All this week we have been in Denver for the first ever Amazing Parish Conference, and it was, well, amazing. The brain child of several Catholic lay leaders including, most notably, best selling author and business consultant Patrick Lencioni, the basic idea was to bring together parishes from across the country to share ideas and […]
Greetings from Sydney Australia. Tom Corcoran and I have been here all week at the invitation of the Australian Bishop’s Conference. Sydney is a big city. But also beautiful, clean, safe, and friendly. There is, as far as I can see, nothing not to like here. Did I mention that it’s beautiful, clean, safe, and […]
I’ve mentioned before that there was a Protestant Church here in our community (our very vibrant community) that recently closed. The congregation got too small to sustain the place and they agreed to close up shop and put the place up for sale. The thing about this particular church is that it sits on one […]
Everybody is already saying, where did the summer go? We get to August and it seems like fall is staring us in the face. It sure feels that way around here. Anyway, this seems like a good opportunity to bring my faithful readers up to date on what is going on around Nativity and also […]
If you are leading a church, or anything really, it is a good idea to reflect on the characteristics you want to cultivate as a leader. Here are some I am thinking about currently, in no particular order. #1 Authenticity Good, bad, right, wrong, successful or otherwise, whatever kind of leader you are going […]
If you are a church leader probably you have given thought to your mission and vision, perhaps a lot of thought. And that’s great, you should. Perhaps you’ve even gone ahead and given flesh to those bones with specific strategies and goals to fulfill your mission and vision. But there’s another piece that still needs […]
A leader is anyone who has followers. As any kind of church minister or volunteer minister you are a leader. The question is, are you a leader worth following? Do people actually want to follow you and go where you are going, under your leadership and direction? Here are three questions to ask yourself: #1 […]
This week we were at the beautiful University of Notre Dame to speak to a gathering there, including church leaders from every part of the country. We began our presentation the way we always begin: with a qualifier. We claim only to know what works when it comes to growing a healthy church in Timonium, […]
I came across an interesting fact in Seth Godwin’s book, Poke The Box. In the Pike Place Market in Seattle, you can still find the first Starbucks. But, apparently if you were to visit there you might be surprised that it does not really match your neighborhood Starbucks. It’s different: different logo, different lay out, […]
When you are leading an organization, a parish, a project, whatever, it is easy to be insecure. It is difficult to lead people from one place to another, speak publicly, be responsible for something and not have second thoughts about what you are doing or deciding. It is really difficult to hear criticism, or suspect […]
