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,…
Browsing: Leadership
Articles
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…
Change Leaders Persevere
Regularly we remind others and ourselves that resurrection never happens until after a death. Yet often in leading a significant change, we panic. When the…
Learning to Fail Fast
While reading recent studies in leadership development trends, I was reminded of Paul’s call in Romans to be “transformed by the renewal of your minds.”…
The Power of Five Questions
In a local church, feedback will happen — whether you ask for it or not! But the challenge is to collect feedback in a systematic…
What’s Good about That?
It’s good to pay attention to what’s going well. Most congregations — like most people — can accomplish more by building on their strengths than…
Lovett Weems Briefly Reviews Three Books of Interest to Church Leaders
Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, Making Church Matter by Michael White and Tom Corcoran, Ave Maria Press, 2013. This book will surprise…
Jesus’ Lessons for Leading
Building a congregation’s life around a clear vision and purpose is easy to affirm. Aligning that purpose with biblical teaching and witness makes sense. Seldom…
Saying Yes
One of the surest ways to empower people to serve is to champion their ideas. If any church member approaches you with an idea for…
Leading as Moses Led
One of the most fundamental elements of any successful organization is leadership. However, it is also one of the most misunderstood qualities as it relates…
Levers of Change for Congregations
Bishop Robert Schnase, author of the popular Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (Abingdon, 2007), has inspired thousands of congregations to focus on what is most…
Old Habits Die Hard
I grew up working with my parents in our country grocery store. Those were days before the advent of large drug stores with hundreds of…
Nelson Mandela — A Leader for His Time
Late last year, the world paid tribute to the remarkable life of Nelson Mandela. Some said there had been nothing like it since the death…
Starting the Year Poised for Growth
Christmas and New Year’s are just behind us and Lent is on its way! Consequently, there is plenty to do. But thanks to the generosity…
What Church Leaders Can Learn from Other Enterprises
I believe church leaders have much to learn from prayerful and careful consideration of a broad range of management and organizational practices. And based on…
Leadership is Always about Others
There are many, many things about leadership that we do not know. However, there are a few truths about which we can be sure. One…
A Consensus Model for Conducting an Annual Meeting
Each year, my congregation holds an annual meeting to review the past year, give updates on issues, and share projections for the coming year. We…
Dreams Take Leadership…and Time
Will Campbell died earlier this summer. He was known as an eccentric Baptist preacher who fought fiercely for justice but was never comfortable with the…
Remember the “Light of Day” Test
A controversy arose recently over the Rolling Stone magazine cover featuring Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a Bob Dylan-like photo. Although the issue included…
A Little Criticism Goes a Long Way
Leaders must have feedback to grow. Those who become exemplary leaders start out much like others. What causes them to grow into stellar leaders is…
Creating Positive Staff Dynamics
Jesus made it look easy. Pick some folks (anyone will do), spend intentional time with them, give them chances to lead, and Bam! A team…
