Janet R. Cawley, Who Is Our Church? Imagining Congregational Identity. Alban Institute, 2006. Referenced in: Congregational Culture, Church Identity LifeandLeadership.com Summary Cawley presents a well-crafted process for churches to understand their identity. She defines identity as “what makes a congregation unique, distinct from all others.” (5) She says the closest analogy to congregational identity is
Israel Galindo, The Hidden Lives of Congregations: Discerning Church Dynamics. Alban Institute, 2004. Referenced in: Church Dynamics, Research Leadership and Emotional Systems, Self-Differentiation LifeandLeadership.com Summary One might call this book “Congregations 101,” or “The Primer on What Makes Churches Tick,” or “Congregational Dynamics Through the Lens of Emotional Systems.” Regardless of one’s approach to congregational
Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization. Broadway Business, 2006. Referenced in: Leadership and Organizational Culture LifeandLeadership.com Summary Part of the challenge of transformational and empowering leadership is helping congregations understand how to break out of missionally ineffective patterns. Often churches “keep on doing what they have always
Edgar H. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership, Fourth Edition. Jossey-Bass, 2010. Referenced in: Leadership and Organizational Culture LifeandLeadership.com Summary Leaders create congregational/organizational cultures or corporate personalities, whether intentional or not. A part of transformational and empowering leadership is to be proactive in creating cultures that are mission enhancing and life-changing. Several sources in the resource
Bill Hybels, Axiom: The Language of Leadership. Zondervan, 2008. Referenced in: Courageous Leadership Empowering Leadership Transformational Leadership LifeandLeadership.com Summary Anyone who leads knows how important it is to distill leadership insights into brief slogans that “stay with” those who follow. Organizational psychologists such as Edgar Schein say it is through these informal missives from leaders
CHURCH IDENTITY, CONGREGATIONAL CULTURE Part of the ministry resources on Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal. See also the resources on Leadership and Organizational Culture. Introduction Resources Related Ministry Resources Introduction Just as ecclesiology helps us understand the church from a theological angle, church identity or congregational culture looks through sociological and organizational perspectives. One
Church Dynamics and Characteristics, Congregational Research Part of the ministry resources on Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal. Introduction Theological and Philosophical Foundations for Church Renewal Preparation for Planning Understanding Church Characteristics, Church Dynamics Congregational Research Congregational Culture, Church Identity (separate page) Related Ministry Resources Introduction Intentional church development and renewal is hard work, for
