What to Do When Volunteers Quit
Deborah Ike says people step away from volunteer positions for various reasons. But regardless of the cause, they need to know the church continues to…
Browsing: Leadership Best Practices
Articles
Meet with a Purpose
Leadership Consultant Mike Bonem suggests strategies for making meetings more productive. The first step is to be clear about the purpose for convening a meeting.…
4 Ways to Lead Effectively When Expectations Change
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe explains that church leaders today are forced to lead amid constantly changing expectations. He outlines a four-step process to help…
3 Strategies for Leading Beyond Your Blind Spots
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says we all have characteristics that others recognize but we can’t quite see in ourselves. Effective leaders see past these…
7 Characteristics of Humble Confident Leaders
Confidence is important for leaders, but according to Kay Kotan and Phil Schroeder, confidence can easily tilt toward arrogance. They outline seven characteristics, such as…
Fruitful Leaders Ask Questions
The paradigm of “leader as expert” doesn’t work in a world where the questions keep changing and old answers no longer apply. Daniel Cash and…
5 Ways to Overcome Common Obstacles to Change
Leading change is challenging. It requires that leaders surmount a barrage in internal and external obstacles. Daniel Cash and William Griffith outline strategies for getting…
New Possibilities are All around You
Churches often see their circumstance through the lens of scarcity and fail to recognize assets and opportunities within their grasp. Joe Daniels and Christie Latona…
9 Ways Leaders Can Respond to Conflict Constructively
Leaders need to understand the emotional dimensions of conflict and minimize the inevitable anxiety and systematic stress. In a book published the year before his…
7 Mindset Shifts that Can Reshape Your Church’s Future
To reshape the future of your church you must set aside old assumptions, fears, and stereotypes and embrace new experiences and methods. In the new…
50 Ways to Multiply Your Church’s Leadership Capacity
This free 50 Ways resource provides strategies to identify and support new leaders and build and maintain effective ministry teams. Make it easy for new…
How to Grow the Leaders Your Church Needs to Thrive
Michael Kurtz describes a simple but profound leadership development formula in which each leader is responsible for mentoring new leaders and creating the expectation that…
3 Leadership Principles from Archbishop Tutu
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe learned through firsthand experience working with Desmond Tutu the key principles of the archbishop’s leadership effectiveness. Powe says Archbishop Tutu was…
Leaders Learn to Work with Difficult People
When confronted with a difficult person, do you try to work around them or just complain behind their back? Lewis Center staffer Ann Michel says…
3 Actions Churches Should Take in Light of #MeToo
Phill Martin, a clergy coach and an executive with the National Association of Church Business Administrators, says churches should take proactive steps to protect against…
Choose Your Hills Wisely
Jim Cowart says it’s important to stay focused on the right objectives. Instead of being content with what is, taking on too much, or choosing…
3 Deresolutions to Start the New Year
Mike Bonem says effective leaders are strategic in deciding what not to do. He advocates resolving to drop inconsequential tasks and delegate work peripheral to…
Episode 21: “The Greatest One Minute Manager of All Time” featuring Ken Blanchard
How can we lead like Jesus? In this episode, thought leader Dr. Ken Blanchard shares insights with Lewis Center Director Douglas Powe about being a servant leader.
3 Key Questions for Evaluating Ministry Possibilities
Aaron M. Bouwens says too many churches make decisions based on the popularity and charisma of a plan’s proponents. He says congregations can make better…
Episode 16: “Women and the Power Dynamics of Leadership” featuring Susan Beaumont
Why do women leaders sometimes struggle with using their power and influence? Listen as Lewis Center Associate Director Ann Michel speaks with church consultant Susan Beaumont about how women leaders can learn to use power constructively in leadership relationships.
6 Ways to Know If Your Church is Overstaffed
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff outlines six questions that can help reveal whether a particular staff role is likely to be fruitful or…
“Protect, Sustain, Grow: Best Practices for Handling Your Church’s Money” Conference and Livestream
Saturday, March 10 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Eastern (9 a.m.-12 p.m. Central) Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC Managing church finances requires skill, dedication, and know-how, but…
7 Ways to Invest in Your Staff Culture
Phill Martin, a clergy coach and an executive with the National Association of Church Business Administrators, says a typical church invests half its operating budget…
3 Suggestions When a Ministry Project is Unsuccessful
Pastor Vincent Howell, an expert on project management in ministry, says even when a project doesn’t fully meet expectations, it’s important to keep a positive…
For Multicultural Churches — A Variation on the Golden Rule
Douglas Brouwer, author of How to Become a Multicultural Church, says in diverse settings it’s not enough to treat people the way you would like…
Power Is about Influence, Not Control
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., founding director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, draws on the example of Judge Warren K. Urbom’s skill in presiding…
Leadership Lessons that Shaped My Ministry
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., delivered these remarks to a gathering celebrating his tenure as founding director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. The event…
Deal with People
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says rather than dealing with a problem person head-on, churches will instead try to resolve the difficulty by formulating a policy…
Expecting the Best of People Can Bring Out Their Best
Lovett Weems shares the story of how a church leader brought around a critic of a new homeless ministry by approaching the individual with a…
The Qualities of Competent Intercultural Leadership
As multiculturalism takes hold in U.S. churches, there is a greater need for competent intercultural leaders, says Brian Leander of Adelphi University. He says “culturally…