Surmounting Leadership Defeats
How do we rebound from setbacks to our best-laid attempts to exercise responsible leadership in ministry? I recently returned from a large denominational gathering where…
Browsing: Leadership
Articles
Stewarding God’s Gift of Time
God has given each of us the ability to do many things. Yet we have to make choices, to say no to some activities in…
The Risks and Rewards of Being an Associate Pastor
Let’s face it. Working as an associate pastor is not glamorous. You are not preaching every Sunday, your name is not on the church sign,…
Showing Appreciation for Your Pastor
Some of you may know that October is designated Pastor Appreciation Month in some denominations and congregations. This is not a major national observance, but…
A Keystone Habit for Our Time
A much-talked-about book currently is The Power of Habit. The author, Charles Duhigg, attempts to answer the questions, “Why do habits exist, and how can…
Metrics: A Tool for Learning, Not Judging
The current focus on setting numerical goals for ministry and reporting on the results is not new, though it is now greatly expanded. In the…
Feedback without the Pain
A limitation to most feedback systems is that they tend to accentuate the negative. We know that leaders want and need feedback for growth, but…
Stewards of God’s Grace
A noted British economist recently submitted to the government a review of the equity markets in England. In writing about the current situation of financial…
A Wilderness Experience
For a number of years our leaders have been using “exile“ as a metaphor for the situation of the church. Their assumption is that we…
Continuity and Change: Two Tunes All Leaders Must Know
It is exciting to hear of the energy and vitality with which so many churches are planning for the future. Many of you report changes…
Planning Inspired by the Spirit
Drawing on his experience leading a strategic planning process, Pastor Myung Sun Han identifies key lessons to keep a church-wide planning exercise positive, productive, and…
Tapping the Gifts of Homebound Leaders
People who must remain at home because of physical limitations have often been seen by the church as recipients of ministry rather than as active…
Lessons from Wesley for All Churches
Martin E. Marty once observed that between the time of Luther and Calvin and our own time, John Wesley symbolized the genius of adaptation to…
Gaining Commitment
How do you reignite a church when it seems that no one wants to lead? In every space and place, God wants transformation to occur.…
The Tussle over Metrics
Church leaders may think that leading in the business world is so much simpler than in the church since there is “one bottom line” and…
Leaders Do What Is Needed
One of the vivid images of the 1960s is a picture of African American students walking boldly out of Cornell University’s student union building. They…
Rocking the Boat without Capsizing
In the late 1980s, rhythm and blues group Midnight Star climbed the charts with a sensational hit called “Don’t Rock the Boat.” Have you experienced…
Fruitfulness for Others
The fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel contains rich imagery of the vine and the branches, an image that would have been obvious to those who…
Essential Acts of Leadership
Donald L. Laurie, in his book The Real Work of Leaders (Perseus, 2000), focuses on what he calls “The Seven Essential Acts of Leadership.” Leaders…
Picking People — Lessons from Peter Drucker
Selecting or helping to select personnel, paid staff, and volunteers is a prime task of leaders. Below are suggestions that come from the legendary management…
Getting to Know the “Mayors” of Your Community
Congregational revitalization happens when the community and the church come together to make it happen. But it can’t be the church saying, “This is what…
Overcoming Motion Sickness
Have you ever experienced motion sickness? Persons who suffer from motion sickness become severely ill when traveling at certain speeds or distances. In many cases,…
The Appropriate Use of Email in Church Leadership
In this era of electronic media, clergy are faced with particular challenges in pastoral conversations — particularly those conducted by email. This wonderfully efficient means…
Relationships Are Everything
Just as all Christian leadership originates in our relationship with Christ, our day-by-day leadership depends on relationships with others that mirror the ideals of our…
Taking Time to Refocus
Not long ago, I realized that I had spent several weeks in a reactive mode — constantly dealing with one thing after another that popped…
Ask Bigger Questions
In June 2011, Steve Jobs made a twenty-minute presentation to the Cupertino City Council to introduce Apple’s plans for a new corporate headquarters, affectionately known…
Taking Note of Leadership Lessons
There is truth in the adage “Experience is the best teacher.” But how can we best capture the lessons experience teaches? A few years ago,…
The Power of Praise in Awakening Missional Identity
I serve a congregation that averages 60-70 in worship and have been there five years. As preparation for a visioning process, I began meeting with small…
The Sunday Everything Went Wrong
Building credibility took time in my current congregation. I followed a well-respected pastor, and I had fewer years of experience than my predecessors. It is…
Recent Research Quantifies the Nature and Scope of Lay Staff Ministry
The growth of lay staff in congregations across denominations is a significant trend shaping the way churches engage in ministry and the way people experience…
