Barnabas File

In Good to Great , Jim Collins and his team sought out companies that moved from being good at what they were doing to becoming truly great.  They pointed out that “Good is the enemy of the great.”  In other words, people will praise your organization for providing quality but not exceptional products (or programs or services).  People have been abused so long by organizations that they are satisfied with good but not exceptional service.   They don’t expect anything to be “great.”   Why take the risk to move to the next level when you already have acceptable results? I have thought recently about how many good churches there are.  These congregations provide solid preaching, well-planned worship, comprehensive Christian education, competent pastoral care, and helpful ministries, but they are not exceptional.  They are shackled by their own expectations of what church ought to be and limited in their Kingdom vision.  What keeps th...

In our Companions in Christ study entitled “Feeding on the Word,” participants were introduced to the difference between informational reading and formational reading of scripture.  This idea is presented very effectively in Robert Mulholland’s book, Shaped by the Word . Informational reading of scripture is a left-brain approach.  Mulholland points out that the person who reads scripture this way sees the material as an object, an “it”, something to be analyzed so that he or she can discover “the truth” that is contained there.  If taken to the extreme, scripture is perceived as a problem to be solved.  Baptists are very good at this.  We want to “wrestle” the text to the ground and will it to relinquish its treasures. Formational reading of scripture is a right-brain activity.  As one reads in this way, he or she is allowing the scripture to speak.  Scripture is a subject, a “thou” with the potential for multiple levels of meaning based up...

Most of us in ministry leadership want to do a better job and are constantly seeking resources to help us, especially those that are based on sound theological reflection and actual practice.   If you are this type of leader, let me share something with you. Under the leadership of executive director David Odom, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity designs educational services, develops intellectual resources, and facilitates networks of institutions including churches and denominational judicatories. Support for the program is provided by a major grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. and on-going funding from The Duke Endowment as well as other donors. In addition to on-site conferences and consultation, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity produces a number of digital resources, including several e-newsletters.  I was recently introduced to another online resource, a Principles and Practices archive that provides information around the following topics: Thriving...

A couple of weeks ago, we received a mailer from a new church start in our community.  Actually, the pastor has been working on this for about four years, but evidently they are moving toward more visibility in the community, thus the mailing. When I went to the church’s web site, I found this paragraph: “We are the first Theologically SBC church in Rutherford County, TN to start with out [sic] “Baptist” in the name and take an interdenominational approach to people.  Every church has core theology that ties them to a denomination.  This directs all the teaching and doctrine of a church, but we refuse to focus on the dogmas [sic] of a denomination!  Jesus is so much bigger than a denomination.” So what’s this all about?  After reading this, I have to ask questions like, “Is this a Baptist congregation or not?” “Did you feel that you had to put this on your web site because you are receiving funds from the state Baptist convention to get started?”...

On any given Sunday, there are more people outside the walls of the churches that within and few of these will be in Christian worship at any other time during the week.   Some leaders see starting new churches—new communities of faith or worshipping units--as one way to address this situation.   Church consultant Eddie Hammett pointed out in a recent Facebook posting that although he is an advocate of starting new churches, he is “ increasingly concerned about the amount of money denominations are putting into the effort that is not bearing fruitful results in reaching a new generation.”  He goes on to ask what are other options that might be pursued that are “a better stewardship of our time, energy and money.” North Carolina pastor Jack Glasgow responded with this comment (shared with his permission): “ I believe our efforts will not be fruitful focused on clergy to be church starters. We need to focus on a core group of laypersons who want to create, or h...

Ed Rollins passed away on Tuesday.   Ed was who I wanted to be when I grew up.   Shortly after Charles Roselle became the director of National Student Ministries at the Baptist Sunday School Board, he asked Ed (then state director of student ministries in California) to join him as manager of the department.   Charlie was “Mr. Outside” and Ed was “Mr. Inside.”   They were a well matched team who trusted and supported one another. Many knew Ed as committed family man, Sunday school teacher or faithful church leader, but to me Ed was the consummate administrator. He was the person who “made the trains run on time.”  Despite his task-oriented side, Ed was respected and loved by those who worked with him.  Some called him a true Christian gentleman.  They knew that he expected the best of them, but he walked with them every step of the way.  This was especially important when staff began to cross barriers related to sensitive issues like race a...

Strategy planning is not what it used to be.   There was a time when governments, businesses, and even churches planned for the future as if what happened next would be a natural consequence of what had gone before.   Of course, this kind of linear thinking no longer applies.   Instead of assuming that the future will be like the present, we recognize that change is all around us and we try to ascertain trends that will impact what we will be doing five, ten, or twenty years from now . . . and sometimes it works.   Of course, most forecasters missed the impact of the personal computer, the Internet, and social media, but we still try! In a recent blog titled “5 Unexpected Factors That Change How We Forecast The Future, ”  Jamais Cascio suggests that although we often think about the future in terms of technological changes, we would do better to look at social, cultural, and environmental changes.  These are factors that are likely to significantly i...

Although I have been a mentor and informal coach most of my life, I have practiced professional life coaching with clients for about five years now. During that time, I have built on my inherent gifts of encouraging and relating by adding professional training and observed coaching experiences. As I talk with other coaches, a common conversational topic is whether life coaching is an intuitive gift or is something that a person can be taught.  Is coaching something a person is gifted to do or can it be learned?  In short, is coaching an art or a craft? A craft originates in the left brain, the cognitive or rational side.  A craftsman learns techniques and how to use particular tools to develop or create something.  Once the creation is complete, there is little doubt of what it is.  In coaching, there are certain structures that the coach brings to the coaching conversation.  The coach brings order, direction, and momentum as well as some level o...

These are challenging days for theological institutions—seminaries, theological schools, and divinity schools. Whether they are attached to denominations or larger institutions, they still must deal with declining enrolments, stagnant endowments, and increasing costs.  In a recent article in The Christian Century, Daniel Aleshire, executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, noted that enrolment in ATS schools has dropped about one percent every year since 2006 and that although “the level of financial stress is not boiling like it was in 2008,” most schools and especially those related to mainline denominations are continuing to experience financial stress. How are theological institutions responding to these challenges?  One option is to consolidate with other institutions such as in the merger of Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary with Lenoir-Rhyne College (also an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America school) last year.  Some sell their...