So You Say Want to Grow?

As many of you know, I have been engaged in progressive church growth over the past three decades serving as a founding, called, and transitional pastor and as a consultant, coach, speaker, and writer. Most of my experience has been in Presbyterian Church (USA) and United Church of Christ settings, but ideas seem to translate into other mainline traditions and occasionally into some non-denominational spaces.

While my days as a full-time congregational pastor have passed, I still have ideas about church growth, particularly regarding self-identified liberal or progressive churches. My passion for church growth comes from a deep gratitude for the faith passed down to me by ancestors, saints, and generation past. I am not a post-evangelical and somehow managed to avoid any significant participation in any conservative student or congregational settings. My ideas are rooted in a core experience in mainstream Christianity that has moved more left with each decade of my ministry.

This progressive Christianity is what I feel is important to share in today’s political/ideological climate (Shameless plug for my new book coming out in 2024), and I believe that expressed well, gives some progressive congregations a real chance at growth — in numbers and in impact. So, with a level of audacity that comes from a church planter, I am challenging myself to craft and condense all the thoughts into something that will be helpful for church leaders and congregations who say they want to grow.

As part of this project (more to share once details are confirmed) I will be workshopping much here on SubStack with a public post and Subscriber Chat. Previously I posted an example of these starter posts, Is Your Worship Compelling, and will add similar posts over the next few months.

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I think the final project with have 10-12 core questions, just enough for a leadership team, Session, Council, or Board to tackle in a year. Each section will include the core question, a prayer, a scripture passage, a bold claim by me, 2-3 follow-up questions/prompts, a few practical actions, links to other resources, and who knows what else.

I will poke and prod and hope to challenge both pastoral and congregational leadership, so be warned. I have been doing this church thing for a long time, and there is more than enough responsibility to be shared when reflecting on why there has been a decline when growth might have been possible.

I will update this structure as things roll out, and I am being intentionally vague and sparse in what I share, but here is the first run at the structure of things.

1. Why do you want to grow? (coming soon)

   1. What does growth mean to you?

   2. Why haven’t you grown?

   3. What will it take for you to grow?

2. What does it mean to be a Progressive Christian community?

   1. articulated Christian faith

   2. expansive theology

   3. body politic

3. Is your theology integrated?

   1. worship

   2. institution

   3. communication

4. What do you care about, as told by your energy, time, and money?

   1. community

   2. institution

   3. people

5. Is Your Worship Compelling

   1. setting

   2. music

   3. ritual

   4. preaching

6. How do you create and nurture belonging?

   1. welcome

   2. integration

   3. membership

7. How are you engaged in the body politic?

   1. pulpit

   2. setting

   3. community

8. How do you deliver your message? (outward expression, etc)?

   1. digital

   2. written

   3. social

9. How do you value resources of money, facilities, and wealth?

   1. saving

   2. partnerships

   3. generosity

10. How will you measure “success” and growth

    1. numbers

    2. finances

    3. engagement

    4. impact

If you have any questions that are shockingly absent from this list and/or have something to add, feel free. I will interact more in-depth in the chat after each post, so be sure to add the app if you want to keep in the conversation.