Tim Shapiro is the Indianapolis Center’s president. He began serving the Center in 2003 after 18 years in pastoral ministry. For 14 years, Tim served Westminster Presbyterian Church in Xenia, Ohio. Prior to his pastorate at Westminster, he was pastor of Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in Logansport, Indiana. He holds degrees from Purdue University and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Increasingly, all kinds of congregations are actively externally focused. I’ve observed this...
From the Staff
Want to Know a Secret?
Here’s a secret for you. The Center for Congregations in Indiana has learned something while...
From the Staff
Five Things to Know about Assessments
Assessment tools are used in congregational planning. Such tools are helpful in strategic...
From the Staff
Good News and Bad News about Congregational Decline
For many, the condition of United States congregations and denominations is worse than reported...
From the Staff
Mission and Vision Statements
Many congregational leaders know the importance of clear vision and mission statements. Some of...
From the Staff
Leadership and Management
Many congregational leaders know the importance of clear mission and vision statements. However,...
From the Staff
Starting Well
Are you a clergyperson starting at a congregation? I’m sure you want to start well. It can be a...
From the Staff
Young Adults and Your Congregation
Is your congregation seeking to reach out to young adults? Many congregations are. There can be...
From the Staff
The Challenge of Partnering
Congregational partnerships can be challenging. If a congregation needs help with something...
From the Staff
Leadership Temperament
Leadership is leading people to the place they’d go if they only knew how. This is the...
From the Staff
Appreciative Inquiry
What does marriage have in common with congregational life? There is one thing in particular:...
From the Staff
The Special Meaning of the Word “Practice”
Congregational life includes beliefs. Some congregations ask folks to believe certain things in...
From the Staff
In Praise of Slow
Congregations learn well when they slow things down. Creating a sense of urgency makes sense...
From the Staff
Your Congregation is Not in Decline
In October 2012, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reported that, based on new data,...
From the Staff
Faith and Money
When I was young, I went to worship with my parents and six siblings. My stepfather prepared our...
From the Staff
Resilient Congregations
On my way to work, I drive by two church buildings. One building used to be the home of a...
From the Staff
Conflict
The pastor could not sleep after the team meeting. It didn’t help that the meeting wasn’t over...
From the Staff
Interviewing Potential Clergy and Staff
It doesn’t matter if the workplace is a hospital or a grocery store, finding the right people is...
From the Staff
Does Your Congregation Need to Change?
It is no longer comfortable at the council meeting. Alex brought a 12-page financial report....
From the Staff
Your Building Project in Three Steps
The priest stands in the sanctuary. He is near the front pew, facing the back of the sanctuary...
From the Staff
Relationships: Clergy and Congregation
The vitality of the relationship between clergy and the congregation is almost always an...
From the Staff
A Dollar in the Offering
The ritual of making an offering to a congregation has changed over the years. In one...
From the Staff
Program Planning and Congregational Learning
Your congregation is likely working on something new right now. You may be exploring the...
From the Staff
Disappointment: Learning from Inevitable Setbacks
New projects fill congregational life with excitement and hope. They can be a time of community...
From the Staff
Three Questions for Every Building Project
There are three questions to ask regarding almost any building project your congregation is...
From the Staff
Theologian of the Year
I know a pastor who chooses a theologian to study in-depth every year. In 2013, he chose...
From the Staff
A Conversation with Tod Bolsinger
Center for Congregations President Tim Shapiro spoke with Tod Bolsinger of Fuller Theological...
From the Staff
Attachment as an Alternative to Pastoral Capital
As a pastor, have you earned enough pastoral capital to accomplish what you seek to do? In...
From the Staff
The Unique Experience of Church Planting
Church planting is different than establishing satellites, multi-sites, a new worship service or...
From the Staff
It’s About Life
A generation ago, congregational observers noted that congregations experiencing growth were...
From the Staff
Revisiting Bowen Family Systems
During the 1950s, a psychiatrist named Murray Bowen created a new intervention for those with...
From the Staff
How Do You Use Social Media?
How does your congregation use Facebook? If you are a clergyperson, do you manage Twitter or...
From the Staff
Your Caring Congregation
Congregations have long been places that nurture the care of souls. Long ago, the early church...
From the Staff
Doing Something New? Five Key Questions
Is your congregation planning something new? If so, there are five key questions you can ask...
From the Staff
One Budgeting Idea when Funds are Scarce
Sometimes funds are scarce. God has created the world abundant with water, trees, blue skies and...
From the Staff
From Hallowed Space to Holograms: A Conversation with Hayim Herring
Center for Congregations President Tim Shapiro spoke with Hayim Herring, consultant, nonprofit...
From the Staff
The Multicultural Congregation
I’m having more conversations with congregations that characterize themselves as...
From the Staff
Your Congregation and Innovation
The Harvard Business Review defines innovation as “the difficult discipline of newness.” What...
From the Staff
Key Practices of Thriving Congregations
How would you describe a thriving congregation? Perhaps a thriving congregation has young people...
From the Staff
The Formative Power of Your Congregation
Many elements make you the person you are. You are shaped by your race, your geographic...
Podcast
S1 E5 Whosoever
This week Ben and Tim Shapiro, president of the Center for congregations talk with Rev. Dr. Alton B. Pollard III from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. Dr. Pollard shares with...
Podcast
S3 E11: Ghosts
Riffing off of Charles Dickens' classic novel, Ben and Matt and Tim Shapiro, reflect on trends in the life of congregational ministry.
Podcast
S1 E2: Tapping into Experience with Tim Shapiro
This week Ben and Matt talk with the president of the Center for Congregations, Tim Shapiro. Tim shares his experiences as a senior pastor for 18 years and from his 18 years of...
book
Redesigning Worship: Creating Powerful God Experiences
This resource covers a variety of topics related to contemporary worship, including the...
book
American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
This resource makes several observations on religion in America based on research, making the...
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The Worship Sourcebook
This resource includes well written texts and commentaries about particular sections of...
web resource
Religious Landscape Survey
This website contains abundant information culled from the Pew Forum’ s work on the U.S....
web resource
The Association of Religion Data Archives
This web resource, provided by the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), is the best...
web resource
Religion and Beliefs
Provided by The Huffington Post, an entire section of blogs about faith appears in the...
web resource
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly's website summarizes and adds to the television broadcast, which...
web resource
Stephen Prothero
This website, by author and professor in the Department of Religion at Boston University,...
web resource
On Being
This website is associated with On Being, the weekly radio podcast, hosted by Yale Divinity...
organization
Hartford Institute for Religion Research
This organization provides scholarly research and resources about a variety of topics related...
web resource
Working Preacher
Working Preacher is a website from Luther Seminary focused on preaching, and, because the...
book
Worship Matters: A Study for Congregations
This resource combines a case study and practical suggestions regarding worship practices.
web resource
The African American Lectionary
This website is a key online resource, particularly formed for an African American audience,...
book
Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works
This theological resource explores worship and its formative power, concentrating on the...
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Designing Worship Together: Models and Strategies for Worship Planning
This resource makes the case that collaboration in designing worship has become the preferred...
web resource
Lifecycle and Rituals
The website of the Union for Reform Judaism provides information on topics such as lifecycle...
web resource
Renewing Worship
This website, provided the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and Kenny Lamm, who...
book
Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God
This resource provides a theological framework in addition to practical suggestions to offer...
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Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
This collection of prayers and liturgical texts offers resources for a truly common prayer...
book
The Worship Architect: A Blueprint for Designing Culturally Relevant and Biblically Faithful...
This resource utilizes an architect metaphor to the task of planning worship, comparing...
web resource
Worship and Prayer in African American Christianity
This vibrant blog post by Dr. Brad Braxton serves as both an appreciation for and a teaching...
book
The Christian Century and the Rise of the Protestant Mainline
This resource uses the magazine The Christian Century as a metaphor to talk about the...
book
Transformational Groups: Creating a New Scorecard for Groups
This resource presents key principles and practices for dynamic small groups while providing a...
book
Just Lead!: A No Whining, No Complaining, No Nonsense Practical Guide for Women Leaders in the...
This resource targets Christian women leaders, offering advice and real-life examples on...
book
Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue
This resource explores aspects of Bowen Family Theory using stories from the author's family...
book
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World
This thought-provoking book on leadership offers readers with tools they can use to become...
web resource
National Congregations Study
This website for the National Congregations Study provides data and survey results that...
article
Running Church Meetings Skillfully and Carefully
This article offers practical suggestions to implement more productive meetings.
book
People-Pleasing Pastors: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Approval-Motivated Leadership
This resource identifies harmful patterns of people-pleasing and offers remedies for them,...
book
Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible
Influenced by the author's experience as part of Finkenwalde Seminary, an underground seminary...
organization
Exponential Next
This organization promotes innovation among congregations by connecting entrepreneurial clergy...
web resource
RavBlog
Ravblog is the blog of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and features contributions...
organization
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
This leadership center offers year-round workshops, a fellowship program, and online resources...
web resource
Faith & Leadership
The Faith & Leadership website, courtesy of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, offers a...
web resource
Four Ways Churches Break Attendance Barriers
This web resource details four ways congregations can experience an increase in worship...
book
The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity
This resource offers rich descriptions of the various forms of congregations emerging, ranging...
book
The Social Church: A Theology of Digital Communication
This book provides perspective on social media from the viewpoint of Martin Luther and how...
book
What Every Pastor Should Know: 101 Indispensable Rules of Thumb for Leading Your Church
This toolkit lists 101 rules that can be applicable for nearly any congregation, and includes...
book
Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City
This comprehensive resource focuses on how God is revealed to the community through your...
book
A Pastor's Toolbox: Management Skills for Parish Leadership
This guidebook provides practical advice for administration challenges in a diocesan parish.
book
Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change
This resource helps readers design an agenda that will lead to new options and changed...
book
Making the Annual Pledge Drive Obsolete: How Churches Can Get Out of This Business Once and For All
This e-book challenges congregations to create a high-expectation culture of giving,...
book
Why Church Buildings Matter: The Story of Your Space
This concise resource about congregation buildings will help guide conversations on how to...
book
The Spiritual Guidance of Children: Montessori, Godly Play, and the Future
This resource adapts Montessori methods of education to religious education of children,...
organization
The Center for Parish Development
This organization provides resources and consulting to help congregations expand their...
book
Leading Congregations Through Crisis
Using real-life examples, this book offers advice on how to navigate the congregation through...
book
Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a...
This resource serves as an entry into interfaith conversation, using interfaith reflection as...
organization
Center for Courage & Renewal
This organization offers programs for clergy and other religious leaders to integrate who they...
book
7 Creative Models for Community Ministry
This book outlines seven ministry models to serve a local community, detailing the criteria of...
book
Leadership in the Wilderness: Authority and Anarchy in the Book of Numbers
Using the book of Numbers, this book explores leadership and its accompanying challenges,...
book
We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and...
This devotional book consists of 52 readings designed to be read over a year. It contains...
book
New Wine, New Wineskins: How African American Congregations Can Reach New Generations
This resource notes the historic role of the African American church and challenges...
book
You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church…and Rethinking Faith
This study identifies why church-going teens no longer attend worship, shedding light on the...
web resource
Is Evangelism Going out of Style?
This web resource, provided by The Bama Group, a research company, offers sociological...
book
A Multi-Site Church Roadtrip: Exploring the New Normal
This book takes readers to various multi-site churches, highlighting dynamics unique to...
article
Survey Finds Growth, Vitality in Multisite Church Model
This article from the Washington Post summarizes findings that show the increasing occurrence...
book
Beyond the Ordinary: Ten Strengths of U.S. Congregations
Based on research from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey, the authors identify ten strengths...
web resource
Church Health Assessment Tool (CHAT)
This survey is designed to be used during times of change, periods of new development, and...
web resource
Ten Commandments for a More Welcoming Synagogue
This blog web resource, provided by Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth, the Rabbi of Ohel Ari Congregation...
web resource
Hymnary.org
Hymnary.org is a website designed as a resource for worship leaders. It helps pastors and...
book
A Center in the Cyclone: Twenty-First Century Clergy Self-Care
This book offers advice for clergy to lead a healthier lives through spiritual growth and...
web resource
What Makes a Good Church Website?
This blog highlights important considerations to make when designing a website.
article
Parish Size: Categories, Dynamics, and Issues
This article will help growing congregations identify new needs due to their size and how to...
organization
Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
This center offers worship resources such as grants, events, online tools for worship...
article
My Top 10 Church Planting Tips
Written by a church planter serving in Chicago, this article offers 10 church planting tips. ...
web resource
Church Assessment Tool (CAT)
This congregational assessment from provides benchmark data to inform decisions about...
web resource
Servant Evangelism
This website and blog focuses on evangelism based on kindness.
book
Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts
This resource is for individuals interested in starting a new church and shows how to overcome...
book
Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them
Written with a hopeful outlook, this book describes the four young adult unchurched types and...
book
The Nuts and Bolts of Church Planting: A Guide for Starting Any Kind of Church
This comprehensive book is perfect for people interested in starting a church. More...
book
Healthy Churches, Faithful Pastors: Covenant Expectations for Thriving Together
This resource equips personnel committees to have positive conversations about leadership...
book
The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations
Written for congregations in the middle of a size transition, this book tackles issues...
book
The Church Money Manual: Best Practices for Finance and Stewardship
Written by a church growth consultant, this straightforward guide provides potential solutions...
book
Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy, and a Spiritual Call to Service
This guide contains ways to encourage giving by focusing on a spiritual call to service.
article
Digital Disciples
This article looks at how one pastor was able to incorporate technology and social media to...
book
The Digital Cathedral: Networked Ministry in a Wireless World
This book uses the image of the medieval cathedral as a metaphor for what a networked 21st...
web resource
Chapter 3: Assessing Community Needs and Resources
This web resource helps answer questions about how to better engage your congregation with the...
book
Holy Currencies: 6 Blessings for Sustainable Missional Ministries
This book lists six congregational assets, also known as "currencies." By using gracious...
article
Applying Positive Deviance
This article tells the story of seven congregations in Indiana that used positive deviance to...
book
The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World's Toughest Problems
This resource introduces positive deviance as an ideal problem-solving model, describing how...
media
The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World's Toughest Problems
This YouTube video describes key principles of positive deviance and tells stories of how...
organization
Converge
This organization provides coaching and assessments to help leaders plant new churches.
book
How Your Congregation Learns: The Learning Journey from Challenge to Achievement
This resource lays out a process for congregational leaders to move from identifying a...
book
Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory
This book uses the story of Lewis and Clark as a conceptual framework to approach leadership,...
article
Overview of Church Size Theory
Written with an Episcopal audience in mind, this presentation details the characteristics of...
book
Divergent Church: The Bright Promise of Alternative Faith Communities
This resource explores the unique characteristics of divergent churches, examining the how...
book
Leading Congregations and Nonprofits in a Connected World: Platforms, People and Purpose
This book proposes a different conceptual framework based on understanding social networks for...
book
Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis
This book presents the findings of Duke's Clergy Health Initiative, which studied the...
organization
The Aspen Group: Church Design Builder
This architecture firm helps congregations discover, envision, and design space for...
article
Money and Faith: William G. Enright and the Big American Taboo
This article teaches the redemptive link between faith and money, highlighting a philosophy...
article
Confessions of a Church Merger Pastor
This article contains an interview of a pastor who reflects on the experience of his...
web resource
Transforming Church Insight (TCI)
This assessment tool provides an evaluation of your congregation's sense of community.
book
Growing in the Life of Faith: Education and Christian Practices
This collection of essays examines what conditions and factors lead to a growth in faith.
book
Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening
This resource looks at the contemporary state of religion in America, noting changes and...
web resource
Religion News Service
The website, associated with the Religion News Service (RNS), strives to be a single source of...
book
Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge
This resource will help congregational leaders learn how to be thoughtful and intentional...
book
Playlist Judaism: Making Choices for a Vital Future
Written by a rabbi who specializes in bringing Judaism to interfaith families and the...
book
Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations
This book is written for congregations seeking to strengthen disciple-making skills through...
web resource
Church Planter Candidate Assessment
This assessment helps potential church planters and their respective organizations identify...
article
Jump-starting a Synagogue Stimulus Plan
This article looks at the challenges facing synagogues in the United States and offers...
article
Stop Taking Attendance
This article argues that congregations should focus more on overall impact versus attendance. ...
article
A Small N.C. Church Reaches Out in Big Ways
This resource uses the example of a small church in North Carolina to model ways a small...
book
Fairness is Overrated: And 51 Other Leadership Principles to Revolutionize Your Workplace
This book is easy to read and goes beyond cliche leadership content to offer 51 principles...
article
The ‘Pay What You Want' Experiment at Synagogues
This New York Times article profiles various congregations that are trying new ways of...
web resource
Scripture Engagement
The work of Scripture Engagement (available on the Bible Gateway website) comes from Taylor...
article
Basic Field Guide to the Positive Deviance Approach
This article provides a basic overview of positive deviance, an asset-based approach to...
web resource
Different Models for Multicultural Congregations and Ministries
This web resource provides a blog written by author Ryk Van Velden who answers the question,...
web resource
Communities of Calling Website
The Collegeville Institute at St. John’ s School of Theology offers resources and...
web resource
Vital Synagogues
This blog post reflects on synagogue vitality and the importance of strengthening engagement...
organization
Texas Methodist Foundation
This foundation offers a series of five conferences for United Methodist Churches and...
book
Quietly Courageous: Leading the Church in a Changing World
This book calls for new leadership skills and non-linear change for congregations to navigate...
media
Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story
This hour-long film tells the life story of pastor and theologian Howard Thurman, a...
book
Uproar: Calm Leadership in Anxious Times
This leadership resource provides specific ways to navigate the emotional processes that...
book
44 Questions for Congregational Self-Appraisal
This list provides 44 assessment questions, ranging from staff to identity, to consider before...
book
Canaan Land: A Religious History Of African Americans
Written by a professor at Princeton University, this resource combines narrative, facts, and...
book
The Myth of the 200 Barrier: How to Lead Through Transitional Growth
This book is written for clergy and lay leaders of congregations struggling to break through...
book
Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch
This resource is a good starting point for those thinking about starting a new church --- read...
book
Multi-Site Churches: Guidance for the Movement's Next Generation
This resource tackles the "why" behind multi-site churches and addresses several relevant...
book
When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God
This resource uses the observations of the author to provide an up-close look at the spiritual...
book
Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power
This thoughtful book reframes power as something that can be used as a tool for grace and...
book
Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization
Written by two Harvard professors, this book addresses humanity's tendency to resist change...
book
Leadership Can Be Taught: A Bold Approach for a Complex World
This book offers an educational model to teach leadership through case-in-point learning,...
book
Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us
This book examines the four practices that shape community experience, and details situations...
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The God Problem: Expressing Faith and Being Reasonable
Written by a sociology professor at Princeton University, this resource uses material from...
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UnBreakable: Forging a Marriage of Contentment and Delight
This resource outlines five concepts to help clergy and congregational leaders support...
book
Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life
This resource unpacks the meaning of the phrase "spiritual but not religious," providing a...
book
Facing Feelings in Faith Communities
This resource notes the importance of congregations being emotionally competent and provides...
book
The New Copernicans: Millennials and the Survival of the Church
Written by a cultural analyst and theologian, this resource explores the lives of the...
book
Latino Protestants in America: Growing and Diverse
Based on a study of various congregations and Latino Protestants, this resource details an...
book
You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit
This resource invites readers to align their faith and beliefs with their behaviors.
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How to Lead When You Don't Know Where You're Going: Leading in a Liminal Season
This book coaches congregations through transition with leadership strategies and group...
book
Nurturing Faith and Hope: Black Worship as a Model for Christian Education
This resource examines why and how worship in the African American tradition is formative as a...
book
The Good Funeral: Death, Grief, and the Community of Care
This resource provides insight into how a community of faith can help others experience fully...
media
An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story
This documentary looks at the teachings of 20th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.
media
Bonhoeffer
This documentary about theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores his life and asks viewers to...
organization
Hayim Herring Consulting
This consulting group helps synagogues with planning, organizational renewal, decision-making,...
media
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
This documentary tells the life story of Mister Fred Rogers and shows his unique, affirming...
book
101 Ways to Reach Your Community
This easy-to-read book helps congregations focus outward through service.
book
Necessary Endings
This book guides readers to determine what activities and beliefs are worth keeping or...
book
The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
This book describes four elements that make life fulfilling so readers can live joyful,...
book
When One Religion Isn't Enough: The Lives of Spiritually Fluid People
This book describes “ religious multiplicity” - the reality of a person being...
media
The Nature of Adaptive Leadership
This short video describes leadership tools and strategies to address complex challenges.
organization
Cambridge Leadership Associates
This organization offers two-day leadership workshops that include interactive exercises for...
organization
Center for Pastoral Excellence at Christian Theological Seminary
This organization offers a variety of programs for congregational leaders, including renewal...
organization
Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)
This organization empowers Rabbis by offering a variety of practical services such as...
organization
The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL)
This organization offers leadership training, a think tank for collaborative engagement, and a...
organization
Leadership Education at Duke Divinity
This organization provides a variety of educational resources and services to Christian...
organization
FaithHealth
This organization provides resources and support for congregations starting a new health...
organization
SamaraCare Counseling
This organization provides congregations with guidance and resources, such as educational...
organization
Whitworth University Office of Church Engagement
This organization within Whitworth University partners with churches and other Christian...
organization
Church Music Institute
This organization is dedicated to holistically promoting the health of church music in worship...
organization
Liturgy Training Publications
This organization offers publications that support active participation in the Sunday...
book
Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose
This book provides a creative framework to discern purpose and plan a path forward. Its...
book
Redesigning Worship: Creating Powerful God Experiences
This resource covers a variety of topics related to contemporary worship, including the...
book
Entering Wonderland: A Toolkit for Pastors New to a Church
This resource is written for pastors in a new congregation, helping them assess trust level,...
book
Doing the Math of Mission: Fruits, Faithfulness and Metrics
This resource provides readers with the tools to accurately evaluate the effectiveness of...
book
The Paradox of Generosity: Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose
The authors of this book provide arguments and data proving that increasing generosity can...
media
Project on Religion & Urban Culture and Public Teaching Project: Resources
This video project provides data on topics congregations often face in their communities.
organization
Missional Marketing
This Christian advertising, marketing, and SEO agency helps congregations stay relevant in the...
organization
CTS Counseling Center
As part of Christian Theological Seminary, this center provides mental health counseling...
web resource
How Should Leaders Respond to a Pandemic?
These thoughtful articles explore how congregations can respond during a pandemic and remain...
article
Amid Pandemic, The Way We Talk About Death is Changing
This heartfelt article describes how end-of-life care givers adapt their practices during...
article
Prepare Now for Post-Pandemic Ministry, Church Professionals Urge
This thoughtful article provides key leadership actions to prepare for congregational life...
web resource
Pray As You Go
This daily prayer website offers calming 10-minute recorded prayers that heighten your...
book
Letters to the Church: Encouragement and Engagement for the 2020 Election
During the confusion of the Trump Era, this book provides biblical reflection and...
media
What Now? Creative Tool for COVID-19 Planning
This 3-hour self-facilitated planning process helps teams think creatively to make an action...
organization
Black Church Studies
This Louisville Presbyterian Seminary program equips African American leaders to minister in...
book
So You Want to Talk About Race
As a first step to address racism, this straightforward book shares the language of racism and...
web resource
Equal Justice Initiative (EJI)
This organization sheds light on America's legacy of slavery, racial violence, and mass...
web resource
Interfaith Responses to Racism
This website shares sacred texts that denounce racism from multiple faith traditions.
media
True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality
This documentary follows a lawyer's journey to condemn the U.S. criminal justice system for...
web resource
The Sound of the Genuine: Traversing 2020 with Howard Thurman
In this podcast episode, Rev. Otis Moss III connects Howard Thurman's theology and mysticism...
media
Jubilee Singers: Sacrifice and Glory
This PBS documentary explores how former slaves contributed to American culture while...
media
It's Movement Time Again: a sermon by Rev. William Barber II
This masterful lesson preaches the history of racism, public policy, and religion in America,...
book
The Black Church (PBS companion book)
media
The Black Church (PBS): This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song
This two-part PBS documentary celebrates the Black Church as a bedrock of resilience...
book
We Are Called To Be A Movement
This short book describes the power of justice movements and calls faith leaders to action.
book
Lifelong Faith: Formation for All Ages and Generations
This practical guide invigorates discipleship by helping faith leaders develop goals,...
book
You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health with Advice from Experts and Wisdom...
This book is a resource for individuals and families seeking evidence based support...
media
NAMI FaithNet Bridges of Hope Presentation
FaithNet is a PowerPoint presentation for congregational use that defines mental illness...
web resource
Trauma, the Body and 2021
An interview with Bessel van der Kolk, a recognized compassionate psychiatrist and trauma...
media
Everything Happens for a Reason - and Other Lies I've Loved
Seminary professor, Kate Bowler, describes her experience with a life-threatening disease...
article
Congregations' Largest Sources of Concern and Pride
Based on responses from 15,000 congregations in 2020, this document represents what...
article
Bivocationalism Has Historic Roots and Modern Benefits
As congregation sizes decrease, more clergy consider the need to be bi-vocational....
web resource
Sunday Sermon by Michael Gerson - February 17, 2019
Michael Gerson, who died in November 2022, preaches at the National Cathedral about his...
book
MetaChurch: How to Use Digital Ministry to Reach People and Make Disciples
MetaChurch describes practical yet strategic ways to use digital ministry to provide...
media
What do American Christians believe about their Religion
This podcast reports on the belief of American Christians who participated in progressive...
web resource
What Does Spirituality Mean to Us?
This is the Fetzer Institute's study of spirituality in the United States. This report is...
book
Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work: Expanded and Updated
This book describes the range of mergers for strong, stable, stuck, and struggling...
web resource
6 Common Church Merger Mistakes with Jim Tomberlin
For those who learn through conversation, this resource provides an overview of different...
media
Updated
AEHS Study Day with Stanley Hauerwas: Preaching Without Apology
This video lecture helps congregations explore preaching as a central act of worship. This...
book
Updated
Introduction to the Practice of African American Preaching
This book helps congregations deepen their understanding of African American preaching as...
web resource
Updated
This Hunger for Holiness: An Interview with Barbara Brown Taylor
This podcast episode guides congregational leaders through the intricate dynamics of...
article
Updated
Relationships: Clergy and Congregation
This article educates congregations on the importance of the clergy-congregation...
web resource
Church & Culture
This website explores how daily news topics intersect with congregational life.
web resource
Sunday Sermon by Dr. Brene Brown at the Washington National Cathedral - January 21, 2018
Psychologist Dr. Brene Brown gives a 17-minute sermon on faith and the church and the...
book
Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity
This book offers congregational leaders insight into the essential role of a congregational...
book
Homiletics: Moves and Structures
This book guides congregational leaders in the art of preaching through a step-by-step...
organization
Compelling Preaching Initiative
This organization supports projects that help Christian preachers develop their skills in...
web resource
Zeteo Preaching and Worship
This web resource provides a searchable collection of articles and websites that can...
web resource
The TikTok Pastor: A Conversation with Bethany Peerbolte
This podcast episode helps congregational leaders looking to build or explore progressive...
article
How the Church Can Serve Society by Changing the Way it Handles Property
This article shares a conversation between Duke University's Faith and Leadership...
media
Navigating the Church Facility Journey
This episode of the Church Leadership Lab series provides insights on planning, designing,...
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