Top “Leading Ideas” Articles of 2016
What Leading Ideas subjects are trending this year? We have assembled this list to give you another opportunity to glean insight and inspiration from the…
Browsing: Leadership
Articles
So That: Two Powerful Words for Mission Results
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that churches often invest a great deal of energy in activities without ever asking how they relate to what God…
Management by Wishful Thinking?
Personnel matters in ministry settings are almost always more complicated than in business, says church leadership expert Mike Bonem. He names the shifts in attitude…
Leading Between Memory and Vision
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains that God’s leaders always live in the tension between memory of the past and hope for the future. Effective leaders draw…
Why Year-End Evaluations Rarely Help Leaders Grow
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains why year-end performance evaluations are insufficient to help people grow and improve. While year-end reviews are important, ongoing feedback that…
3 Common Communication Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Ryan Holck, an expert on church communication, says that leaders tend to throw so much information at their congregants that nothing sticks. There’s also a…
The Power of Core Values
Anthony Hunt, pastor of Epworth Chapel in Baltimore, describes how discerning and naming core values can help a church stay focused and on track. Clear…
6 Ways to Jumpstart Leadership Formation
Pastor Mike Slaughter says one of the key factors determining the effectiveness of a congregation is the presence of principled leaders who demonstrate a vital…
3 Questions to Preserve Energy and Passion in Ministry
Heather Bradley and Miriam Bamberger Grogan are executive coaches with a particular concern for the wellbeing of clergy. They say that spiritual leaders are often…
God and Guns — Do Something!
Rev. Amy Butler writes that the epidemic of gun violence in America is no longer a matter of opinion or politics; it is a matter…
Good Leaders Still Face Problems — Just Different Ones
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., writes that effective leaders are never free from problems. In fact, as they make progress, they are likely to confront more…
Volunteer-Savvy Leadership
Jake McGlothin, a staff member at Floris United Methodist Church in Virginia, shares perspectives on recruiting volunteers and keeping them happily engaged in ministry leadership.…
Leaders Know Themselves
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., discusses the importance of leaders having a mature, self-aware understanding of themselves. He writes that in order to achieve a healthy…
Too Few Sunday School Teachers? Try a Team Approach
John Wimberly reports how creating a team of four teachers for each children’s Sunday school classroom had the paradoxical effect of easing the burden of…
Why You Can’t Build a Church around the Pastor
Reflecting on the forced resignation of a mega-church pastor in South Carolina, Roger Lovette says serious problems follow any time a church is built around…
Living Through a Church Renovation
Daniel Hilty says that any large-scale facility renovation requires a congregation to tolerate a tremendous amount of change and disruption. It’s critical to share information,…
Leadership for Worship
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that few areas require more sensitive and creative leadership than worship. Merely asking someone what worship practices they prefer does…
Ten Hints for Leading Volunteers
Jill Fox lists ten things to keep in mind to develop a ministry team with healthy and happy volunteers, and one that is also attractive…
Six Ways to Make Change Stick
Pastor Charles Stone, who has studied how brain chemistry impacts our ability to process change, recommends six specific strategies to help congregational leaders embrace change.…
Congregations as Political Systems
David Brubaker says that while every congregation is a political system, political activity doesn’t need to be manipulative, polarizing or demeaning. He outlines four requirements…
A Simple Planning Process
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., outlines a simple planning process that churches can use to identify issues and concerns and develop realistic plans to address them. Key…
How Leaders Create Culture Every Day
Leaders are culture creators, writes Ryan Stigile. Their words, actions, and decisions reinforce community values. When the culture of an organization conforms to its values,…
Predictable Surprises in the Church
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., encourages congregations to uncover and prepare for their “predictable surprises.” Leadership is about the future, so leaders must take the future…
Becoming the Person God Created You to Be
Laurie Haller says that clergy going into a new church can only lead effectively when they are authentic to who they know they are and…
The Myth of Balance
Karoline Lewis writes that the notion that one can keep all the important aspects of life in perfect balance is an unattainable myth. It can…
Three Keys to Identify and Develop High-Impact Leaders
C. Anthony Hunt writes that the development of high-impact leaders is critical to the ongoing effectiveness, vitality, and growth of congregations. Discerning the gifts, passion,…
3 Surefire Ways to Fail in Developing Leaders
Tony Morgan says that church leadership development efforts often fail because they are programmatic rather than personal,they are limited to specific roles, and they move…
Clergy Personal Finance Resources
Our basic responsibility as Christian stewards is to manage our personal financial resources so that we can care for ourselves and our families and marshal…
How Incoming Pastors Can Navigate the Changeover Zone
In a relay race, the two runners exchanging the baton run in tandem in their changeover zone lane of 20 meters. For most runners, this…
Passing the Baton to Your Pastoral Successor
In a relay race, there is an “incoming” and an “outgoing” runner. At different times, and in different races, runners must play either part. So…
