Look for Best Principles, Not Best Practices
(Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the Union for Reform Judaism’s blog, Inside Leadership.) Everyone wants an easy answer: “Tell us what to do, and we’ll do it!” synagogue leaders often plead – but given congregations’ varied histories, cultures, demographics, physical spaces, and resources, no single solution will work for every community. Even if it did, given the complex challenges presented by a fast-moving and rapidly changing world, a simple plug-in solution is unlikely to work for long. Instead of trying to replicate best practices that seemed to work for another community, congregations should seek “best principles” to guide […]