Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week.

Today, what should we do with buildings owned by dying churches? Plus the latest on teenagers’ historic anti-social tendencies, Tim Keller on preaching, and Swedish death cleaning.

Can God Fix America's Housing Crisis?

Some politicians have an idea of what to do with all those dying churches.

I have a different idea. Dying churches generally have buildings and sometimes money, but no people. Growing churches often have people, but no money and no buildings.

Flip it, right? I think dying churches should flip the keys to growing churches. Seriously passionate about that. (You can catch my thoughts on that topic in this video.)

​But this article outlines officials who have a different plan. We have a huge housing crisis, but we also have a crisis in the church of growing churches needing buildings.

See what you think.

How to Grow Your Leadership in 5 Minutes (or Less) This Weekend

Swap out scrolling Instagram for something more productive.

Leadership growth doesn’t have to be complicated — it can start with just five minutes a day.

When you go to open up Instagram this weekend, what would it look like if you opened up The Art of Leadership Academy instead?

There are new leadership articles, quick guides, videos, and real-time discussions ready for you to tap into. All it takes is a few minutes to:

✅ Read a new leadership insight.

✅ Drop a comment or question in the conversation.

✅ Pick up one idea you can apply next week.

Small steps add up. Your future leadership will thank you.

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(Oh... and if you don’t have it downloaded already, you can download the mobile app for iPhone or Android.)

High School Students Are Less Social Than Ever

What’s at fault?

Dating, socializing, holding down jobs, and lack of sleep are all trending to historic (disturbing) levels.

​Ryan Burge explains why this isn’t a blip.​

Being Compassionate Has Health Benefits

Research shows a link between compassion and success.

Did you know that recent research from the Harvard Business Review shows a measurable link between authentic compassion and a personal improvement in both health AND professional success?

In fact, data shows that ongoing acts of kindness towards others is directly linked with living a longer and more impactful life. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

As a pastor, I desire to see you live a full life of gospel-driven kindness and impact and encourage you to visit my friends at Compassion International by clicking here and learning how you can grow YOUR compassion today. Find out more at www.compassion.com/carey.

Learn More

Swedish Death Cleaning, Anyone?

Be kind to your kids.

You don’t have to work at being cluttered. It just happens.

I’m passionate (some would say too passionate) about keeping things clean and organized. This article explains the Swedish Death Cleaning fad that motivates people to declutter so they don’t burden their kids. Imagine that!

Cheering for you,

Weekend Watching

Chris Hodges

This week, Chris Hodges opens up for the first time about being bullied as a kid, having an inferiority complex and how that's impacted his leadership, and how to multiply leaders to craft a successful succession.