Church Leadership
Recently, I was in a roomful of pastors when one of them said “Pastoral ministry can be harder on our spouses than on us.”
Every head in the room nodded in silent agreement.
Then someone asked “why”?
Here are some of the reasons we discovered that evening. ...
People use a lot of excuses for not putting their best foot forward in pastoral ministry.
- “I love preaching, but I hate studying”
- “Teamwork isn't my strong suit – I’m an introvert”
- “I get impatient when things don't change fast enough”
I’m not a podcaster. But I’m becoming an avid listener.
If you’re a podcaster looking for an audience, I’m the kind of person you’re looking for. Someone who wants great content and will come back for more once I find it.
So what makes a great podcast ...
Leaders are learners. It’s an axiom as old as leadership itself.
I used to say leaders are readers. But that’s never been entirely true. Because you don’t need to be an avid reader to be a constant learner.
Some learn by collaboration and conversation. Some by ...
Your struggling church can turn around this year.
This month.
This weekend.
Because turnarounds can happen in an instant.
If you’re in a church that needs a turnaround, that’s the good news.
Now here’s some hard news. Good, but hard.
Turnarounds can happen fast. ...
Impact.
It’s what every pastor wants from our Sunday sermons (or talks, messages, homilies – take your pick).
We want to have impact. We want the message to stick. We want the words we speak to help people follow Jesus more closely.
Sermons aren’t just about Sunday. ...
God doesn’t work on our calendar.
He created days, weeks, months, seasons and years. Those are real things.
People designed minutes, hours, decades and New Year’s Day on January 1. Those are made up things.
That’s why I don’t trust New Year’s resolutions ...
Have we been doing vision-casting wrong?
I think so. For maybe a generation or more.
Some of my worst disasters in ministry have come from trying to implement a vision, only to find out that no one else was buying into it.
They might have even agreed that it was a good idea. For ...
Do I stay, or do I go?
It’s one of the toughest questions a pastor has to face.
Pastoring isn’t easy. There will always be difficulties to address and bad history to overcome. But most pastors are in it for the long haul.
This month I celebrate 24 years in my current ...
The church needs fewer bosses, more leaders.
And even more servants. In the pulpits, not just the pews.
Sadly, too few people in positions of authority know the difference between being a boss or being a leader. Mostly, because we haven't grasped servanthood.
There are some ...
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