https://fivepractices.org/An independent journal on congregational life and the five practices of fruitful churcheshttps://fivepractices.org/blog/190-fixing-and-healing/https://fivepractices.org/blog/190-fixing-and-healing/2026-11-04After the 2011 Joplin tornado, thousands of volunteers came to repair and rebuild. The difference between fixing things and helping people heal is a useful lens for congregations that want to respond to disaster well, near or far.https://fivepractices.org/blog/199-a-single-line/https://fivepractices.org/blog/199-a-single-line/2026-11-04Countless sermons, carols and paintings try to describe the incarnation. Sometimes a single line of Scripture or hymnody says more than all of them. Notes on Advent, Charles Wesley's Christmas hymns and letting one line shape worship.https://fivepractices.org/blog/194-dont-let-worry-win/https://fivepractices.org/blog/194-dont-let-worry-win/2026-11-04Tired leaders make poorer decisions, and frightened organizations do too. What the biblical refrain "do not be afraid" means for church councils facing financial strain, and practical ways to decide well when anxiety runs high.https://fivepractices.org/resources/a-fruitful-hospitality-is-radical-listen-to-these-and-more-sermons/https://fivepractices.org/resources/a-fruitful-hospitality-is-radical-listen-to-these-and-more-sermons/2026-11-04A guide for preachers planning sermons or a series on Christian hospitality: the key biblical passages, themes that connect them, traps to avoid and ways to link preaching to what a congregation actually does.https://fivepractices.org/resources/worship-skits-sunday-school-tools-and-forms-for-creative-planning/https://fivepractices.org/resources/worship-skits-sunday-school-tools-and-forms-for-creative-planning/2026-11-04How small and mid-sized congregations can plan worship and Sunday school creatively: a planning rhythm, what a simple planning form should contain, using short dramas well, permissions to check and keeping children safe.https://fivepractices.org/books/forty-days-of-fruitful-living/https://fivepractices.org/books/forty-days-of-fruitful-living/2026-11-02An independent note on Robert Schnase's Forty Days of Fruitful Living (Abingdon Press, 2010), the daily devotional based on Five Practices of Fruitful Living: its purpose, structure and use in Lent, and practical advice for congregations planning a forty-day reading season.https://fivepractices.org/books/five-practices-of-fruitful-living/https://fivepractices.org/books/five-practices-of-fruitful-living/2026-11-02An independent note on Robert Schnase's Five Practices of Fruitful Living (Abingdon Press, 2010), which applies the five congregational practices to individual discipleship: how each practice is reframed, how the book was used, and how it relates to the congregational version.https://fivepractices.org/books/five-practices-of-fruitful-congregations/https://fivepractices.org/books/five-practices-of-fruitful-congregations/2026-11-01An independent note on Robert Schnase's Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (Abingdon Press, 2007; revised 2018): what the book argues, how it is structured, how congregations have used it, translations and adaptations, and questions it raises.https://fivepractices.org/robert-schnase/https://fivepractices.org/robert-schnase/2026-11-01An unofficial, sourced profile of Robert Schnase, the United Methodist bishop best known for Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations: his pastoral career in Texas, his years as bishop in Missouri and Rio Texas, his books and the reception of his work.https://fivepractices.org/extravagant-generosity/https://fivepractices.org/extravagant-generosity/2026-10-31Extravagant generosity is the fifth of the five practices of fruitful congregations. The shift from stewardship campaigns to a culture of generosity, the biblical tithe, how congregations talk about money honestly, and questions for finance and stewardship teams.https://fivepractices.org/risk-taking-mission-service/https://fivepractices.org/risk-taking-mission-service/2026-10-30Risk-taking mission and service is the fourth of the five practices of fruitful congregations. What makes service 'risk-taking', the difference between charity, partnership and advocacy, how short-term mission can help or harm, and questions for mission teams.https://fivepractices.org/intentional-faith-development/https://fivepractices.org/intentional-faith-development/2026-10-29Intentional faith development is the third of the five practices of fruitful congregations. Why faith grows best in small groups, what the Methodist class meeting and recent vitality research suggest, and how a congregation can build real paths for learning.https://fivepractices.org/passionate-worship/https://fivepractices.org/passionate-worship/2026-10-28Passionate worship is the second of the five practices of fruitful congregations. What it means beyond the traditional-versus-contemporary debate, what the 2010 United Methodist vitality study found about worship, and questions for worship planners.https://fivepractices.org/radical-hospitality/https://fivepractices.org/radical-hospitality/2026-10-27Radical hospitality is the first of the five practices of fruitful congregations. What the phrase means, where the idea of welcome comes from in Scripture and Christian tradition, the common ways churches fall short, and questions to start with.https://fivepractices.org/blog/10-fruitfulness-more-than-numbers/https://fivepractices.org/blog/10-fruitfulness-more-than-numbers/2026-10-26Churches count attendance, members and money, and are tempted to treat the counts as the goal. An essay on the biblical image of fruit, Goodhart's law, the strengths and limits of congregational metrics, and better questions for church councils.https://fivepractices.org/blog/3-lumpers-and-splitters-or-why-five/https://fivepractices.org/blog/3-lumpers-and-splitters-or-why-five/2026-10-25Church life is complex, yet the frameworks congregations use come in neat numbers. An essay on lumping and splitting, from Darwin to Wesley's three General Rules, and on what any list of practices can and cannot do for a congregation.https://fivepractices.org/blog/2-why-practices/https://fivepractices.org/blog/2-why-practices/2026-10-24Why speak of congregational 'practices' rather than programs, goals or values? An essay on the idea of practice in philosophy and theology, from Alasdair MacIntyre to Dorothy Bass, and what it changes for church councils.https://fivepractices.org/blog/128-the-five-practices-and-the-four-areas-of-focus/https://fivepractices.org/blog/128-the-five-practices-and-the-four-areas-of-focus/2026-10-23In 2008 United Methodist leaders adopted four areas of focus for the whole denomination, a year after the five practices became popular in congregations. What each framework is, how they differ in purpose and scale, and how a congregation can use both without confusion.https://fivepractices.org/blog/105-wesleys-covenant-prayer-part-ii/https://fivepractices.org/blog/105-wesleys-covenant-prayer-part-ii/2026-10-22The Methodist covenant renewal service goes back to John Wesley's first covenant service in London in 1755 and his 1780 pamphlet. Its history, the shape of the service, the Covenant Prayer line by line in brief, and practical notes for congregations holding one in January.https://fivepractices.org/blog/179-call-to-action/https://fivepractices.org/blog/179-call-to-action/2026-10-21In 2010 The United Methodist Church's Call to Action process commissioned a study of more than 32,000 congregations that identified 'drivers of vitality' in small groups, lay leadership, pastoral leadership and worship. What it found, how it was used and what it could not tell congregations.