One of the really interesting side discoveries of the research we did as part of the Vibrant Congregations Project is that it’s really hard to change alone. Maybe I should back up a bit to put this more in context. The Vibrant Congregations Project was a research endeavor generously funded by the Lilly Endowment to help a team from Luther Seminary investigate what contributed to congregational vitality and vibrancy. Partnering with congregations all over the U.S. and Canada, we studied four dimensions of congregational life – stewardship, vocation (connecting faith and daily life), biblical preaching, and biblical fluency (patterns of...