It has been a year since I formed my AJ Stewart Consulting, LLC; and this Christmas it will be a year since I launched Grow+Small Church Consulting. Happy anniversary!
While I’m proud of what we’ve built, it has become increasingly clear that most small, struggling, and shrinking mainline churches are not in a place right now to make innovative changes that will allow them to remain healthy while small and shrinking. The time is not now, but it will come. Much good work is being done in the meantime.
I follow where the Spirit leads, and it is leading me to hold Grow+Small Church Consulting in one hand while serving different markets with the other hand.
What does this mean for those who love Grow+Small Church Consulting? It means:
Over the next few weeks and months, my blogging will come to an end.
You will see new consulting and spiritual offerings from me.
What is are these new things?
As a business consultant, I see many who are not served: micro-businesses, small businesses, and markets that are not what one might call “ordinary” or especially wealthy.
As a leader in faith communities, I see many who struggle to fit in: ordained who struggle in congregations, un-ordained who struggle with so many things, and those who feel close to God (in three persons) but who struggle with the Church as it is and has been.
As a tender-hearted, innovative, and cheerfully-quirky person walking in this world, I see a lot of people like me. Some of us have found our “tribe.” Most are not served in our business lives, however.
For these three reasons, I am moving forward to serve - with two separate websites and services - people who are:
Innovative, quirky, and need business coaching and consulting (even if you can’t pay!), and/or,
Those who are drawn to (progressive and theologically sound, probably mainline-like) Christianity but feel they do not “belong" as fully as they’d like - particularly those who feel called to lead or feel uncomfortable just sitting in a pew. [Invitation-only at first.]
Do these spark something in you? Contact me!
What should you do?
In the next few months, you will see more information from me about these new services, and less about Grow+Small Church Consulting.
If these services will be “noisy” for you, please accept my invitation to unfollow me on social media. I will NOT take this as an insult. I respect your need to control the information coming at you. Consider unfollowing if you are:
Happily ordained
Happily un-ordained
Happily ordinary
Prone to unpleasant feelings when conventions are broken rather publicly and shamelessly
And if you would like to continue supporting (and sharing!) and listening for news about Grow+Small Church Consulting, subscribe to our Facebook community and/or subscribe to the website.
Is this goodbye?
No! Grow+Small Church Consulting is unique because you are unique. And we will always support and serve your small, struggling, shrinking mainline church so it can survive and thrive while “small.”
Have questions?
Feel free to contact me with any questions!
In the meantime, be kind, be safe, be well, walk in love, ...and be innovative.
Image used without permission from: https://www.norwegiancreations.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/and-now-for-something-completely-different.jpg
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