Some social commentators have derided the downfall of commitment in our society, especially among young people. They point to lower rates of marriage (and higher rates of divorce) along with other social tendencies. In our fast-paced, ever-changing culture, remembering the value of commitment is increasingly important. We’re in the fifth week of a series of […]
Category: Vision
Over the past few weeks we have been using this space to reflect on the values we rely on in serving our mission as a parish. This week “Excellence.” Excellence in the church can be hard to define. Some parishioners measure the excellence of a homily by its length (the shorter the better). Still others […]
We are using this space these days to reflect on the values that we rely on in serving our mission as a parish. This week: “growth oriented.” Check out previous posts in this series: simple and adaptable. Automatic Growth vs Intentional Growth Growing churches come in basically two types. There are churches that are well […]
Change is inevitable, even in the Church. Technology moves at cyber speed, families are on the move more than ever before, and the culture around us seems to be more unrecognizable every day. In the face of all this challenging change, it is especially important to be grounded in deliberate values. That’s why we are […]
We’re not that smart. We don’t know what to do in every situation and we definitely don’t have all the answers. That’s why, at Nativity, we try to make things as simple as possible, relying on some core values that shape our culture, determine our decisions, and guide our steps. Every organization operates on some […]
Probably most churches experience a high tide of church attendance this time of year, with Lent and Easter. We definitely do. But this year we have taken advantage of this special season to really challenge parishioners to invest and invite their unchurched friends to join us. And it seems to be working, currently our weekend […]
We are in the third week of our Lenten message series asking the basic question “Why?” “Why am I doing this?” “What am I here for?” Sometimes it can happen at a party when we don’t know many people or feel out of place, especially if you are an introvert like me. Or we step […]
We spent some time this week reflecting on our staff culture. Culture, as we write in Rebuilt, is the potent brew of what an organization believes, what it does, and how it operates. It encompasses traditions, values, norms, behaviors. Author and management consultant, Peter Drucker, writes simply: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” It affects everything. […]
Painting a clear and compelling vision is key to any renewal. If you get your vision right, you will empower and equip your advocates, educate your bystanders and disarm your critics. Vision helps you start, maintain and continuously expand the growth of your parish. It helps you overcome supposedly insurmountable obstacles and will get you […]
In any field of leadership, people will second-guess and criticize you. Criticism is just part of leadership and according to Aristotle, the only way to avoid criticism is “say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” So, while you cannot avoid criticism, you can minimize it by leading thoughtfully and even use it to your own benefit. […]
