By: Digby Wilkinson on May 9, 2019
Losing the will to live is a rather common experience of pastors in transitional ministry. If not that extreme, living on the edge of “losing your mind” is a routine occurrence. Consequently, Diane Zemke’s book, Being SMART about Congregational Change, could easily be something of a godsend to church leaders, assuming they read it early…
By: Jean Ollis on May 9, 2019
It is a privilege to personally know – and to have interacted with – this week’s author, Diane Zemke. Diane writes a pragmatic text which is a helpful guide to not just the pastor, but also to lay leaders invested in congregational change. Having been a member of the United Methodist Church my entire life,…
By: Shawn Hart on May 9, 2019
(My apologies, but this will not have proper formatting and source citing this week, due to internet problems on my main computer). My sister and brother-in-law visited this past week since they knew I would be home recovering from surgery. Cheri and Greg have served as a ministry couple numerous times throughout their marriage, and…
By: Mario Hood on May 9, 2019
Diane Zemke holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, with a focus on enacting congregational change. Zemke, in Being SMART About Congregational Change, writes about the tools and resources necessary to enact, embrace and encounter congregational change. Zemke provides an easy to read but insightful book that is laid out in three sections.…
By: Jenn Burnett on May 9, 2019
“Appreciating difference is not easy.”[1] Most people have a tendency to gravitate to people who are more like themselves. In fact, “[f]amiliarity is the most powerful predictor of friendship.”[2] It’s easier being around people who are like minded because we can predict their actions, which decreases fear and stress.[3] Given the amount of stress in…
By: Mark Petersen on May 9, 2019
Diane Zemke, in her book Being Smart About Congregational Change, advances strategic and clear thinking around how one can influence change within a system. While her research was specifically focused on the local church context, it has high applicability to any organizational environment. In my case, with my focus on the changing landscapes within private…
By: Dave Watermulder on May 9, 2019
I was standing in front of about one hundred people in the Social Hall of my congregation. As I looked around the room at the folks who had stayed after worship to hear my presentation, I could sense their excitement. Afterall, I had promised them a slide show of pictures from South Africa and Hong…
By: Greg on May 9, 2019
Stories produce the narratives and foundations of our life. They set the tone of our families. They help us understand our worship of God and the way we are influenced in making decisions. Stories shape how we see the world or how we make sense of it and how we adapt to it. I hate…
By: Karen Rouggly on May 9, 2019
Diane Zemke is a wealth of knowledge. Zemke earned a PhD in Leadership studies from Gonzaga University, and has been working for many years in the academy. She has also been an active consultant for faith communities to process through change and transition to come out healthier on the other side. In her book,…
By: Jake Dean-Hill on May 8, 2019
It was great to be able to read a book by one of our very own advisors in the LGP program. Diane Zemke’s book, Being SMART about Congregational Change, was easy to read and very practical when it comes to congregations making changes, and boy do many congregations need to change. As you would expect,…
By: Harry Edwards on May 8, 2019
I‘ve been thinking about Diane Zemke’s work in Being SMART about Congregation Change when she pointed out that churches are either founded on the concept of common identity or common bond. She explained that churches founded on common identity tend to form around a shared vision of the founding members.1 Churches that start like this…
By: Chris Pritchett on May 8, 2019
Diane Zemke’s Being Smart About Congregational Change is a practical guidebook for congregational leaders who wish to lead change in their congregations. The book offers a curation of leadership and change theories and is packaged into a simple three-part structure. The first section describes the author’s understanding of how congregations function and imagine themselves as…
By: Mike on May 7, 2019
Diane Zemke’s Being SMART About Congregational Change is a book that provides wise tools and resources to help both the church and members deal with the stress of making change. Focused on doing church, in a healthy fashion, is Zemke’s passion. I see many connections between her insights into a churches culture, internal struggles, and…
By: Jennifer Williamson on May 5, 2019
In the book, Being Smart about Congregational Change, author Diane Zemke explains why strategies that work for leading change in a business context can miss the mark when it comes to volunteer organizations, such as local churches.[1] One key reason that Zemke gives is the difference in leadership structures. “…leadership, authority, and power in a…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on May 4, 2019
Zemke earned a PhD in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, with a focus on enacting congregational change.[1] She also serves as a Project Faculty member for Portland Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry Leadership and Global Perspectives track. Of all our assigned readings, this is the first opportunity where I have met and interacted with the author.…
By: John Muhanji on April 14, 2019
Brene Brown has touched the core of failure in our leadership. In her book “Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversation, Whole Hearts,” she surprises many by encouraging them to learn how to fail and fall. She also introduces very well what breaks or build us strong is vulnerability. It is defined as the emotion…
By: Wallace Kamau on April 14, 2019
Nelson Mandela is famously quoted as saying that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over fear. I found the quote relevant to the Brene Brown’s book, Dare to Lead and her emphasis on courage as key to leading successfully. I believe courage is the one competence that distinguishes great achievers and…
By: Mary Mims on April 12, 2019
Vulnerability is a word I have always had trouble pronouncing and sometimes difficulty practicing. Growing up in an urban environment, vulnerability was associated with weakness and weakness will get you killed. It is not that I grew up in such a bad neighborhood, but it is just that vulnerability implies trust, and trust is not…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on April 12, 2019
Leadership holds a different meaning for me today than it did a few years ago when I was serving as Director of the American Red Cross, Director of the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, and finally Director of the Kalamazoo Prayer Center – all over a 20-year span. Back then, leadership to me meant “expert of everything,…
By: Kyle Chalko on April 12, 2019
I picked up the book Dare to Lead by Bene Brown last year when our Lead Mentor, Dr. Jason, recommended it on his personal Facebook page. I believe his comment was that this book was as good as A Failure of Nerve which was another book I was highly impacted by. After seeing his recommendation,…
