The Congregational Consulting Group, organized in 2014 by former consultants of the Alban Institute, is a network of independent consultants. We publish PERSPECTIVES for Congregational Leaders—thoughts on topics of interest to leaders of congregations and other purpose-driven organizations. — Dan Hotchkiss, editor
by Sarai Rice
I’ve just started serving on the Finance Committee for a local faith-based group, and I’ve realized that years of external audits have taught me some things that other ministers don’t necessarily know. So, below are the answers to a few recent questions about audits.
by Susan Beaumont
The church needs innovation, experimentation and risk taking. The church has bureaucracy; inactivity in the name of good order and process. Senseless bureaucracy keeps us endlessly mired in reporting, approval seeking and communication. We end up with repetitive meetings, multiple levels of approval, over-reliance on procedure, and postponed decision making until everyone is informed and happy. What would it take to free ourselves from all of this and just get things done?
by John Wimberly
Regardless of their theological beliefs, churches struggle with some common issues. Of these, one of the most surprising to me has to do with the future of Sunday schools. No one lacks commitment to educate their children and youth in the faith. However, more and more congregations are questioning whether a traditional Sunday school is the way to do it.
by Dan Hotchkiss
When someone gets a new idea in your congregation, whom do they call? The clergy leader? A board member? The front-line office person—the executive director, secretary, or administrator—often manages the incoming stream of helpful hints, complaints, requests, suggestions, and reform proposals. The flow of bright ideas is a sign of life, part of the background hum of a healthy congregation.
by David Brubaker
In the last decade, hundreds of congregations and at least six Christian denominations in the U.S. have experienced significant conflict over acceptance of same-sex relationships. Many clergy feel caught in the crossfire. What is the most helpful way for leaders to respond?
by Susan Beaumont
The human brain favors binary thinking. We are naturally drawn to the two-sidedness of the world, the fact that everything has an opposite, a polar complement. Leaders of faith-based institutions tend the spiritual needs of our organization with the soft skills of care, prayer and discipleship. Then we turn the soft skills off and guide the organizational side of the church with the hard skills of supervision, governance, facilities and financial management. Two fundamentally different kinds of work. Two very different skill sets. Right? Wrong!
by Sarai Rice
First, apparently, by leaving it.
According to America’s Changing Religious Landscape, the latest report from the Pew Forum, the percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christians dropped from 78.4% in 2007 to 70.6% in 2014. In the same period, the percentage of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated—atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular”—jumped from 16.1% to 22.8%.