Fresh Ideas: 1,000 Ways to Grow a Thriving and Energetic Church

    Tell us a little about yourself.   I guess you could call me a Hoosier cowgirl. I’m a transplanted Texan who loves serving God in Indiana. I grew up in Fort Worth, fell in love with my husband, Steve, at Dallas Baptist University. We were engaged within a month, and have served as pastor and pastor’s wife in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas churches for over three decades. Then God miraculously moved us to Indianapolis, where my husband serves as the Executive Director for the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana. I've have served in a wide variety of ministries in the local church, and as a long- time pastor's wife, I get the "big picture." I have wonderful opportunities to encourage Christian woman by speaking at training conferences, pastors’ and deacons’ wives, and women’s events, and I love traveling with my husband to see God at work in churches across our state. My vocational and educational background has been in religion and marketing. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom, a Texas Main Street Manager, a victim chaplain, a real estate broker, and a volunteer women’s ministry coordinator. I write a syndicated column, Fresh Ideas, for several state Baptist papers, and regularly write articles for Let's Worship magazine, Deacon Magazine, and other Christian publications. I enjoy doting long-distance on my young- adult kids, eating chocolate, and traveling with Steve around our beautiful state and world. And I rarely wear cowboy boots in Indiana.

    What was your motivation behind this project?  “Zeal for Your house has consumed me.” Those words from Psalm 69:9 describe exactly how I feel about my God’s church. I love big churches, small churches, new churches and old churches. I love contemporary churches and traditional churches. As we worship in dozens of different churches each year, I’ve noticed a consistent common denominator among growing, vibrant churches of every size: FRESHNESS! I’ve written articles for Christian publications for several years, so when I was invited to write a monthly article, Fresh Ideas, for the Indiana Baptist state paper, I jumped at the chance. I had no idea that other state papers would pick it up, and I was thrilled to receive regular “it worked!” emails from pastors and laypeople across the states. Those articles evolved into a whole book of Fresh Ideas! I hope that my “zeal for His house” is contagious, and that some of these ideas will help freshen up how your church does church. There’s no excuse for a stale church. We serve a living, vibrant, relevant God, and it’s worth our effort to honor Him.

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  I’m praying this book will reignite Christian leaders’ enthusiasm for fresh, effective ministry in their local church, and that it will inspire them to “bring it up a notch” for the glory of our great God. I'm hoping your copy of this book will be worn and tattered from overuse. It's a fun read, with seventy-four topics, and hundreds of ideas designed to squeeze your creative juices and help you freshen up how your church does church. I hope church leaders--from volunteers to senior pastors--will browse and dream, consider and pray. Tweak these to fit your own unique church. And enjoy!

    Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists?  I enjoy reading so many things... Randy Singer's fiction, Lyle Schaller, Tom Rainer, Barna research, Beth Moore's Bible studies Connie Cavanaugh's nonfiction. Where do you come up with all your fresh ideas for churches? They came from a variety of places. My husband and I have been privileged to serve as pastor and wife in growing, innovative churches over the past three decades, and most of the ideas in this book have been tested and proven in those settings. These past four years, with Steve working with the state convention of Baptists in the state of Indiana, we've worship in dozens of different churches each year. I get to observe hundreds of wonderful examples of “fresh” across this state.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  I just know you're going to love Fresh Ideas! Here's a summary poem about the Fresh Ideas book: It’s simple to use, Fun to peruse, And sure to enthuse. Okay, I'm not a poet. But it's time to freshen up how your church does church. Grab your highlighter and start reading!

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