Leadership

Reflecting on the Olympics Opening Ceremony

As I watched the recent Olympics opening ceremony, I couldn’t helpbut feel frustrated. The Olympics proposes to be a celebration ofhuman achievement, and the coming together of nations forpeaceful, mutually respectful competition. As such it stands as one ofthe noblest events in our war torn and tumultuous world. However,this year, a particular segment of the […]

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Leadership | Stewardship

Trading Spaces

It has long been my contention that one of the easiest “wins” a parish can achieve comes in cleaning up public spaces, such as lobbies, nurseries, and the sanctuary. Clutter and dirt are the secret enemies of the church (link), diminishing the experience of your facility for parishioners and discouraging newcomers from engagement. There are […]

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Leadership

Simplify Your Schedule

When I arrived at my parish, the expectation was that the pastor does everything, from unlocking the front doors on Sunday mornings to changing the toilet paper in the men’s room (I’m not sure who took care of the ladies’ room). Furthermore, my presence was absolutely expected and, in fact, demanded absolutely everything that happened […]

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Discipleship | Leadership

Who’s Stealing the Joy at Your Parish?

For our first message series of the new year, we’ve been looking at “thieves” of joy: things that threaten to steal our joy: things like worry, disappointment, fear, anger, rejection, and all the rest. The purpose of the series is to name those thieves and then identify strategies that will protect us and help us […]

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Leadership

From Reactivity to Leadership (Despite COVID)

COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on the finances, operations, and sacramental life of churches throughout the world. But one disruption that has not been widely discussed is the disruption to our sense of time. Early on, all we could do was react to ever-changing guidelines and the uncertainty has only continued. Almost all of […]

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Leadership | Vision

Where Do We Start?

We can all warmly welcome 2021, even as we agree we are happy to see 2020 go. For all of us, each in our own way, it was a difficult year. We had the rapid shut down of our lives, constantly unsure of what else would be taken away, daily navigating work and school, family […]

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Communication | Leadership

United in Vision

This year’s election has felt increasingly like a contest not so much of two politicians or parties but of competing visions for the future of the country. In each case, the other side is represented as an existential threat, a radical departure from life as we know it, and a sure step towards a bleak […]

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