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Nobody likes scutwork, the unwanted dregs of the working day. Pastors are no exception to this, often dreading the endless e-mails and phone calls, having no heart for putting together one more bulletin or attending one more meeting, all of which feels like so much distraction from the "true" pastoral work to which they have been called. Louis Weeks challenges that paradigm and lifts up scutwork as an integral part of pastoral care and leadership. How can we administer congregations in ways most likely to increase the measure of pastoral care? How can our service, in menial and glorious work alike, build up the Body of Christ? How can all the work and worship in this congregation help God's work in the world? Preparation, organization, and other administrative duties are crucial for effective programs and mission in a congregation as elsewhere in society. Preaching, teaching, and pastoral care--three indispensable parts of congregational life--all depend upon competent congregational administration. It is through focused attention to the details of scutwork that pastors are able to build solid relationships within the congregation, and without the trust that comes from these relationships, no true pastoral care and leadership is possible. All for God's Glory explores ways in which churches are engaged and can engage in practices of administration that deepen care and build a healthy congregational community.

Helping a community of faith 're-vision' its personal and collective narratives is one of the greatest leadership challenges of the age. In Finding Our Story, Larry Golemon, lead researcher of the Alban Institute's Narrative Leadership in Ministry project, has assembled essays by congregational consultants who use the power of story to help congregations heal, strengthen, and reinvent themselves. These consultants describe how narrative therapy works, explore its promise and its challenges, and share the practical wisdom of their own experiences along with their favorite models of narrative change to show how congregations can be transformed by reauthoring the operative stories they live by

For Lutheran pastor John Berntsen, the cross is about more than the crucifixion on Good Friday. It is shorthand for the whole drama of salvation--God's decisive act of reconciling the world to God's own self. The cross is dying and rising with Christ, but at a deeper level it is the story of the world's resistance to grace. Those who lead are subject to the cross no less than others. In contrast with the current fashion for "visionary" or "purpose-driven" leaders, cross-shaped leaders are not primarily the providers of master plans, nor are they master builders. Cross-shaped leadership is provisional, contextual, and fallible--open-ended ministry that has the character of a pilot project. It is always under construction and revision. Our moment-by-moment functioning in ministry is subject to countless deaths and resurrections, few of which are heroic or glorious. But Berntsen offers good news within this potentially dismal perspective. He writes, "Once we've accepted the truth that ministry is hard, even impossible--once we've stopped living in denial of this reality, or perhaps whining about it--it becomes the truth that sets us free. We cease being gloomy servants, weighed down by our resentful conviction that we are all alone in our work--the closet atheism born of the worry, 'If I don t do it, nobody will'--and instead become joyful coworkers of a strong, wise, and consoling Lord." With optimism, humor, and deep empathy, Berntsen's Cross-Shaped Leadership offers hope and challenge in the midst of the rough and tumble of parish practice.

No pastor can lead a congregation to renewal alone. it requires a complete change of heart for the whole congregation. Congregational renewal occurs when people engage communally in a transition in their very understanding of the nature and purpose of their church. This goes far beyond a simple retooling of the mission statement or addition of a few programs. Authors Mary Sellon and Daniel Smith lead congregations through this process of renewal, breaking down into understandable components what is happening in the people themselves that makes renewal efforts successful. Pathway to Renewal offers pastors and congregational leaders a framework for understanding and addressing the deep cultural shift facing the people of a congregation during congregational renewal. This book will help leaders make sense of where their congregation could get stuck and guide them in thinking through what needs to be addressed next as a congregation seeks renewal. The realigning of a congregation's heart and sense of purpose can be a long process, but one that ultimately all congregations must experience in order to fully live out the world-transforming mission that God has given them to do.

Called for Life reflects on our calling to serve God and neighbor in the context of retirement. People facing retirement ask a variety of questions, each framed by a different perspective. "Will I ever be interested in retiring?" some baby boomers ask. "Who am I now?" newly retired clergy ask. "What, if anything, is God calling me to do and be after retirement?" all inquire. This book is built on the assumption that most people don't want to spend the last third of their lives doing nothing. What they want is a life that is worth living, an occupation that will help others, and a retirement in which they can continue to exercise their calling. Clayton uses examples from his own experience and from others, laity and clergy, to explore retirement and the three components of our calling: our identity, our gifts, and our occupation. He also examines the role of community in our calling and retirement, the challenges of the transition into retirement, options for meaningful activity, the importance of identifying our purpose, doing and being in retirement, and the final call to death. Readers will be encouraged to see retirement as an opportunity to do what they have always wanted to do and to become the kind of person they have wanted to be.

Congregations today face a multitude of challenges in trying to adapt to a quickly changing world. Balancing new concerns with core values is a complicated process that can leave too many members feeling that their voices and needs are not being met. Loren B. Mead and Billie T. Alban have developed Creating the Future Together to share their knowledge of how congregations can use large group methods to navigate these new waters. Large group methods involve getting all the stakeholders together to work on major issues of common concern. Mead and Alban outline four such methods--two for identifying a preferred future and two designed to create community and discover common interest. This book is not meant to be a how-to volume; its primary purpose is to familiarize leaders with these whole-system approaches and to provide a conceptual framework for evaluating their potential usefulness against any given challenge. The authors also share stories from a variety of Christian and Jewish faith communities where ordinary religious leaders, lay and clergy together, have faced issues related to change using large group methods. Combining their wealth of experience in leading religious and secular bodies through times of change, Mead and Alban bring hope to faith communities as they work to embrace, and even thrive through, the need for change.

Known as "the internship guy" at Dallas Theological Seminary where he teaches, George Hillman talks daily with students about God's movement in their lives. The goal of Ministry Greenhouse is to help seminary and Bible college students, their supervisors, and the lay leaders who work with them create the best environment for leadership development through a beneficial internship. An internship is not busy work or cheap labor but is instead fundamental to the development of a leader. Hillman first makes a case for internships, arguing that the purpose of the seminary or Bible college is to train both theologians and practitioners. He explores the meaning of "call," identifies the ingredients of a successful internship, discusses strategies for establishing goals for an internship, and offers guidance for reflecting on learning during an internship. Hillman also provides tools for identifying competencies and sample goals. A great internship experience places a student in an environment where God can work through him or her in the lives of other people an din the student's own life to develop calling, character, and competencies. Ministry Greenhouse shows students, their supervisors, and the congregations and other organizations they serve how they can create just such an environment.

Today the Christian faith is moving through one of the greatest sea changes in its two thousand year history, and we can no longer assume we know exactly what kind of animal preaching is or ought to be. Choosing the Kingdom is both a work of theology and a how-to guide for preachers who want to rethink both the form and the content of their preaching to move a congregation from maintenance to mission. As a post-Christendom church reorients itself toward the mission of God, what might preaching look like? If we're truly living through one of the great sea changes in the history of the Christian faith, can preaching remain the same? Do we speak as bureaucrats in an imperial hierarchy, anticipating automatic acceptance of our message, or as servants of the reign of God, bringing news of God's activity in history as fresh as today's headlines? Is the announcement of the gospel a demand for submission or an invitation to wisdom? Choosing the Kingdom explores these issues and offers an entirely new orientation to sermon preparation. It offers concrete suggestions for a reconception of preaching for those whose imaginations have already been captured by the possibilities inherent in a missional identity.

Many congregations today experience collisions between parents who ant to spend time with their children and age-segregated church programming, as well as between the children worshiping in their pews and the increasing number of seniors in the same pew. Among the questions these congregations struggle to address are these: Should we try to hold the generations together when we worship/ Is it even possible? Led by pastor and resource developer Howard Vanderwell, nine writers--pastors, teachers, worship planners, and others serving in specialized ministries--offer their reflections on issues congregational leaders need to address as they design their worship ministry. In addition, numerous sidebars illustrate the diversity of practices in the church today. Contributors do not propose easy answers or instant solutions. Rather, they guide readers as they craft ministries and practices that fit their own community, heritage, and history. Each chapter includes questions for reflection and group discussion, and an appendix provides guidelines for small group use. The thread that connects these varied contributions is the belief that there is no greater privilege for Christians than worshiping God, and there is no better way to do that than as an intergenerational community in which all are important and all encourage and nurture the faith of the others.

No pastor sets out to fail, but statistics say 15 to 20 percent of pastors leave pastoral ministry within the first five years. One seminary administrator said that every person he had heard of leaving the ministry had done so because of a relationship failure. We cannot escape relationships in ministry, yet few seminaries offer courses in how to build healthy relationships. The assumption is that the type of person who is called to ministry will have all the "people skills" they need, which sadly is not always true. n Blessed Connections, seminary professor Judith Schwanz focuses on the person of the minister and the relational system of the minister's life. She spotlights three areas of connection--relationship with self, relationships with other people, and relationship with God. Attending to these three primary connections will strengthen the pastor and cushion her or him against the pressures and stresses of daily ministry. Blessed Connections is ideal for seminary students and new pastors and includes "Assessment Journal" questions at the end of each chapter for personal application.

One of the signs of a vital congregation is its leadership. Prospective leaders and members may look at our building, programs, and brochures, but they will also take the measure of our leadership. Do our leaders seem to take joy in Jewish living? Does Judaism make our leaders' board governance something special-something of which prospective leaders and members want to be a part? This workbook is an attempt to build board consensus about critical governance functions and to create a systematic plan to motivate and support leaders in developing new practices. By focusing on shared congregational goals, leaders will provide the right direction, make the right assignments, and provide the right feedback-building enduring relationships as they do this important leadership work.

Most congregations today exist in what George Thompson calls the "middle of anywhere." They live comfortably with their surrounding culture, focusing their energies on serving the needs of their current members. These congregations have many strengths and gifts that they can exercise without changing a thing. But Thompson envisions a deeper, more prophetic call for congregations to explore the meaning of being in the world but not of it--a church on the "edge of somewhere." Thompson sees a church that is deeply engaged in ministering to the community while calling on others to commit to doing the same. By analyzing the interaction between a congregation's focus of identity and their stance with the world, Thompson has created a helpful grid for congregations to place themselves on today's cultural map. A congregation that sees itself as existing on the margins of society will look different than one that sees itself as embedded in society. A congregation that hears a call to serve the surrounding community will look different from one that focuses on its internal needs. Knowing where they stand now is the key for congregations to discover where they must go in the future to fully live out their call to be God's people in the world.

Carol Howard Merritt, a pastor in her mid-thirties, suggests a different way for churches to be able to approach young adults on their own terms. Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ. Carol Howard Merritt, a pastor in her mid-thirties, suggests a different way for churches to be able to approach young adults on their own terms. Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ. Using the metaphor of a tribe to describe the close bonds that form when people of all ages decide to walk together on their spiritual journeys, Merritt casts a vision of the church that embraces the gifts of all members while reaching out to those who might otherwise feel unwelcome or unneeded. Mainline churches have much to offer young adults, as well as much to learn from them. By breaking down artificial age barriers and building up intentional relationships, congregations can provide a space for all people to connect with God, each other, and the world.

Like many clergy, Marcia Barnes Bailey began her work as an ordained leader with a vision of the pastor as leader extraordinaire, empowered by education, authority, position, and resources. She soon found herself thinking: "There has to be another way." In this book, Bailey invites pastors and congregations to a new understanding of ministry, leadership, and the church that challenges hierarchy by fully sharing responsibilities, risks, and rewards in mutual ministry. This model took shape over 10 years as Bailey, pastoral colleague Marcus Pomeroy, and the congregation they served began writing their own definition of partnership--creating their own map, trusting their own instincts, making their own mistakes. For Bailey, this kind of partnership began when she discovered the courage to listen to herself and to the Spirit for the inklings of another way--to incarnate Jesus's example, a ministry that was widely inclusive, delegated power, shared authority, and thrived with the multiplication of gifts. Partnership invites us on a journey that can transform us as leaders, as human beings, and as the church. It is challenging and exciting, and it requires hard work. It is also energizing, engaging, and empowering. Partnership unleashes the Spirit to create a new vision and reality among us, moving us one step closer to living into God's reign.

Ministry leaders possess the compassion, creativity, and knowledge about community needs that grant funders appreciate. Yet ministry groups are often less experienced than other types of nonprofit organizations in discerning which funding to seek, understanding how to build relationships with funders, and putting together proposals. This book offers a pathway to strengthening new and existing ministries. Joy Skjegstad is an experienced grant-proposal writer who has successfully raised money for a variety of nonprofits over the past 20 years, including a number of ministry organizations. She shows how fundraising can be an integral part of ministry--forcing us into deeper conversation with God, expanding our relationships with others, and building both our faith and our discipline. Providing detailed guidance on the practical aspects of seeking grants from foundation and corporate funders, Skjegstad describes approaches for researching potential funders, developing a case statement, putting together an effective grant proposal, and following up with grant makers. She explains the types of grants available and how to determine which are a good fit with your ministry. For faith-based ministries, faith is the groundwork for fundraising--the most important thing to consider while developing fundraising values and strategies. Skjegstad helps faith communities identify their own cultural beliefs, follow spiritual disciplines, and cultivate generous hearts as they work toward integrating their faith and their fundraising.

Worship is the work of the people of God. Patterns of worship shape how we pray and how we live. Despite its centrality to church life, worship is too often taken for granted as something a congregation experiences rather than collectively creates. The Work of the People simply and clearly explains the structure of worship, the actions and words we use in liturgy, the environment in which it all happens--in other words, what we are doing and why. This book will guide congregations in worshiping in a way that encourages participants' spiritual growth, welcomes new participants into faith, and sends people out as the body of Christ to transform the world. Respectful of local custom and the traditions and practices of the Church as a whole, The Work of the People will help worship leaders make the best use of their congregation's resources and clarify their choices about how they will worship together. Built around a basic service--gathering, service of the Word, Eucharist, and sending--this book is both theological and practical, and encourages all worshipers' active participation in Spirit-led worship of the God of all Creation.

There comes a point at which leaderhsip can break down precisely because of our success as leaders. When confidence turns to pride and arrogance, we lose sight of the people that we have been called to serve and become consumed with following our own vision. Graham Standish offers a way forward that moves us through this paradox by seeking to humbly follow God's plans rather than our own. Humble leadership, grounded in the teachings of Jesus, means recognizing that what we have and who we are is a gift from God, and our lives should reflect our gratitude for this gift. It requires us to be radically and creatively open to God's guidance, grace, and presence in everything. When we lead out of such openness, God's power and grace flow through us. The path Standish proposes is not easy. Humble leadership can be personally dangerous, exposing our weakness, powerlessness, fear, and anxiety. Our cultural need for strength infects Christian leaders with a pride that causes them to ignore biblical teachings on humility. But a humble leader says to God, "I'm yours, no matter where you call me to go, what you call me to do, and how you call me to be. I will seek your will and way as I lead others to do the same."

Taking up synagogues as its primary example, this book gives vital lessons for congregations of any faith on how to be a healthy community of believers. The House We Build enables readers to learn more deeply about creating and sustaining communities of faith in the course of inevitable transitions and everyday challenges.

In this sequel to How Your Church Family Works, Peter Steinke takes readers into a deeper exploration of the congregation as an emotional system. He outlines the factors that put congregations at risk for anxiety and conflict. Learn ten principles of health, how congregations can adopt new ways of dealing with stress and anxiety, as well as how spiritually and emotionally healthy leaders influence the emotional system. Featuring a new preface and a fresh redesign, this book is a classic work by one of the most respected names in congregational consulting.

Anxious times call for steady leadership. When tensions emerge in a congregation, its leaders cannot be as anxious as the people they serve. To remain effective, congregational leaders must control their own uneasiness. With this book, internationally respected consultant Peter Steinke goes deeper into the requirements of effective congregational leadership.

When congregations go through difficult times, worship will both reflect and influence those difficulties. The practice of worship itself can be a key part of the congregation's healing process. Teacher and consultant Kathleen Smith successfully demonstrates this truth in Stilling the Storm, a book for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the ways that worship intertwines with the life and health of a congregations. There are three main types of difficulty congregations can face: times of crisis, transition, and conflict. Smith considers their differences, similarities, and implications for worship, and explains the congregational dynamics that accompany such times and the roles that leaders play. She reviews basic principles of worship and the ways that unique moments and regular habits of worship shape the congregation. For each type of difficulty she suggests important themes for congregations and their worship planners. Smith explores the wide range of liturgical resources available for congregations going through difficult times and how those resources can best be shaped to fit the specific situation they are experiencing. A perceptive guide to the worship we offer to God in all times and situation, Stilling the Storm is an important resource for all congregations of all worship traditions.

While worship is the primary purpose of all churches, worship in the small church is distinctive. Whether a house church, a new church plant, a rural church along a country road, or a city church whose neighborhood demographics have shifted, these small faith communities present unique opportunities and challenges for worship leaders. Peter Bush and Christine O'Reilly draw on their passion and experience equipping lay people to plan and lead worship to answer the question, what makes for effective worship

For congregations seeking renewed purpose and vitality this book gets to the heart of the matter. One of the leading voices on congregational life and leadership, Anthony Robinson makes the case that congregations should openly express their beliefs and values to clarify their purpose. Doing so opens up new avenues for transforming worship, promoting spiritual formation, and forwarding a church's mission. The wisdom invested in this book is powerful enough to shape a ministry and lead a congregation to its call.

Many church leaders feel-at least on some level-that virtually all the old answers about what it means to be and do church don't work anymore. Author Jeffrey D. Jones believes that if the old answers don't work any more it is because the world in which they had worked is no more. A new world has dawned and new answers are urgently needed.In Traveling Together, Jeff Jones takes his readers on a journey, providing a guidebook that maps out: * The factors facing congregations in this post-modern, post-Christian world * What it means to be a disciple * Biblical foundations for understanding the purpose of the church-to become a disciple-forming community * Key experiences that contribute to the growth of disciples * Eight important qualities of a disciple-forming congregationRather than bemoaning the state of the church in the world today, Jones says we need to be open to the possibility that the struggles of these times are God's way of calling the church to be what it is supposed to be-to do what it is supposed to do in this new world.Traveling Together is a travel guide for a journey with a sacred purpose-discerning God's call, both as individuals and as the church. The destination will look different for different congregations, but Jones provides the tools to help pastors and other leaders embark on their own unique quest to respond to God's call.Anyone concerned for the life and ministry of the church, who has a sense that things are not what they might be, and who is seeking a new understanding of congregational life and mission will find hope and help in these pages. With the heart of a pastor, Jeff Jones shows congregational leaders how to embrace the best parts of their church's rich heritage and reclaim it for a new day.

Lillian Daniel shares how her congregation re-appropriated the practice of testimony one Lenten season, a practice that would eventually revitalize their worship and transform their congregational culture.

In our postmodern, experience-oriented culture, people are longing for greater authenticity, integrity, and depth in their pastors and leaders. Board directors, church members, and staff alike are all eagerly seeking leaders who effectively integrate their spirituality and leadership. Pastors and executives, however, often struggle with knowing how to integrate their spiritual values and practices into their leadership and management roles. Designed for pastors, executives, administrators, managers, coordinators, and all who see themselves as leaders and who want to fulfill their God-given purpose, The Spirit-Led Leader addresses the critical fusion of spiritual life and leadership for those who not only want to see results, but who also desire to care just as deeply about who they are and how they lead as they do about what they produce and accomplish. Geoffrion creates a new vision for spiritual leadership as partly an art, partly a result of careful planning, and always a working of the grace of God

So You're on the Search Committee focuses on the experience of pastoral search committees and the unique role that laity in most denominations play in this crucial process. Because a change of pastors is, as Alban Institute founder Loren Mead puts it, a "critical moment of ministry," participation as a member of a search committee is a big investment with tremendous rewards, both for the congregation as well as for the individual. Authors Ketcham and Hahn find that the pastoral search process presents both search committee members and the congregation as a whole with limitless opportunities for growth and faith development. They offer insightful reflections on the deeper issues of congregational identity and transformation that search committees will find themselves wrestling with, as well as raise warnings about some of the obstacles committee members can expect to encounter in the search process. So You're on the Search Committee began as a conversation between Celia Allison Hahn, former editor-in-chief at the Alban Institute, and Bunty Ketcham, a consultant with considerable experience serving on search committees. First published in 1985, this new edition retains the original book's interview format and includes significant updates and revisions based on new learnings and experiences with congregations going through pastoral transition.

In this profound yet practical book, Mary Sellon and Daniel Smith make the case that the health of churches and synagogues depends on congregations learning how to live out love in "right relationships." The authors distill what they have learned from other researchers as well as their work with dozens of pastors and congregations. This how-to lays out theory, story, tools, and exercises that will help congregations and their leaders learn how to build and maintain the loving relationships that provide the medium for God's transforming work

Twenty years after Critical Moment of Ministry was first published, Loren Mead returns to his groundbreaking work on one of the most important times in a congregation's life-the time between one pastor's leaving and another's arrival. In this revised edition, A Change of Pastors, Mead shares the wisdom he gained from 35 years of studying congregations, wisdom that he hopes will allow congregations to take full advantage of this "extraordinarily pregnant moment" during which incredible congregational change can happen.