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Church size may matter, but many next generation pastors are beginning to shift their measuring sticks and focus their members on matters more weighty than budgets and buildings.
"In our church, we've had to change what we measure," says Ken Fong, pastor of Evergreen Baptist Church (Los Angeles, CA). "We no longer use size as our primary metric. Instead, we spend time and effort analyzing the compelling intangibles of the Spirit's work: devotion, love, and obedience."
| Many next generation pastors are realizing the opportunity to inspire the devotion of people in their churches. |
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This commitment to a shift in metrics is echoed by other church leaders in their 30s who are growing in influence. Next generation pastors across many regions and neighborhood types report that people in their churches wrestle with the same tension: measuring tangibles or intangibles.
"I'm afraid we've been measuring the wrong things," says Dave Gibbons, pastor of NewSong Church (Irvine, CA). "Numbers mean |
everything. Pastors compare the size of buildings, the number of people who attend, the size of budgets, and the number of multi-site locations."
Dave says while numbers are one indication of success in a church, they may be keeping leaders from emphasizing the most important measures.
"We've made [numbers] singular and central," Dave says. "This emphasis has blinded us to the intangibles of obedience, love, and sacrifice--things Jesus talked about far more than numbers, if he ever talked about numbers at all."
Shifting the metric of success to the intangible of devotion requires considerable thought and careful application. Pastors shouldn't hold up an ideal and expect all people, regardless of their situations, to meet it.
| "Our congregation contains college students, young parents, and older people," notes David Lee, pastor of. . . |
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| Delay Predicted for Economic Impact on Churches |
Based on past recessions, church members will keep giving to their congregations, at least for now, said Sylvia Ronsvalle of Empty Tomb Inc.
| Google Call to Action Gets Huge Response |
A call by Google Inc. for beneficial, world-changing ideas generated more than 150,000 online submissions. Funding of $10 million will be divided among up to five winning ideas in May 2009.
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| Resources for Women Who Lead |
Are you ready for some leadership inspiration aimed at you as a woman leader? Would you like to learn from other women leaders who do what you do? Check out Women Who Lead for the latest in leadership books written by women, blogs, interviews and much more. |
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| Women's Breakout Sessions at Innovation3 |
Leadership Network's Women's Initiative will be hosting two breakout sessions focusing on women's leadership at the Innovation3 Conference, January 27-28, 2008 in Dallas. The two breakout sessions. . .
| Female Executive Pastor Forum |
Leadership Network would like to invite you to a Female Executive Pastor Forum, February 2-3 in Dallas. The goal for this roundtable-size gathering is peer learning from a very specialized group, as you exchange insights about your experiences and what you would like to learn from others in the room.
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| You can peruse more than two years' worth of Leadership Network Advance feature articles, and get valuable information on a variety of ministry topics at the newsletter's Archives. Select VIEW ARCHIVES LIST for the full list of Advance archives. |
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