Book: The Intergenerational Church: Understanding Congregations from WWII to www.com

In The Intergenerational Church, Peter Menconi shows you why understanding today's generations is crucial for the survival and thrival of the local church. But understanding the generations is not enough. 

In this book you will learn how to: - Minimize generational tension. - Get all the generations moving in the same direction. - Develop leaders from all generations. - Deliver intergenerational preaching. - Cultivate intergenerational worship and community. - Stimulate intergenerational mission and outreach.

Main sections
Intergenerational Realities
Understanding today's generations
Toward an intergenerational church

Book: The Gospel Driven Church

Many evangelical churches face the problem of the open "back door"--even as new people arrive, older members are leaving, looking for something else. Combined with this problem is the discipleship deficit, the difficult truth that most evangelicals are not reaching the unchurched at the rates they think they are. In fact, many of the metrics that we often "count" in the church to highlight success really don't tell us the full story of a church's spiritual state. Things like attendance, decisions, dollars, and experiences can tell us something about a church, but not everything.

To cultivate a spiritually healthy church we need a shift in our metrics--a "grace-shift" that prioritizes the work of God in the lives of people over numbers and dollars. 
Are people growing in their esteem for Jesus? 
Is there a dogged devotion to the Bible as the ultimate authority for life? 
Is there a growing interest in theology and doctrine? 
A discernible spirit of repentance? 
And perhaps most importantly, is there evident love for God and for our neighbours in the congregation?

Leading a church culture to shift from numerical success to the metrics of grace can be costly, but leaders who have conviction, courage, and commitment can lead while avoiding some of the landmines that often destroy churches. Wilson includes diagnostic questions that will help leaders measure--and lead team transparency in measuring as a group--the relative spiritual health of their church, as well as a practical prescriptive plan for implementing this metric-measuring strategy without becoming legalistic.

Most attractional church models can lean heavily on making changes to the weekend worship gatherings. And while some of these changes can be good, thriving grace-focused churches are driven by a commitment to the gospel, allowing the gospel to inform and shape the worship service and the various ministries of the church.

Contents
Chapter 1: The Dilemma
Chapter 2: The Metrics That Don’t Tell Us Everything
Chapter 3: The 5 Metrics That Keep Us On Mission
i. A growing esteem for Jesus.
ii. A dogged devotion to the Bible.
iii. An interest in theology and doctrine.
iv. A discernible spirit of repentance 
v. An evident love for God and neighbour
Chapter 4: Putting the Gospel in the Driver’s Seat
Chapter 5: Steering from the Stage
Chapter 6: Building Your Service Around Beholding
Chapter 7:  Press the Gospel reset of the church community
Chapter 8:  Moving toward mission
Chapter 9:  The three things you will need
Chapter 10:  Leading change in a graceful way

Resources: Caring for your pastor

Pastoral for many pastors is challenging, what helps pastors cope with these challenges, live healthy lives (physically and mentally) is when they are cared for.  Following are some resources to help congregations and fellow Christians care for their pastors.    If you are aware of any others please add them to the comments.  

Biblical Study

Textual Study on caring for Pastors 

Articles 

Article:  The cost of not caring for your pastor (includes suggestions on how to care for your pastor)
Article:  How to care for your pastor
Article:  Gospel Coalition - 7 ways to care for your pastor 
Article: Support and care for the pastor - a critical role of the board
Article;  50 ways to love your pastor

Blog - Pastoral Meanderings - who cares for the Pastor?

Handout:  Who cares for the Pastor?

Books

Free pdf Book - Who cares for the Pastor?

Videos

E Book: What happened to our churches? - Regaining Spiritual energy

“What Happened to Our Churches?” is a free eBook from David S. Luecke.

What happened to our churches is a Collection of 52 blogs About Regaining Spiritual Energy.

The Apostle Paul was an organizational genius and a world-class entrepreneur. He was also a high-level analyst who could spot what wasn’t working in churches he oversaw and figure out what to do about it. His letters to churches were his report along with an explanation for God’s empowering presence that would bring the intended results.

How would the Apostle Paul assess what is happening with the current steep decline of mainline Protestant churches in America, after serving so well and faithfully for centuries?

With a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, Dr. David Luecke fills the role of Analyst in his latest book release. This collection of blogs is Dr. Luecke’s analysis of what’s happening in mainline churches that are in steep decline. They are losing their spiritual energy and the only way to regain it is to take the Holy Spirit’s empowering presence more seriously in church life and ministries.

Contents
Chapter 1: Six Perspectives on Regaining Spiritual Energy
Chapter 2: Motivated by the Spirit
Chapter 3: Recognizing the Spirit
Chapter 4: Discipled by the Spirit
Chapter 5: Waiting on the Spirit
Chapter 6: Culturally Shaped Experiences of the Spirit
Chapter 7: Organizing the Spirit’s Fellowships

About the Dr Luecke
There was a time in Dr. Luecke’s professional career when he had the title “Analyst.” His Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior was great preparation for a consultant as well as a professor. For six years, Dr. Luecke taught the M.B.A. Organizational Behavior course at Washington University in St. Louis. For ten years he taught the Doctor of Ministry course on Church Management at Fuller Seminary, where he was an administrator and associate professor. He also taught Strategic Management as a professor at Valparaiso University.
These 52 blogs address what Dr. Luecke sees has gone wrong with traditional mainline churches that, fifty years ago, were healthy but are now in steep decline. Luecke thinks Lutheran, as well as Presbyterian, Reformed, Episcopalian, Methodist, and United Church of Christ churches, have lost their basic spiritual energy. The only way to regain it back is to pay much more attention to who the Holy Spirit is and how he works today — that is, to recover the emphasis in Paul’s theology that Dr. Luecke gained from Gordon Fee’s detailed exegetical study God’s Empowering Presence (1994).
In 1990, Dr. Luecke received a call to plant a new Lutheran church in a suburb of his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. He saw it as a great opportunity to practice what he had been teaching. That church just moved into its large new sanctuary in a choice location in Broadview Heights. From their, Dr. Luecke moved on to become the Administrative Pastor at Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church in the neighboring suburb of North Royalton, where he still serves as a semi-retired Missions Pastor. Dr. Luecke was ordained 50 years ago and has a multitude of experience with what works and what doesn’t in congregations.

You can download the book here

Time Management Resources for Pastors and Ministry workers

For many ministry contexts there is more than enough to do, there are competing demands and frequently we hear about pastors and ministry workers feeling burnt out.    Whilst there are many reasons for the above, one tool that can assist in dealing with the negative aspects of the above is time management.   Giving some attention to time management is good pastoral care and stewardship for our ministry.

The following resources we pray helps you in developing your time management for your ministry context:

Bible References to Time Management
7 important verses - Patheos
Knowing Jesus
Open Bible 
Bible Reasons

Articles
14 tips for managing your time - Thomas Rainer
Secrets for managing your time wisely - CT Pastor
Time Management for Busy Pastors - Nelson Searcy
6 ways pastors can use their time well - Gospel Coalition
7 Biblical keys for God Time Management for visitors  PastoralCare inc
What effective pastors do with their time - Lifeway
9 Time Management tips for Pastors - CPH
A time for everything - Christian Leadership
What the bible says about time management

Videos



Books

LutheranMedia Booklet - A matter of time

Courses
Grassroots training - Ministry Toolkit
Priority Management 
Franklin Covey 
Liberty University free itunes course
Accredited Online Training short course
Professional development training

Book: Penguins in the pews

We are living in an age of the dechurched, people who have walked away from the church but not from faith.  In Penguins in the Pews, J. Russell Crabtree examines why. 
In his reflection on the responses of nearly 200,000 persons to a variety of questions, he addresses a number of topics including:
• Why is the distinction between quality and quantity both false and unhelpful? 
• What makes the difference between a church that is growing and one that isn't? 
• Why does a church growth "program" seem to work in some churches but not in others?
• What kind of church climate do people need to experience to both join and stay with it over the long term? 
• What is church culture and how does it aid or inhibit church growth? 
• When does a church need to stop focusing on surviving and shift to leaving a legacy for their community?

Book: The Kingdom matrix

This book questions how the church properly fits into the larger picture of God's activity.
It is based upon three solidly biblical yet highly controversial assumptions:
1) At any given moment, I am either building the Kingdom of God or the dominion of Darkness. Period.
2) It is possible to participate in church expansion and unintentionally be an agent for shrinking the Kingdom of God.
3) It is possible to unknowingly value the Kingdom of God before acknowledging the value of its Source: the King.

The Kingdom Matrix contais four worldview quadrants that describe the values and preferences of four unique segments of our world

Self Seekers
Brand Expanders
Kingdom Seekers
Kingdom Expanders

While an intellectual leap for many, this book is illustrated with humorous stories and commonplace examples, making it both an enjoyable and challenging read.

Reviews
Jeff Christopherson has a unique way of seeing things. I always enjoy talking with Jeff because he invariably offers a fresh, insightful perspective on issues that matter. This book is his magnum opus. In it he will challenge and inspire you and compel you to live your life differently after you read it. --Richard Blackaby, President of Blackaby Ministries

The Church needs to be awakened to the reality of the Kingdom of God--His global movement that will end around His throne with men and women from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. There is no voice in contemporary culture that understands this more than Jeff Christopherson. I am so thankful for this book that speaks straight to the heart of this issue. May the awakening begin! --Vance Pitman, Senior Pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas

Jeff Christopherson is one of the brightest missions minds in North America. In The Kingdom Matrix, he helps Christian leaders reconcile the altruistic impulses that so many unchurched people possess, with the hope of Christ that the church is uniquely positioned and commissioned to deliver. This isn't just a book of theories, but tested applications borne out of the context of his ministry. --Kevin Ezell, President of the North American Mission Board

The Church needs to be awakened to the reality of the Kingdom of God--His global movement that will end around His throne with men and women from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. There is no voice in contemporary culture that understands this more than Jeff Christopherson. I am so thankful for this book that speaks straight to the heart of this issue. May the awakening begin! --Vance Pitman, Senior Pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas


Jeff Christopherson is one of the brightest missions minds in North America. In The Kingdom Matrix, he helps Christian leaders reconcile the altruistic impulses that so many unchurched people possess, with the hope of Christ that the church is uniquely positioned and commissioned to deliver. This isn't just a book of theories, but tested applications borne out of the context of his ministry. --Kevin Ezell, President of the North American Mission Board

Book: Introverts in the church

Introverts are called and gifted by God. But many churches tend to be extroverted places where introverts are marginalized. Some Christians end up feeling like it's not as faithful to be an introvert. Adam McHugh shows how introverts can live and minister in ways consistent with their personalities. He explains how introverts and extroverts process information and approach relationships differently and how introverts can practice Christian spirituality in ways that fit who they are. With practical illustrations from church and parachurch contexts, McHugh offers ways for introverts to serve, lead, worship and even evangelize effectively. Introverts in the Church is essential reading for any introvert who has ever felt out of place, as well as for church leaders who want to make their churches more welcoming to introverts. Discover God's call and empowering to thrive as an introvert, for the sake of the church and kingdom.

Table of Contents
Introduction: Can Introverts Thrive In The Church?
1 The Extroverted Church
2 The Introverted Difference
3 Finding Healing
4 Introverted Spirituality
5 Introverted Community And Relationships
6 The Ability To Lead
7 Leading As Ourselves
8 Introverted Evangelism
9 Introverts In Church
Epilogue: Finding Our Place
Questions For Reflection And Discussion
Further Reading

Notes

Book: Can these dry bones live?

Churches are closing today at an alarming rate. Pastors are disillusioned, church members are discouraged, and the world has lost interest. Can this disturbing tide be stemmed?
Bill Henard believes that there is hope for the established church – for your church. Some people may have already pronounced the church “dead,” but these dead bones can live. Whether your church is seven years old or one-hundred and seventy, you may be seeing evidences that your church needs vision, direction, and revitalization.
Don’t lose hope. Your church can live.
Chapters  

1. Why Church revitalization?
2. Assessment
3. The Church does not recognise the need for revitalization.
4. The Church does not want to grow
5. Barriers to Growth
6. The gifts do not match the church
7. Community Demographics differ from the Church
8. Church turns inwards
9. External factors
10. The Church has lost its vision
11. Operating through inadequate ministry structures
12. Failure to increase the impact of ministry

Book: Finding Tom Sawyer (ministry to boys)

Searching for Tom Sawyer offers parents and church leaders a compelling vision and practical principles for how, together, they can change the storyline of boys dropping off the church scene by forging boys into heroic men.

Contents
1.   Lost in the 21st Century
2.   Why do boys do that?
3.   A motivating affirmation for life
4.   A compelling vision for life
5.   An empowering strategy for life
6.   Speaking boy
7.   Building a boy friendly church


Reviews
"More than 70% of the young men who are raised in church abandon it during their teens and twenties . . . Tim Wright examines the problem and offers real solutions to one of the greatest challenges facing the church today" -David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church The Story of Boys-Lost in the Twenty-first Century:
70% of all Ds and Fs go to boys 85% of stimulant-addressing medications prescribed in the world are prescribed to US boys Boys are falling behind girls in virtually every area of life
70 -90% of boys will leave the church in their teens and early twenties

"No one who cares for boys, and equally no one who cares for kids and families should miss Searching for Tom Sawyer" -Leonard Sweet, professor at Drew University and George Fox University

"Tim Wright's diagnosis of why most of our congregations struggle to connect with guys is eye-opening and stunning . . . As the father of three boys, I wish I'd had this book years ago. As the pastor of a congregation, I'm glad I have it now" -Pastor Jeff Marian, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Burnsville, Minnesota

Book: Faithfully wrestling with the scriptures in the midst of church conflict

Conflict is all too common in the church today. But as Frances Taylor Gench reminds us in this book, conflict over scriptural interpretation has been with the church since its earliest days. Gench reflects on those early experiences of conflict, presenting substantive studies of biblical texts showing that discord (such as Romans 14-15; Matthew 14; Jeremiah 28; 1 Corinthians 12-14; John 13-17) and drawing lessons from each about how it informs current conflicts in the church. In the process, she provides a constructive resource to help Christians wrestle with Scripture in the midst of their disagreements. This innovative book can be used by individuals and in groups. Numerous study questions conclude each chapter.

Article and Book: Mending a fractured church

The night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed for the unity of his followers.
And I do not ask on behalf of these only, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, that they also may be in us, in order that the world may believe that you sent me. And the glory that you have given to me, I have given to them, in order that they may be one, just as we are one—I in them, and you in me, in order that they may be completed in one, so that the world may know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me. (John 17:20–23, LEB)

Jesus wanted his followers’ unity to be modeled after the perfect unity of the Trinity. Just as the Father is one with his Son and Spirit, so too should we who are united to Christ by the same Spirit be unified with one another. And our unity is intended to demonstrate the truth of Jesus’ claims to an unbelieving world.

Yet what does the world see when they look at the church? Sadly, they often see a church divided. It seems we can find reasons to divide over just about anything—from serious theological concerns down to the color of the pews. To the world, they’re all just more reasons not to believe..

What constitutes a legitimate reason for division?
How can we work through lesser differences without separating from one another?
What does it really mean for the church to have unity?

Mending a Fractured Church, published by Lexham Press and edited by Michael Bird and Brian Rosner, seeks to answer such questions, looking to the Bible for examples of how to resolve disputes. Speaking to pastors, churches, and seminary students, this book provides a guide to maintaining unity without compromise.

• Andrew Malone explores some of the New Testament’s teaching about differences, discussing our call to unity despite our diversity.
• Lindsay Wilson looks to Joshua 22 for a case study in conflict resolution, drawing principles from two groups that both had a right motivation in their actions.
• Brian Rosner uses Paul’s arguments in Romans 14–15 as an example of how to work through disputable matters in the church.
• Michael Bird examines the tension in the Johannine letters between loving others, especially those in the church, and holding uncompromisingly to the Christological foundation of the church’s faith.
• Rhys Bezzant argues that the existence of disputable matters within our church is a sign of health rather than sickness.
• Peter J. Leithart discusses the many segments of the Christian church today, providing several fascinating examples of Christian movements that fall outside our traditional classification system.

This article and further information about the book Mending a Fractured church is available at https://blog.logos.com/2015/06/learning-to-deal-with-differences-in-the-church/

Book: Church Refugees - Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith

Church Refugees - Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith

Sociologists Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope reveal the results of a major study about the exodus from the American church.

There is a rising group of people called The Dones.
They are DONE with church but not their faith.

Many DONES are people who devoted a lifetime to their churches, but now they are walking away. Why?

What this study reveals may surprise you...

• Church refugees aren’t who you’d expect. Among those scrambling for the exits are the church’s staunchest supporters and leaders.
• Leaving the church doesn’t mean abandoning the faith. Some who are done with church report they’ve never felt spiritually stronger.
• The door still remains open—a crack. Those who’ve left remain hungry for community and the chance to serve—and they’re finding both.

Sifting through hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews, Packard and Hope provide illuminating insights into what has become a major shift in the American landscape.

If you’re in the church, discover the major reasons your church may be in danger
of losing its strongest members—and what you can do to keep them.

If you’re among those done with church, look for your story to be echoed here.
You’re not alone—and at last you’re understood.

AMAZON CUSTOMER REVIEWS
Patheos review
So what faith review

Article: Turnaround Strategies for Small Churches: Which Ones to Use?

Turnaround strategies for small churches was written by Herb Miller for the Parish Paper...ideas and insights for active congregations.
The article discusses:

• How can small-membership churches move toward maximum effectiveness?
• Taking actions necessary to move past the three classic membership-plateaus.
• Fine-tune the worship service toward a format, style, and hymn selection that shows equal respect for the spiritual preferences of all four adult generations.
• Emphasize concern for children through community service ministries.
• Remove ministry inhibiting barriers in the church buildings.
• Increase the percentage of attendees who pray daily.

Book: Driven to Despair by Alan Craddock

Driven To Despair: Perfectionism and Ministry by Alan E Craddock - A New Resource for a Common Problem

Driven To Despair, written by psychologist Alan Craddock, is a new book that considers the nature of perfectionism from Psychological and Theological viewpoints, examining functional and dysfunctional aspects of perfectionism, how they are shaped, and how they function in Christian ministry. These complementary viewpoints are used to provide an understanding of perfectionism and how to cope with unhealthy forms of perfectionism in lay and professional ministry. Additional strategies are explored for working with issues involving resistance and obstacles to change when coping strategies are difficult to implement. The book also describes how dysfunctional perfectionism can be sustained by unexpected ‘rewards’ and may be sometimes associated with bullying.

Of particular relevance to Prepare-Enrich Facilitators is the application of the family of origin closeness and flexibility dimensions that feature in the Family Map used in the Customized Version of Prepare-Enrich. The book discusses whether strong parental control may combine with family enmeshment and authoritarianism to produce a striving for perfection in which unhelpful self-defeating thinking and activity may predominate.

This book has been written to help men and women working in all forms of Christian ministry and will also be of assistance to professionals working with clients who are struggling with unhelpful perfectionism in their ministry.

This book is available from the author by visiting Alan E Craddock web site

Book: Reconstructing Church: Tools for Turning Your Congregation Around

The general decline of American mainline Protestant churches today is well documented. Church redevelopment—imagining and actualizing new life for dying churches—is a productive and vital response to congregational decline, but it can be daunting. Here is guidebook for church leaders, to help them reinvigorate their churches with both practical advice and tested theory. A comprehensive case study of Beneficent Congregational Church, which successfully turned the tide and quadrupled its worship attendance, provides inspiration as well as concrete strategies for church redevelopment. The study indicates that successful and faithful church redevelopment involves a shift from a modern-patronage ministry model to a postmodern-plural ministry model.

Building on current church redevelopment literature by bringing selected Biblical and theological texts into conversation with leadership concepts, systems theory, social sciences, and congregational studies, this book creates a multidisciplinary transformative conversation. The result is both strategic proposals for growing your church and a model for doing practical theology in your own ministry context. Dedicated, trained leadership in cooperation with the power of the Spirit can create the possibility of new life in dying congregations.

Article: How to deal with conflict in the church and not pretend it doesn't exist

Conflict consultant Tim Dyer has a theory: of all organisations on the face of the earth the Christian church is probably the most prone to conflict.
It seems illogical. Jesus called his disciples to love one another, he gave us the Holy Spirit and we’re supposed to be on the path of transformation. So why is church is so frequently bogged down in conflict?
Read more of the article to discover why and to discover some steps in resolving conflict at http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/conflict-church

Evangelism involves......sharing what is good about God's church (His people)

Take some time to think about your conversations about God and the church over the last week or two.  Have they been dominated by positive, good news or negative, bad news?
One day two brothers Mark and Matthew who went to the same church left church and went to visit their mother who was sick in bed.  When they arrived their mother asked, how was church?   To which Mark replied…. not good…the sermon went for too long, the singing was dreadful, someone forgot to put on the heaters, there were some strange people there who sat in the Jones’ pew which upset them and the coffee was terrible…She then turned to Matthew who replied…..ahh the sermon was spot on Pastor made some great points and I was able to understand something a bit clearer I had been struggling with, it was great to have a couple of new songs, there were four new families and two of them said they would be joining us, Mr Rupert who hadn’t been at church since he had the argument with Joshua was back and I had a great conversation with your friend Ida over coffee.   Their mother said “did you both go to the same church?….Matthew can you pick me up next week and take me to your church?”
The reality is in church many things are happening….some good and some not so good…at times even the one event can be seen as good by some but not good by others.   God encourages us to speak what is good about His church, which means talking what is good about His people to others, because that is part of sharing God’s good news.  

Books by Peter Steinke, Family Systems Theory, congregational health and mission: How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems

A Door Set Open: 

Grounding Change in Mission and Hope

We resist change less when we associate it with mission and fortify it with hope. So argues longtime congregational consultant Peter Steinke in his fourth book, A Door Set Open, as he explores the relationship between the challenges of change and our own responses to new ideas and experiences. Steinke builds on a seldom-explored principle posited by the late Rabbi Edwin Friedman: the 'hostility of the environment' is proportionate to the 'response of the organism.' The key, Steinke says, is not the number or strength of the stressors in the system--anxiety, poor conditions, deteriorating values--but the response of the individual or organization to 'what is there.' Drawing on Bowen system theory and a theology of hope, as well as his experience working with more than two hundred congregations, Steinke makes the case that the church has entered an era of great opportunity. Theologian and sociologist Ernst Troeltsch said the church had closed down the office of eschatology. Steinke reopens it and draws our attention to God's future, to a vision of hope for the people of God. The door is set open for exploration and new creation.

Contents
Part I: The Context 
1. There Once Was a World
2. Emotional Systems and the New Anxiety
3. So That You May Hope Again

Part II: The Mission  
4. The Challenge of Change
5. The Making of a Mission Culture
6. Joining God’s New Creation

Part III: The Response  
7. The People of the Way
8. Where to Touch the Elephant
9. A Different Future

Reviews
Amazon Reviews

How Your Church Family Works: 

Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems 

Drawing on the work of the late Dr. Murray Bowen and Rabbi Edwin H. Friedman, and his own many years’ counseling experience, Steinke shows how to recognize and deal with the emotional roots of such issues as church conflict, leadership roles, congregational change, irresponsible behavior, and the effects of family of origin on current relationships. Discover why working relationships may be “stuck” in certain behaviors. Psychologically sound and theologically grounded, the book is practically illustrated with case studies.  Seminary professors will find a helpful treatment of the emotional systems into which their students will move.

Contents
Part I. Conceptualizing Emotional Processes
Chapter 1: The Concept of a System 
Chapter 2: Anxiety and Reactivity 
Chapter 3: Separateness and Closeness 
Chapter 4: Stability and Change 
Chapter 5: Clarity and Compassion 
Part II. The Congregation as an Emotional System
Chapter 6: Do Not Go Gently in That Glob of Glue 
Chapter 7: Being a Prophet Is Nice Work—If You Can Find a Job 
Chapter 8: What Shall It Profit a Parish If It Gets over the Hump but Falls into the Abyss? 
Chapter 9: Remembering the Future 
Chapter 10: Believing and Belonging 

Reviews:
Amazon Reviews
Goodreads reviews

Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times: 

Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What 

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. This takes self-awareness and confidence to manage relationships and influence behaviors. Knowing how to deal with anxiety and how to work throug complex challenges can lead a congregation to new insights, growth, and vitality. Anxious times hold not only the potential for loss but also for creation, important leanings  and changes that will strengthen the congregation. With this new book, internationally respected consultant Peter Steinke goes deeper into the requirements of effective congregational leadership. Born from the wisdom of Steinke's distinguished career, this new volume will both enlighten and embolden leaders. Steinke inspires courage in leaders to maintain the course, unearth secrets, resist sabotage, withstand fury, and overcome timidity or doubts. His insights, illustrations, and provocations will carry leaders through rough times, provide clarity during confusing times, and uplift them in joyous times.

Reviews

Amazon Reviews

Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach

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.

Reviews

Amazon Reviews

What is common with turn around churches

Thom Rainer interviewed pastors of turnaround churches...churches that have bucked the trend of decline...and this is what he discovered:

• They led the church to become highly intentional about starting new groups. 
• They led the church to a culture of inviting people. 
• They began new member classes. 
• They began a major community ministry. 
• They began to pray for the lost and unchurched by name. 
• The leaders began to focus less on negative people and circumstances and more on God’s possibilities.

To read his article and discover more visit here