Church Leadership

Church Leadership
11 Self-Care Steps For Leaders Who Are Barely Holding On
Motivation is hard. And comfort food feels so good. But it’s more important now than ever to stay healthy.

Lately, it’s hard to remember what day it is.

Without the usual markers, one blends into the other in a confusing emotional haze.

My sleep is off, too. And with my sleep goes my ability to think and lead clearly.

You too? Yes, me too.

So how can we stay stable and sane in ...

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Church Leadership
When You’re Trying To Lead Others, But You’re Barely Holding On
A lot of people in positions of leadership are working hard to fight off feelings of helplessness right now.
When You’re Trying To Lead Others, But You’re Barely Holding On

This is harder than I expected.

No, I’m not sick. And none of my loved ones are. So, for those of you who are sick or who are dealing with the illness or (God forbid) the death of a loved one, I cannot imagine your burden.

But even for those of us who are simply being asked ...

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Church Leadership
Change Is Exhausting – Don’t Attempt It Without A Way To Recharge
Whenever you’re attempting a big change, it is essential to build intentional time and space for rest.

Doing new things is scary. For some.

Doing new things is exciting. For others.

But even if you fall more into the second category than the first (as I do) doing something new is always exhausting.

And it’s more exhausting when you’re attempting to change something you’ve ...

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Church Leadership
How Did Those 10-Year Vision Statements Turn Out For Everyone?
I don’t know what’s coming, but I know who does. And his vision is always 20/20.

How many of my fellow pastors are prepping their 20/20 vision statements right now, I wonder?

It reminds me of what happened in 2010. Back then, there were a whole lot of churches, ministries and individuals promoting their 10-year plans for their 2020 vision.

The idea of having ...

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Church Leadership
10 Principles To Get The Best From Volunteer Church Leaders
Leaders will attend and volunteer at churches where they are honored as people and where their hard work and leadership skills are recognized and valued.

Volunteer leaders are the backbone of the church.

This is true in churches of all sizes, but especially in small churches which may be led exclusively by volunteers.

After all, volunteers can quit at any time. And when they do, it actually frees up more of their spare time. So ...

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Church Leadership
“We Only Need To Be Faithful” Can Never Be An Excuse For Ineffective Ministry
If a church isn’t being effective, is it being faithful?

You don’t have to be a big church, you need to be a faithful church.”

I’ve said and written that, or some version of that, so many times I’ve lost count.

On the other hand, I’ve read and heard other Christian leaders say “it’s not enough ...

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Church Leadership
The Distracted Pastor
It's great to have online influence, but not at the cost of our family or the congregation we’ve been called to lead and guide with love.

Last week, I came across a wonderful Twitter thread. I asked the writer, Matt Henslee, if he would edit it into a blog post that I could use here. He had just done so for his own website, but he also gave me permission to pass it along to you. (Karl Vaters)

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Church Leadership
Are You Called To Be A Small Church Pastor Or A Big Church Pastor?
Three simple assessments that can give you an idea about the size of church you may be best suited to serve.

Some pastors are called to do ministry in a big church. But most are called to small church ministry.

So how do you know which one you’re called to? Is there a way to figure this out without trying and failing at one or the other?

In my decades of personal ministry experience ...

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Church Leadership
The Indescribable Joy Of Loving The Church God Called You To Serve
Sometimes, being able to say “I love this church and I want to stay here” is enough to keep you going.
The Indescribable Joy Of Loving The Church God Called You To Serve
Image: Tim Mossholder / Unsplash

There’s something very freeing about letting go of the need to perform.

Even when our goal is something noble.

Recently, I had the chance to observe this in a very tangible, personal way.

I was speaking at a conference to a bunch of pastors – mostly from small churches ...

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Church Leadership
This May Be The Most Disruptive, Counterintuitive Truth In Church Leadership Today
Churches don’t need to get bigger to do great ministry. Many small churches are doing it already.

Great ideas are disruptive.

They don’t follow common wisdom.

But after you hear them, you often think, “of course! How did I not see that all along?”

In church leadership today, there’s no more common wisdom than this: if your church is not increasing in ...

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