Learn from the Stupid Things You Do
It was a stupid thing to do. Returning to my hotel room at the end of the first day of a conference, I could not…
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Articles
Some Practices to Improve the Use of Your Time
Everyone can improve how productively they use their time each day. It isn’t necessarily a matter of working harder or having the most items on…
How to Communicate Change
Three years ago I was hired for my dream job: communications director for a large church. I came with more than 20 years of experience…
Navigating Shifting and Competing Values
When I have done strategic planning with congregations of older members, it is common to hear their values expressed as family, community, and faith. But…
What is “Adjacent Possible”? Can It Benefit Your Church?
Business scholar Rosabeth Moss Kanter has completed a two-year study of the nation’s infrastructure with a special focus on its transportation systems. Many of these…
Leadership Lived: Clementa Pinckney and Open Doors
As soon as I saw the television images of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston on the early morning news, my heart…
The Failure-Tolerant Leader
In tennis, players usually give their maximum effort on the first serve, knowing that if they fault on that one, they will have another opportunity.…
Assertive and Humble Leadership
Columnist E. J. Dionne, Jr., reported on Senator Chris Coons of Delaware speaking to the Secular Coalition of America (“A Senator’s Faith — and Humility,”…
How to Make a Good Entrance
About this time each year, many clergy prepare to begin new work in new places with new people. Some of it will feel familiar. Some…
Starbucks, Communion, and Race Conversations
Many of us were skeptical and even downright hostile when Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, initiated the idea of “Race Together” to promote conversations…
Commencement Season Lessons for All Leaders
Next Monday is Commencement for Wesley Theological Seminary of which the Lewis Center for Church Leadership is an integral part. Commencements are happy and glorious…
Your Leadership Attitude is Contagious
A co-worker arrived at the door of my office waving an angry email from one of our most talented adult education teachers. The teacher was…
Baseball and the Simplicity of Leadership
The new baseball season is upon us, and hope emerges anew in major league cities across the country. Baseball fans and some who had paid…
Look for Options, Not Solutions
Leaders are constantly faced with problems. They engage such challenges with energy because they know that these issues represent what stands between their current reality…
Leaders Learn from Their Failures
The Super Bowl in January had the highest viewing audience ever — a record of over 114 million. Those who attended the first Super Bowl…
Telling an Alternative Story
People have been discussing the decline of the church for quite a few years now. We’ve gotten used to the dire warnings and predictions of…
Why I Don’t Engage Unhappy Church Members by Email
One thing I do not do anymore is engage unhappy parishioners by email or respond to them if they write to me. You know what…
The Emergence of “Dones”
A friend alerted me to a blog by Thom Schultz, founder of Group Publishing, on “The Rise of the Dones.” At first I thought there…
A Choir Director Shares Recruiting Tips that Any Ministry Group Can Use
Some people like to recite a phrase “it’s not the size of the choir, but the heart of the people participating” that matters. This sounds…
Leaders Listen
National news recently quoted a speech by a Microsoft executive who said women should trust the “system” to take care of their pay raises. Previously,…
Sifting Our Inheritance: What to Keep and What to Let Go
A few years ago, my mom passed away after having lived a good life. Dad asked us to help him sort through my mother’s possessions.…
Celebrate to Build Your Church’s God-Esteem
Dying churches are often churches with low self-esteem. Your task as a leader is not to build up the church’s self-esteem but to build up…
When is a Proposed Change a Deal Breaker?
God told Jeremiah “to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” These biblical directions are the definition…
High Yield: Seven Disciplines of the Fruitful Leader
Whether by training or intuition, fruitful leaders develop a set of practices that serve them well and bear much fruit. These practices often become second…
Remember That We Are Working in Sand
Each summer my family spends a week at the beach. And every year my daughters, their friends, and I build a sand castle. We’ve discovered…
Five Leadership Insights I Wish I Knew 25 Years Ago
This summer marked 34 years in ministry for me. Although I appreciate what I learned in seminary, I have learned from experience five key lessons…
Leaders Believe Things Can Happen
One of the most important contributions a leader can make is to believe that things can happen. When we do not, they will not. It…
Spiritual Lessons from a Vinedresser
Judith Sutera, a Benedictine sister, has spent decades as vinedresser for her monastery’s garden after careful apprenticeship with a mentor wise to the ways of…
Use Trial Periods for New Ideas
Lovett H. Weems Jr. says using a trial period to launch new ideas is a non-threatening approach. Trial periods also encourage feedback and engagement in…
Trend toward Older Clergy Continues in 2014
For the past ten years, the Lewis Center in partnership with the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits has reported annually on Clergy Age…
