George Bullard's Journey

Halloween is Over!

At around 8:00 p.m. I turned out the outside lights, closed and locked the front door, and put the candy up. Halloween is over! And, I am not particularly happy. Again this year we had less than a dozen kids come by. Fortunately we did not have the teenagers this year who always present to me a real dilemma because in my cultural background Halloween is for children.

I live in a gated community. It is an older suburban community where construction on homes started 40 years ago. In our suburban area it is a desirable place as the cost per square foot is low, and generally the quality of the neighborhood is very high. Some years back the neighborhood was inundated with children during Halloween because people would drive from several miles away to go around our neighborhood because it was desirable, safe, had security riding around in force, and the houses were relatively close together.

Conducting Survey Today on Congregational Transformation’s Enduring Principles

What are the enduring principles that drive great congregational transformation? Which principles are most important and/or enduring? Help discover the answer by taking the following survey: http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2dtd9mmfmgxae28/start.

Results will be posted here next week.

Capital Campaigns By an Organization Seeking to Transform the Church for Vital Ministry?

At first it may seem a little out of character for a non-profit religious organization focused on increasing the vitality of leaders, congregations, denominations, and parachurch organizations to have a capital fundraising component to its work. But, by looking deeper into the reasons why some clear rationale can be discovered.

The Columbia Partnership at www.thecolumbiapartnership.org, for whom I am a Ministry Partner and the Strategic Coordinator [translated Executive Director] has launched a new service, using experienced leadership, to provide capital campaigns for congregations and other religious non-profit organizations needing to raise financial resources.

Is Your Church Considering a Capital Campaign?

The Columbia Partnership, the primary ministry organization with whom I am connected, is now offering capital stewardship/fundraising campaigns for congregations, denominations, and other religious organizations. This week I hosted a couple of webinars presented by our Capital Campaign Coordinator, Bill Howard. Here is the PowerPoint presentation Bill used. Right-click and save this file to your computer. [It may take about two minutes to download because of the advanced graphics in the presentation.]

Check out this presentation on "Is Your Church Considering a Capital Campaign?

Download: Capital Campaign PowerPoint

If you have questions about capital campaigns, send a message to client.care@thecolumbiapartnership.org or call 803.622.0923.

The 'Great Commission' or Glorified Sightseeing?

This article appeared in the Friday, October 10, 2008 edition of the Weekend Journal of the Wall Street Journal.

Religion News (RSS): The 'Great Commission' or Glorified Sightseeing?

As a veteran of international missions trips and supervising thousands of people who have gone on hundreds of trips I believe Evan Sparks raises important points, while at the same time missing the point. His analysis is significantly off base from my experience, but I would want to respect the fact that he himself has gone on numerous short-term missions trips.

I am not sure I have time to respond to his misconceptions. Do any of you have the time or passion?

The Mystery Worshipper

This article appeared in the Friday, October 10, 2008 edition of the Weekend Journal of the Wall Street Journal.

Religion News (RSS): The Mystery Worshipper

That do you think? Is this measuring the right things? What are the benefits of this type of evaluation, particularly if you believe first impressions are important? What, if any, are the distractions from the core ministry?

The Coaching Approach to Care | LeadershipJournal.net

Check out this article about a Ministry Associate with The Columbia Partnership—Bill Howard—with commentary by the co-author of a book in The Columbia Partnership Leadership Series—Chad Hall.

The Coaching Approach to Care | LeadershipJournal.net

Free Webinar on Spiritual Strategic Journey

Today and Tomorrow [October 1^st and 2^nd] I cam conducting free webinars on Is a Spiritual Strategic Journey Right for Your Congregation? Today it is at 1:30 p.m. EDT and tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Send me an e-mail at seminars@thecolumbiapartnership.org if you want the connection information for either of these webinars.

 

If you cannot make it but want the PowerPoint I will be using, go to www.BullardJournal.org and page down to find it available online for you to download.

Posted by email from George Bullard's Posterous

Is a Spiritual Strategic Journey Right for Your Congregation?

Check out this PowerPoint:

Download PowerPoint: Is a Spiritual Strategic Journey Right for Your Congregation?