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…
Browsing: Leadership
Articles
5 Lessons for Better Preaching
Charley Reeb, author of two books on preaching, says that preachers better connect with people in the pews when they realize they are in the…
Episode 18: “Franklin Planner Creator Hyrum Smith Shares Principles for Leading with Purpose”
What leadership lessons help make you more effective? In this episode Hyrum Smith, creator of the Franklin Planner, speaks with Lewis Center Director Doug Powe about leading with purpose as well as practical, transformational leadership lessons.
People Too Busy to Serve? Teach Them to Steward Their Time
Lewis Center Staffer Ann A. Michel says people who think they are too busy to serve at church should be challenged to reexamine their priorities…
5 Steps for Putting Good Ideas into Action
Missouri Pastor Jim Hoffman discusses how a five-step process for evaluating and testing possible new initiatives can help churches develop and implement ideas in a…
5 Ways Female Leaders Undermine Themselves
Church consultant Susan Beaumont says that power accrues more easily to men than women in our culture, so women need to be especially savvy about…
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.
2 Churches — 1 Pastor
It is increasingly common for a congregation to share a pastor with another congregation and for pastors to be serving more than one church. Lew…
5 Key Practices for Building a High-Trust Culture
Amy Valdez Barker says that the church should be a training center in the development of trust. She names practices that leaders can employ when…
Episode 15: “Leading in Small Church or Multi-Church Settings” featuring Lew Parks
Are you a pastor serving more than one church? Or a leader in a congregation that’s part of a multi-church ministry? Listen as Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe speaks with Dr. Lew Parks, a small church vitality expert. They explore perspectives and practices that can help ministry flourish even in a church that doesn’t have its own pastor — or a pastor who doesn’t serve just one church.
7 Tips for Avoiding Digital Communication Disasters
Church consultant Joel Snider says that serious congregational conflicts can be caused or exacerbated by the poor use of electronic communication. Congregations can work to…
4 Tips for Preaching on Politically Charged Topics
Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, author of Sacred Resistance, says it’s up to preachers to address the pain, injustice, confusion, and chaos in our days even when it…
Episode 12: “Sacred Resistance” featuring Ginger Gaines-Cirelli
How can churches grow beyond simply engaging in political activism and instead practice “sacred resistance?” In this episode Lewis Center Associate Director Ann A. Michel speaks with Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in downtown Washington, DC, about sacred resistance as a way of being grounded in the gospel and about who we are as people of faith.
Honoring the Context of a New Ministry Setting
Lovett H. Weems Jr. says incoming pastors tend to see everything through the lens of their own experience, vision, and interests, rather than learning how…
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…
Leading Unafraid
How can church leaders confront the fear that prevents congregations from dealing with controversial issues or taking necessary risks? Adam Hamilton, pastor of the United…
Setting the Right Expectations for Volunteers
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. says it can be difficult to hold volunteers to high standards of job performance, but clear position descriptions,…
Episode 10: “Moving beyond Fear” featuring Adam Hamilton
Why does fear so often prevent leaders and congregations from taking action? Listen as Lewis Center Associate Director Ann Michel speaks with Rev. Adam Hamilton, author of the new book Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times, about how people of faith can move beyond the paralysis of fear.
Unsticking a “Stuck” Institution
In 2014, Amy Butler stepped into the pulpit of The Riverside Church in Manhattan, a church well known for its public witness and prominent pastoral…
5 Ways to Know if Your Church Needs A Strategic Plan
Chris Bennett, a Virginia pastor who helps other congregations develop strategic plans, outlines a set of questions that can help your church decide if a…
Episode 9: “Leading a Historic Congregation” featuring Amy Butler
How do you balance tradition and innovation? In this episode, Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe, Jr., speaks with Rev. Amy Butler of The Riverside Church in New York City. They discuss insights for leading a historic church.
Related Resources
Unsticking a “Stuck” Institution by Amy Butler
Discovering God’s Future for Your Church Video Tool Kit
4 Traps for Clergy When Moving to a New Congregation
Bill Wilson of the Center for Healthy Churches says that the arrival of a new minister can be a marvelous opportunity to start anew for…
Positively Urgent
Mike Bonem says a sense of urgency is necessary to propel change, but that urgency need not come from a negative sense of doom and…
Fostering the Courage to Lead
David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary, sees courage as essential to church leadership. He explains how courage is formed not through study or proclamation,…
Funeral Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., by L. Harold DeWolf
Former Wesley Theological Seminary Dean L. Harold DeWolf, who was Martin Luther King’s dissertation director at Boston University, delivered this tribute at King’s funeral on April…
Can Church Leaders Help Reframe the Gun Debate?
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that church leaders can make a difference on issues of extreme political polarization such as guns, if they put themselves…
A New Church and A New Seminary: Theological Education Is the Solution
Many churches are “mule churches” — strong for a generation but unable to reproduce themselves. As a mule comes from a horse and a donkey,…
The One-Point Sermon
Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it’s often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized…
Episode 6: “That’ll Preach” featuring Charley Reeb
How can you connect with more people and engage current parishioners better through preaching? In this Leading Ideas Talks, Lewis Center Director Douglas Powe speaks with Pastor Charley Reeb, author of That’ll Preach!: 5 Simple Steps to Your Best Sermon Ever (available at Cokesbury and Amazon).
When Churches Hire Members
It is increasingly common for churches to hire their own members. Ann Michel of the Lewis Center suggests we need to consider how congregations and…
