Pastor Don Brandt The Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), on its website, lists the average worship attendance of each of their 818 U.S. congregations. This data represents a…
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Given the increasing shortage of ordained pastors available for call, now is the time when many churches will need to take the initiative to enlist one or two (or three)…
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Consider the contrasting good news and not-so-good news ministry challenges that are confronting many of our congregations in 2024: Good News: Many local churches have now been blessed by the…
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This article is written especially for smaller congregations that are either 1) already experiencing a pastoral vacancy, or 2) know that their solo pastor will be retiring within the next…
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I recently attended a traditional worship service where the emotional and spiritual highlight for me was the opening and closing hymns. This was not because the sermon message was subpar…
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As Americans we are living in a time of increasing emotional despair. And this crisis presents the Body of Christ with tremendous challenges as local churches consider how they might…
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Perhaps my perspective is somewhat distorted by being one among so many retired or retiring Boomer pastors. After all, the Boomer generation has been accused—often justifiably—of having an inflated view…
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Note: "This is a ministry resource article for churches that might be interested in the new upcoming CORE ministry called the Congregational Lay-leadership Initiative (CLI). The article below offers a…
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It has, for decades, been an incredibly unfair reality faced by smaller rural and inner-city congregations. In a denomination that has traditionally insisted that viable, healthy congregations must be led…
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As CiT Director I have been in a coaching relationship—since 2019—with a large number of call committees. I have now provided at least some level of assistance to twenty-five different…
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