Blog Archives

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

Who decides if you are a Christian?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — No Comments ↓

Recently I was a guest on HuffPost Live with Rev. Paul Raushenbush, HuffPost Senior Religion Editor and two other authors. (You can watch the segment here. I come in around 19:00) We discussed the coming out of NBA player Jason Collins and the conversation turned to…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Christianity, congregation, dialogue, faith, Jason Collins, Jesus, spiritual formation
Posted in Religious News Voices

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

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

Underestimating staff burnout

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Alan Rudnick — 1 Comment ↓

You don’t think your staff are stretched thin? Don’t think you are above burning out? Have you checked the health of your organizational staff? Perhaps you underestimate the power of staff burnout in your congregation or organization. It’s real and…

Tagged with: Alan Rudnick, Church Leadership, congregation, congregations, leadership, senior pastor, spiritual formation, Spiritual Practice, staff leadership
Posted in 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

Naked church

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Julie Pennington-Russell — No Comments ↓

Dear Church: if you bring good news to your community you won’t need to inform your neighbors. They already know. If you don’t—well, chances are everybody knows but you. Let’s get down to it: a church is either welcome relief…

Tagged with: Baptist, Christianity, Church, community, congregation, God, Jesus, social media
Posted in Blog Posts, Humor, Leadership, Ministry, Technology & Church

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