Archive for Change/Conflict

Decision Making Process: Part 4 – The Decision-Making ‘Exit Ramp’

by Tim Woodroof –  On a freeway, most exit ramps look the same. A sign gives you warning an exit is available in one mile. A right-hand lane allows you to slow as you turn onto the exit ramp. The ramp banks gently away from the freeway and towards an intersection with some lesser road. You […]

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Decision Making Process: Part 3 – The Decision-Making ‘Freeway’

by Tim Woodroof –  Nothing beats an interstate freeway for moving quickly and efficiently from Point A to Point B. But there are obvious challenges involved with freeway travel. You have to build the infrastructure—a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. You should establish some “rules of the road”: how fast (or slow) drivers should go … which […]

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Decision Making Process: Part 2 – The Decision-Making ‘On Ramp’

by Tim Woodroof – The decision-making model used by church leaders can be vague or clear, unrestricted or structured, informal or fixed. To borrow the metaphor from the previous blog, leaders can move towards a decision by taking the “scenic route” or using the “freeway.” Each has its strengths and weaknesses. But the larger a leadership […]

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Decision Making Process: Part 1 – A Decision-Making Model

by Tim Woodroof –  It’s late on a Wednesday night. The shepherds’ meeting is winding down. There is only one item left on the agenda, but it is the final item for a reason. It requires a difficult decision. “Before we leave tonight,” says the Chair, “we have to decide whether to drop our support for […]

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Observations on Churches of Christ – The Graying of our Churches

by Tim Woodroof –   Interim Ministry Partners (IMP) has the privilege of working intensively with churches across the country—more than seventy-five congregations in the last few years. As a result of our work, IMP is strategically (perhaps uniquely) positioned to observe churches in a wide variety of circumstances and draw out some common themes. […]

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A User Friendly Church (Part 2) – A No! Chuch (And How To Avoid Becoming One)

by Mark Frost –  It was a Sunday morning. We were on vacation out of state. Our clan of four approached the morning with a mix of eager anticipation and anxious trepidation. We were visiting a church we had never before attended. On the one hand, we enjoyed meeting brothers and sisters in new locations. We […]

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A User Friendly Church (Part 1) – A Yes! Church?

by Phil Ware –  As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver between “Yes” and “No.”  For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what […]

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What Time Is It At Your Church? (part 3) – Time To Re-Prime?

by Phil Ware – I was recently asked, “Why do so few churches regain their former glory once they realize they are past their prime?” The answer to that question is as simple as it is harsh: nostalgia. Many people seem to believe that the only way for a church to regain its former glory is […]

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What Time is it at Your Church? (part 2) – Bill Knapp’s Keeps Me Up at Night

by Mark Frost  – Author’s Note: As part of our series on the seasons of a church’s life, I’d like to offer the following piece that I wrote in 2007, when I was preaching for the Church of Christ in Trenton, Michigan. It describes the dilemma a church faces when it wakes up to realize […]

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What Time is it at Your Church? (part 1) – Seasons

by Tim Woodroof – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. (Ecc 3:1) I’m getting older. Can’t run as fast or long as once was true. I ache in places I never noticed before. I wear tri-focals. My memory isn’t what it used to be. (Where did I […]

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