A while back we talked about summer being a good time for reflection and planning in the life cycle of a church. And then we asked what you thought...
Survey Says…..
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Posts by Mary Frances
Freedom’s Just Another Word for… Knowing When to Let Go
By Mary C. Frances, Executive Director and Senior Consultant It’s mid-July. The AC is struggling, the kids are bouncing off the walls, and Janis...
Summer Is a Time for Porch Lights and Playgrounds: Deepening Relationships in Your Neighborhood
By Mary C. Frances, Executive Director and Senior Consultant Summer is a time for slowing down the clock just enough to let relationships breathe....
Celebrating Shifting Gears
By Mary C. Frances, Executive Director When I was in my last parish call, I was fortunate to receive a detailed demographic report from the office...
Beyond the Palms: Resurrection as Public Witness
By Mary C. Frances, Executive Director Spring is a relentless theologian. No matter how brutal the winter or how dead the ground appears, little...
Why My Call Led Me to Help the Church Change
By Mary C. Frances, Executive Director I recently met a pastor in my new community. In the course of our conversation, we found out that we had some...
Holy Disruption: Why Your Church Needs to Take Risks to Thrive
For decades, the Church has prioritized preservation over mission. We have maintained buildings, protected budgets, and clung to familiar programs. But preservation is not the Gospel call. The Gospel is a call to resurrection—and resurrection requires, to put it bluntly, death. In today’s rapidly shifting cultural landscape, churches that are unwilling to take risks are not playing it safe; they are slowly dying. Conversely, churches that embrace holy disruption are discovering vitality they never imagined possible.
When Christmas Work Meets Minneapolis Streets: Thurman’s Call and Our Collective Task
By Mary C. Frances, Executive Director and Senior Consultant The tinsel is packed away, the holiday music has faded, and for many, the rhythmic...
