As an adjunct to the Best Practices in Church Management Series, Creativity in Church Management covers a number of topics that, while important, do not warrant their own volumes in the series. Topics include co-responsibility, managing parish diversity, and issues surrounding parish reconfiguration and consolidation.

A seminal moment in the study of U.S. Catholic parish life came in the 1980s with the publication of a series of reports from the ground-breaking Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life. These reports are now badly outdated, as Catholic dioceses grapple with new challenges that didn't exist in the 80s. Topics that were not considered then, like greater Catholic mobility, increased cultural diversity, and structural re-organization as well as the rise of lay leadership, have attained new s...

A practical, accessible guide to help church leaders through the steps needed to ensure an effective, accountable, and transparent financial process in a parish.

The Church is not a business, but it does have a stewardship responsibility to ensure that all of its resources are used as effectively as possible to carry out God's work on earth. In the case of human resource assets, good stewardship involves assisting those engaged in ministry (whether clerical or lay) to achieve their greatest potential through the various components of performance management, including performance assessment. This unique collection brings together both scholars and p...

How many parishes do you know of that are truly great?In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins makes the point that good is the enemy of great. What does a great parish look like? Obviously it nurtures the spirituality of its parishioners, but it must do more than that. To be truly great, a parish must also have the temporal side in order. It must be a welcoming, community building place where people want to be. And it must be well-managed.Let''s be very clear. The C...

Based on extensive research, this volume offers insight and help on the key fiscal topics confronting church leaders today, including: Why is the church so uneasy with the topic of money? Is there a difference between stewardship and fundraising? How can we motivate giving? Should we invest church funds? It tackles the resistance, fears, and difficulties about money common in congregations. The book is must reading for lay leaders and anyone in pastoral ministry today.

Becoming a Pastoral Parish Council is a basic primer on how a parish council can be set up and organized, and what roles it can play.

Today’s parish leaders are expected to be holy and prayerful spiritual guides, great preachers and compassionate confessors, but also to make important decisions in key areas like finance, budgeting, hiring and firing, fundraising, risk management, relationship-building, and more—often with virtually no transition or training. And with all the requisite education in philosophy and theology they must provide future pastors, in addition to formation in priestly spirituality and pastoral care...

During the past five decades, the Second Vatican Council has been alternately celebrated or maligned for its supposed break with tradition and embrace of the modern world. But what if we’ve gotten it all wrong? Have Catholics—both those who embrace the spirit of Vatican II and those who regard it with suspicion—misunderstood what the council was really about?Winner of a first-place award for a first time author and second-place in popular presentation of the faith ...

Some of the most important people in faith formation are often overlooked: adults. But how can parishes engage people living in a postmodern world—people who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious,” who may be suspicious of large institutions, and whose experiences and worldviews are as diverse as our parishes themselves? Nationally recognized educator Jane Regan offers a bold yet commonsense vision for adult faith formation in our century, showing us how to tap into adults’ uniq...

In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI formally responded to petitions for closer unity from many of the Anglican patrimony. Thus, the Personal Ordinariates were created - a new space within the Latin Rite in which the Anglican tradition may flourish: no longer in separation from Rome but now in unity with it. Common questions asked about the Ordinariate are answered here, explaining the different Ordinariates, how they were founded, how they function and relate to other Catholics; how to enter the Ord...

A useful resource for pastors and all who play an active role in the life of a parish, Fostering Leadership Skills provides help in dealing with some of the challenging aspects of present-day church ministry and stresses the importance of community building, planning together, and empowering small groups. Sections on change, transition, and ministerial development complete this comprehensive ministry leadership manual.Paperback