Articles for tag: Necessary Endings

July 11, 2015

By Jennifer Johnson More than 4,000 churches close every year, many because their dwindling attendance can”t support a senior minister or the rising costs of aging buildings. While simply closing their doors may be the best option for some, Creswell Christian Church made a different decision, choosing instead to initiate a merger with Mountain Christian Church.Â Today the majority of Creswell”s families are enthusiastic Mountain members, working together to honor the past and build for the future in new ways that neither could have accomplished alone. This article tells how that happened. Creswell Christian Church a 55-year-old congregation in Bel

December 28, 2012

Christian Standard

Church Leadership

The Power of No

By Kent E. Fillinger No is a word more church leaders need to learn. No signifies a necessary ending more churches need to choose. No is a message that needs to be embraced, but understood. But sometimesÂ No means only that “less is less.” Here”s how and when to say the word that transcends everyÂ language. “No.” The crisp, bold black letters that jumped off of the stark, white cover of the 3-by-5-inch booklet in the magazine piqued my curiosity. I opened the booklet and read these simple, but significant, sentences: Two letters. A word that transcends every language. A word that

March 23, 2012

Christian Standard

Book Reviews Reviews

To End, to Follow, to Believe

By LeRoy Lawson Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships that All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward Henry Cloud New York: Harper Business, 2010 Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus Kyle Idleman Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011 Hannah”s Child: A Theologian”s Memoir Stanley Hauerwas Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2010 Not long ago a friend urged me to read Henry Cloud”s Necessary Endings. It has inspired and instructed him, he said, because as he leads his megachurch into its next phase of growth, he knows he faces some very difficult decisions.