11 Questions for Getting to Know a New Congregation
Robert Harris shares a method for interviewing congregational leaders and others to help an incoming pastor learn about a new congregation. He recommends interviewing a…
Browsing: Leadership
Articles
Saying Goodbye in the Sermon
Beverly Zink-Sawyer says the sermon can provide a way of offering a good and gracious “goodbye” to a pastor, preacher, or member of the congregation…
Guidelines for Healthy Clergy Transitions
Susan Nienaber says all major life transitions can be hard, but ministry transitions come with unique challenges. She provides helpful guidance on how a pastor…
Innovating to Build Communities Where All Can Flourish: An In-depth Interview with K Scarry
How can a passion for helping people flourish lead to social innovation? K Scarry share about social innovation and the ways she is supporting local…
Preparing to Receive a New Pastor from a Different Racial or Cultural Background
How can a congregation help an incoming pastor from a different racial or cultural background lay the groundwork for successful ministry? The United Methodist General…
“Innovating to Build Communities Where All Can Flourish” featuring K Scarry
Podcast Episode 145 How can a passion for helping people flourish lead to social innovation? We speak with K Scarry about social innovation and the…
New Pastors Should Make Time to Listen
Sidney Williams writes that a top priority for a new pastor needs to be listening to the stories of congregants to discern needs, learn who…
An Open Letter to Church Leaders from an Unmarried Church Staff Member
What do unmarried individuals in ministry want other church leaders to know about the joys and challenges they encounter? This anonymous open letter shares the…
Understanding Your Place in Church Conflict
Doug Tzan, a faculty member at Wesley Theological Seminary, explains how critical it is for pastoral leaders to understand their own role in church conflict…
5 Characteristics of Effective Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma
How would you preach next Sunday if a mass shooting, a natural disaster, or a public health crisis shook your community? Sadly, such events are…
Shirley Chisholm’s Applied Christianity
Lovett H. Weems Jr. reflects on the legacy of Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to serve in congress. Chisholm was an advocate for…
Risking Experiments for God’s Reign
Where is God’s movement taking place in new ways for new times? Cherished narratives, programs, language, and structures are no longer producing the fruit associated…
10 Essential Ways Leaders Build Relationships with Their Team Members
Dan Reiland says investing in relationships is the make-or-break factor that determines the success of your leadership. He provides ten helpful tips for interacting with…
Transformational Leadership for Urban Ministries: An In-Depth Interview with Tony Hunt
How can church leaders address the challenges of urban ministry in a transformative way? Doug Powe speaks with Tony Hunt, a pastor and scholar, about…
5 Delegation Lessons for Church Leaders
A balanced delegation of tasks may necessitate doing fewer activities and doing better discipleship training. Drawing on his own experience, Karl Vaters offers five delegation…
“Transformational Leadership for Urban Ministries” featuring Tony Hunt
Podcast Episode 141 How can church leaders address the challenges of urban ministry in a transformative way? We speak with pastor and scholar Tony Hunt…
Is Voting the Best Way to Make Collective Decisions in the Church?
Voting is part of the organizational culture of many congregations. But it can create winners and losers, leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths. While…
Healing Fractured Communities: An In-Depth Interview with Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz
How can congregational leaders be healers and agitators at the same time? In this in-depth interview, Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz reflect on the new…
Build Resilience. Reduce Burnout.
Are you feeling underchallenged, neglected, or overloaded? Diane Owen shares three pillars that provide the fuel to avert these three types of burnout. She offers…
7 Strategies to Thrive as a Single Person in Ministry
What are the opportunities, joys, and challenges for single persons in vocational ministry? Kevin E. Lawson and Jane Carr conducted focus groups and interviews with…
Restoring Trust in the Institutional Church Requires Allegiance to Our True Purpose
Gil Rendle says all institutions eventually gravitate from serving their stated purposes to satisfying powerful institutional constituencies. The current deep mistrust of the institutional church…
“Healing Fractured Communities” featuring Doug Powe and Jessica Anschutz
Podcast Episode 139 How can congregational leaders be both healers and agitators at the same time, especially given our fractured landscape and the diversity of…
Healing Fractured Communities
All proceeds support the Dr. Lovett H. Weems Jr. Scholarship fund. Congregational leaders are charged with caring for those inside and outside of faith communities.…
8 Adjustments Needed as Bivocational and Covocational Pastoral Roles Become the Norm
The shift to bivocational work is reshaping expectations in the church as many pastors now rely on multiple income sources. As bivocational and covocational roles…
5 Reasons Churches Suffer Management Chaos
Focused on ministry, churches often give too little attention to organizational management. Church consultant Rich Sider outlines five common management problems that can result in…
Embracing Mutual Ministry: An In-Depth Interview with Lydia Bucklin
How can your congregation function as a community of ministers rather than a community gathered around a single minister? Lydia Bucklin of the Episcopal Diocese…
Leaders Help Their Communities Dream Big Dreams
Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech proposed a big dream for what America can become. What big dreams do you have for…
3 Ways to Listen Well
Effective leaders are skilled listeners. C. Kavin Rowe offers three practices that center on developing our attention and improving our ability to listen. Leaders need…
Leading Voices: “Leadership Requires Hard Conversations”
“Leadership Requires Hard Conversations” is presented by Rev. Dr. Cynthia Weems, Assistant to the Bishop for Congregational Mission, Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.…
Gratitude as Leadership
Andy Stanton-Henry explains how the practice of gratitude can change the way we view our community and our world. For leaders, gratitude isn’t merely an…
