by Ircel Harrison | Aug 27, 2009 | Opinion
You’ve heard the joke about changing a light bulb: “How many Baptists does it take to change a light bulb?” “None. Baptists don’t change anything.” Several years ago, I was working with a ministry that invested a great deal of money...
by Ircel Harrison | Aug 20, 2009 | Opinion
Imagine that your church received an unexpected gift of $3,000 this month. The donor does not have a specific purpose for the gift but does not want it to go into the general budget. Church staff and lay leadership carefully debate the best use of this gift. They...
by Ircel Harrison | Aug 10, 2009 | Opinion
Perhaps it is time for those of us who call ourselves Christians to take a look at the calendar. Although it is 2009, many of us still function as if it were 1980 – or even 1955. In “American Churches in Crisis,” David Olson challenges the American church...
by Ircel Harrison | Jul 21, 2009 | Opinion
A recent study by Leadership Network and the Hartford Institute for Religion Research looked at the demographics of those who attend mega-churches, defined as a congregation attended by 2,000 or more each week. The study determined that almost half (44 percent) had...
by Ircel Harrison | Jul 16, 2009 | Opinion
In his book “How the Mighty Fall,” Jim Collins identifies the third stage as “denial of risk and peril.” One of the markers of this stage is externalizing blame. Rather than accept full responsibility for setbacks and failures, leaders point to...
