by Carey Nieuwhof: Everything has its season.

And the season of the cool church is, in many ways, coming to an end.

Recently, I wrote a post that generated a lot of discussion online and offline about why charismatic churches are growing and attractional churches are past peak. You can read that post here.

To drill down further, here’s more on what’s been happening as the culture changes around us.

So flip back a few decades…There was an era when simply being a cooler, more relevant church than the church down the road helped churches reach unchurched people.

There was a day when all you had to do was improve the church you led to gain traction.

Trade in the choir for a band. Turn the chancel into a platform. Add some lights, some sound, some haze. Get some great teaching in the room. And voila, you had a growing church.

But we’re quickly moving into a season where having a cool church is like having the best choir in town: it’s wonderful for the handful of people who still listen to choral music.

Somethings changing. And a hundreds of thousands of dollars in lights and great sound gear are probably not going to impact your community like they used to.

So what’s changing? Plenty.

…

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Source: Why Cool Church Doesn’t Work Anymore (More on the Future Church)

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Ever feel a little insecure as a leader?

You’re not alone.

Insecurity is something I’ve battled, and I can think of almost no-one in leadership who hasn’t struggled with it at some point, including most very successful leaders.

Insecurity is that awkward lack of confidence that makes you too aggressive in some settings, and too passive and resigned in others. It makes you hide from who you really are from others, and honestly, it makes you hide from yourself.

Finally, insecurity drains the life out of your leadership and ultimately out of you.

Insecure leaders have a hard time identifying the fact that they’re insecure, because, well, insecurity feels normal to them.

The challenge is as an insecure person, your behaviour will make perfect sense to you but not to anyone else.

So rather than having that happen, why not look for the signs insecurity is impacting your life and leadership now?

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Source: 7 Signs The Insecure Leader on the Team…Is You

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by Carey Nieuwhof: Every week you host services at your church hoping to reach more people, which is admirable and appropriate.

The problem is that the culture is changing and never bothered to ask you permission.

In many ways, preachers are using a method that’s been around for centuries…if not millennia…which on the one hand is wonderful. The challenge is that culture is changing so rapidly, fewer and fewer people are hearing the message every year. At least that’s the case in many, if not most churches.

If you think that the cultural change is over, fasten your seat belts. It’s not showing any sign of decelerating any time soon.

Here are 7 things that are changing right now.

Wise leaders will see the change and respond. As we’ve said before, leaders who see the future can seize the future.

The problem for most preachers is that the culture is changing and never bothered to ask you…Click To Tweet

1. People Aren’t Automatically Coming to The Message Anymore

It’s almost singularly true that throughout human history to date, the only way to get the message was for people to assemble to hear it.

Just think about Jesus’ day: the crowds assembled to hear him. And in every century since then, that’s how it worked…

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Source: Declining Attendance and 7 Preaching Shifts That Are Happening Right Now

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