships, Sabbath, Sabbath rest, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, stress', Sunday, worship
Posted in Health & Wholeness, Leadership, Mental Health, Spiritual Formation

Church uses vandalism as social media message

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

What do church leaders usually do when someone vandalizes the side of a church with graffiti? Cover it up, repaint, or remove the vandalism. A church in Randolph, New York was recently vandalized with the words, “Can I still get into heaven…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Church, churches, community, congregation, congregations, Jesus, leadership, social media, social media churches, Spirituality
Posted in Ministry, Religion, Social Issues, Spiritual Formation, Technology & Church

Is giving an offering — as an expression of worship — dying?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by George Bullard — No Comments ↓

With online giving through a congregation’s web site, or texting a contribution, or bank drafts, or offering boxes in a corner of the worship space or narthex, or discouraging visitors from giving an offering at seeker services, or giving through…

Tagged with: Apple, Christian, Church, churches, congregation, Congregatons, financial advisor, generation, generosity, George Bullard, iPhone, offering, Scripture, stewardship, Sunday School, tithe, tithing, Triune God, worship
Posted in Blog Posts, Church Finance, Ministry, Spiritual Formation

My marriage fell apart the day the dog died

Posted on May 22, 2013 by George Bullard — 1 Comment ↓

I am sure you’ve heard the old adage that married life begins again when the last child leaves home and the dog dies. Frequently I also hear people say they moved to a new house without a forwarding address so…

Tagged with: camper, Children, Church, churches, Club Sandwich Generation, congregation, congregations, dog, empty nest, empty nesters, family, George Bullard, grandchildren, household, households, husband, Marriage, parents, Sunday, timeshare, wife
Posted in Blog Posts, Generational Differences, Marriage, Ministry, Parenting

Don’t call your next pastor. Draft your next pastor.

Posted on May 1, 2013 by George Bullard — 2 Comments ↓

The pastor search process might be a whole lot more fun (or funny) if it was run like the National Football League draft. Why go through months—even years—of searching for the right pastor when you just need to be ready…

Tagged with: Church, churches, congregation, congregations, free agent, George Bullard, Methodist, narthex, National Football League, NFL, novel, organ, organist, pastor, pews, pulpit, Seminary, staff, Tim Tebow, United Methodist Church
Posted in Blog Posts, Humor, Leadership, Sports

How to talk to kids about trauma

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

As the country saw the horrific bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon on television, we learned that there were adult and child victims. Television crews and photographers were at the finish of the race and they captured the raw footage. Every news channel…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Boston Marathon, Children, churches, community, leadership, parenting, trauma
Posted in Health & Wholeness, Parenting

Why Pope Francis is good for Christianity

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

As Pope Francis starts his papacy, it is very clear that his leadership will set a very different tone for the Catholic Church. Upon leaving Rome, Pope Francis paid for his own room, rejected lavish apparel, and referred to himself more as…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, Christians, Church, churches, congregation, congregations, dialogue, faith, Jesus Christ, leadership, Pope Francis
Posted in Ecumenical Leaders, Leadership

Since it is not 1965, we have to do church different

Posted on April 10, 2013 by George Bullard — 2 Comments ↓

[This is the second blog post in a series. The first was "Since it is not 1955, we have to do church different" found at http://www.abpnews.com/blog/generational-differences/since-it-is-not-1955-we-have-to-do-church-different-2013-03-28/#.UWVSpsph7s4.] On Sunday night February 9, 1964 the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show…

Tagged with: african-american, anglo-american, asian-american, Baby Bommers, Baby Busters, Beatles, Church, churches, congregation, congregations, denominational, denominations, hispanic-american, John F. Kennedy, multi-generational, multi-racial, North America, Protestantism, sexual revolution, suburbanization, The Ed Sullivan Show
Posted in Blog Posts, Church growth, Generational Differences, Leadership, Ministry

When ‘religious’ isn’t religious

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — 1 Comment ↓

As I started my daily read of newspapers, I was shocked (well, disappointed) to learn that our region was one of the least religious regions in America. A new Gallup poll found that, “Only 26 percent of those surveyed in…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, Church, churches, congregation, faith, missional, Relationships, religion, religious, religious nones, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality
Posted in Religion

Since it is not 1955, we have to do church different

Posted on March 28, 2013 by George Bullard — 1 Comment ↓

One of my favorite expressions by a key mentor in my life, Lyle Schaller, relates to what time it is. During the 1990s Lyle often said, as an example, “Next year is 1995. The trouble is that too many congregations…

Tagged with: 1950s, attendance, Church, churches, congregation, congregations, empty nest, empty nesters, George Bullard, Kennon Callahan, Lyle Schaller, mentor, singles, singles again, target groups, worship, Worship Attendance
Posted in Blog Posts, Generational Differences, Ministry

The best change processes start now and are continual

Posted on March 25, 2013 by George Bullard — No Comments ↓

Some years ago I had the responsibility to lead a team moving a denominational organization of more than 100 staff persons from a 35,000 square foot building to an 80,000 square foot building less than two miles away. It needed…

Tagged with: architect, change, Church, churches, congregation, congregations, continual, denominational, George Bullard, governance, innovative, journey, organization, permission-giving, traditional, transition
Posted in Blog Posts, Leadership, Ministry

The care and feeding of pastors

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Ircel Harrison — No Comments ↓

Our church recently went through a pastoral transition. Thanks to good staff and lay leadership, we weathered that transition well. We added some members and even completed a building program, but the trip was not an easy one. I think…

Tagged with: churches, congregations
Posted in Leadership

The lifetime value of church leaders

Posted on March 14, 2013 by George Bullard — No Comments ↓

Last year our homeowner’s insurance company paid, minus our deductible, for the replacement of our roof. Significant hail damage over a year or two necessitated the replacement of the roof. This year we had a plumbing problem that resulted in…

Tagged with: Church, churches, collaborative, congregation, congregations, control, empower, faithfulness, George Bullard, God, leaders, leadership, lifetime value, oral tradition, power, Prodigal Son, tenure, tithes and offerings
Posted in Blog Posts, Leadership, Ministry

If you can say it to Jesus, you can say it to anyone

Posted on February 26, 2013 by George Bullard — No Comments ↓

One of my mentors in the area of conflict mediation was Bill Treadwell. I loved that guy. I miss him. He had so much wisdom about how to deal with people in congregations. He was as much right-brained as I…

Tagged with: antagonist, Bill Treadwell, Church, churches, conflict, conflict mediation, congregation, congregations, George Bullard, Jesus, Larry McSwain, leadership, mediation, mentor, mentors, pastor, senior pastor, solo pastor, triage, Triune God
Posted in Blog Posts, Leadership, Ministry