Effective church leadership involves navigating the politics of ministry beyond practical skills. Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz emphasize that leaders must learn to read between the lines, listen carefully to what is said and unsaid, observe body language and emotions, understand relationships, and identify power players. Mastering these skills helps leaders handle complex church dynamics successfully.
4 Characteristics of Citizens of the Kingdom of God Who Inhabit the Political World
Christian faithfulness can inspire various political approaches, but they must reflect our primary identity as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Miranda Zapor Cruz finds Kingdom citizens are most faithful when they are salty, prophetic, separationist, and pluralist. She maintains that faithful Christians engage the political realm with a distinctively Christian perspective that prioritizes God’s values over partisan allegiance.
Putting Christian political participation in proper place
“Christian nationalist” (or its synonym “MAGA Christians”) has, at times, been applied to any Christian who expresses a political opinion or votes Republican. Yet not every Christian who votes or is otherwise involved in politics is a Christian nationalist. Such a broad application can discourage Christians from participating in U.S. politics. While we should resist the broad application of the term, we also should recognize that Christian nationalism is both real and problematic for the church.
Keeping Our Sacred Trust: Assuring Financial Integrity
Learn practices to prevent fraud and financial misconduct in your church.
VOICES: 10 warning signs of an abuser: How the Church can recognize abuse and save lives
Domestic violence is not always easily recognized, even for the survivor of the abuse, and especially when the abuse is not physical or sexual in nature. But there are warning signs individuals can look for in suspected abusers.
Is stigma in the church hindering the path to addiction recovery?
While many are turning to alcohol and drugs at alarming rates, it’s time for our churches to reconsider their understanding and approach to recovery.
Only You Can Stop Boring Preaching
Holly, a 7-year-old in a church I pastored, turned to her mother in the middle of my sermon and said, “Mother, why does Doctor Joe think we need this information?” Every preacher should have such a child listening to every sermon and giving such feedback. What boring preaching does–without exception–is answer questions which no one is asking.
An Epic Formula for Making a Band Sound Great
How do we arrange a large band? No matter our sound – whether we have a hard rock, a soft rock, a gospel or a liturgical type of sound – we have to start with some basic principles when we’re thinking about arranging a large band.
Stop Transgender Identification from Breaking Your Family
The announcement “I’m trans” can lob a grenade into the family, throwing everyone into chaos. Transgender identification strains relationships with siblings and extended family members and drives a wedge between those who applaud it and those who don’t. Young siblings of trans-identified kids have specific and special needs that parents must recognize. In addition, separated parents may experience a harder time working together on the issue—if they even want to. In some sad cases, one parent affirms the trans identity to capture the child’s loyalty and oust the other parent from the relationship.
Should Your Church Have Gender-Specific or Co-Ed Groups?
If you want your church to grow by reaching new people, it may be beneficial to offer gender-specific groups and co-ed groups simultaneously.
Being, Rather than Doing, Daily Devotionals
How did a practice that promised so much daily peace, purpose and joy become a source of guilt to me and many Christians I know? Perhaps the problem is not with the discipline itself, but our view of it.
Go into All the World and Make Friends
This is the horizontal side of friendship in missions; not only does God gain new and eternal friends but so do we.
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