In Governance and Ministry, Alban Institute senior consultant Dan Hotchkiss offers congregational leaders a roadmap and tools for changing the way boards and clergy work together to lead congregations. Hotchkiss demonstrates that the right governance model is the one that best enables a congregation to fulfill its mission--to achieve both the outward results and the inward quality of life to which it is called. Resources on governance for the nonprofit sector have burgeoned over the past decade, and this book translates some of what is most helpful from that world for clergy and lay leaders. it also recognizes that in some ways congregations are unique and need governance structures and processes different from those that work in other organizations. Leaders must continually balance the conserving function of an institution with the expectation of disruptive, change-inducting creativity that comes when individuals peek past the temple veil and catch fresh visions of the Holy. Governance in congregations is not the science of achieving optimal results through organizational re-engineering. Governance is an expressive art, like preaching. The forms of our congregations must reflect the values and perceptions of the sacred at their heart. Congregations need skills and methods for negotiating "our way" of governance and for passing the torch effectively to new leaders.

Frank, straightforward guidance for clergy seeking to develop a sound theology of money and skills for church administration, Ministry and Money also puts forth a new strategy for self-care, and a confident approach to managing both personal and congregational finances. Dan Hotchkiss wants to help clergy overcome their own anxieties about money matters so they can help others address the personal, social, and congregational aspects of this challenging and often difficult topic.

When the leadership of Patterson Park Church looked for a book explaining the process of transitioning from a board-run church to an elder led form of church government, a structure they had come to believe was more in line with Scripture, they found none. God honored their efforts and two of their elders decided a book still needed to be written. Elder Governance: Insights into Making the Transition examines church government from a biblical and historical context and tells the story of Patterson Park's transition. The authors are hopeful that God will use their experience to help others considering such a transition.

Acclaimed church leader, blogger, founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan unpacks the lifecycle of a typical church, identifies characteristics of each phase, and provides practical next steps a church can take to move towards sustained health. Think about your church for a moment. Is it growing? Is it diminishing? Is it somewhere in between? Acclaimed church leader, blogger, and founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan has identified the seven stages of a church's lifecycle that range from the hopeful and optimistic days of launch, to the stagnating last stages of life support. Regardless of the stage in which you find your church, it carries with it the world's greatest mission—to "go and make disciples of all the nations . . ." With eternity at stake the Church should be doing most everything within its power to see lives changed forever. The Church should strive for the pinnacle of the lifecycle, where they are continually making new disciples and experiencing what Morgan refers to as "sustained health." In The Unstuck Church, Morgan unpacks each phase of the church lifecycle, and offers specific and strategic next steps the church leader can take to find it's way to sustained health . . . and finally become unstuck. The Unstuck Church is a call for honest an assessment of where your church sits on the lifecycle, and a challenge to move beyond it.

Churches have split and denominations have formed over the issue of church government. While many Christians can explain their church's form of rule or defend it because of its "tried and true" traditions, few people understand their church's administrative customs from a biblical perspective. Who Runs the Church? explores questions such as: What model for governing the church does the Bible provide, and is such a model given for practical or spiritual reasons? Is there room for different methods within Christianity? Or is there a right way of "doing church"? And, finally, how (and by whom) should the church be governed? Four predominant approaches to church government are presented by respected proponents: Episcopalianism - represented by Peter Toon Presbyterianism - represented by L. Roy Taylor Single-Elder Congregationalism - represented by Paige Patterson Plural-Elder Congregationalism - represented by Samuel E. Waldron As in other Counterpoints books, each view is followed by critiques from the other contributors, and its advocate then responds.

Marks the centenary of the Church in Wales and critically assesses landmarks in its evolution.

The first full length study of India's Ministry of Home Affairs

Perspectives on Church Government presents in counterpoint form the basic models of church government which have developed over the course of church history with a view toward determining which is most faithful to Scripture. Each chapter will be written by a prominent person from within each tradition—with specific guidelines dealing with the biblical, historical, and theological issues within each governance tradition. In addition, each writer will have the opportunity to give a brief response to the other traditions.

Author Blake Bradford writes that strengthening the decision-making process is one of the steps your congregation will need to be effective and fruitful. He notes that church governance is complex, and a host of issues from church size, matriarch/patriarch issues, local culture, congregational history, and pastoral history come into play when defining a particular church's culture, much less about changing the church's culture.The governing model for most mainline denominations was explicitly designed to slow down the decision-making processes. The legacy model of governance is for multiple governing committees to meet (always in person), work through questions, send them to a church council, perhaps have questions sent back to numerous other committees. Then the committee members are usually also the ones mobilizing the ministry to be done. Some congregations even have inherited a bicameral governing system in which leadership is divided between an Administrative Board (responsible for finances, facilities, staffing, and resources) and a separate Council on Ministries (responsible for programs and ministries). To get anything approved, an idea must survive both governing bodies.These inherited systems were born out of the post-war era when the church's goals were often assumed, growth was assumed, volunteerism was assumed, and the church's role in the greater culture was assumed. Perfectly created for that era and culture, these layers of committee structures were designed to slowly examine any potential change and not "rock the boat." Today's context for congregations couldn't be more different. While the legacy structures we inherited are exquisitely designed to make sure nothing new ever happens, the leadership structures that we need today must be nimble, adaptive decision-making groups that are designed to hold us accountable to Jesus' mission and unleash more disciples to be engaged in ministry, not just attend meetings about ministry.