Speaking the Truth in Love to a Longtime Member
During my third year as pastor of the Austin Church in north-central Pennsylvania, I faced a leadership crisis that threatened the effectiveness of my ministry…
Browsing: Leadership
Articles
Church on the Edge of Somewhere
Some books remind us of the church’s mission to those on the margin of life. We read them; we feel bad. Nothing changes. Other books…
Squandering Leadership Potential?
The Washington Post recently published a series of in-depth stories on each of the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. The feature article on former Baptist…
Congregations Nurturing Future Leaders
In a previous issue of Leading Ideas, Robert K. Martin connects pastoral leadership with gardening. One look at a neighbor’s garden reminds him that the…
Introducing a Congregation to Contemporary Worship
How to start a contemporary service if you don’t know what it is like. This was the dilemma that faced Union United Methodist Church in…
Leading in a Wounded Church
One of the most important challenges of the church in our times is the specialized ministry necessary in a congregation after trust has been broken.…
Congregational Leadership in Difficult Times
What would your congregation’s worship service look like next Sunday if your sanctuary burned to the ground tomorrow, if a beloved pastor announced that he…
Coaching and Christian Leadership
Coaching has become a popular topic in Christian leadership. A number of books and resources, as well as training opportunities, are available to help church…
Review of True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership
Gather stories from 125 corporate leaders, reflect on the common themes, and the end product is a revealing, instructive, and inspirational book. Bill George is…
Review of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase
How can churches today be as vital as the early Christian communities described in the Book of Acts? How can we reclaim the fruitful piety…
An Interview with Bishop Robert Schnase
Leading Ideas had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Bishop Robert Schnase, author of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (Abingdon Press, 2007). Here are some highlights…
Creating Leadership Accountability Systems
Intentional leaders know that team leadership is not a lone ranger proposition. While leadership is certainly a specialized role, it serves best in conjunction and…
Igniting a Ministry
Ultimately Responsible: When You’re in Charge of Igniting a Ministry contains plenty of practical advice on how to jumpstart tired programs and engage church members…
A Pastor Describes Her First Day in a New Community
Having attended a workshop on transitioning into a new appointment, I kept remembering the stress put on the importance of your “first official day.” “You…
10 Tips for Handling Criticism in Ministry
Margaret Marcuson says that criticism and complaints are an issue in almost every area of ministry. She outlines ten strategies for handling complaints and criticism…
Leadership from Inside Out
Ever since I read Wesley Granberg-Michaelson’s Leadership from Inside Out, I have urged every minister I could button-hole to read it as well. My attraction…
Lessons for Clergy Preparing to Leave a Congregation
Lawrence W. Farris writes that how a pastor leaves a congregation is crucial for the pastor’s future work and well-being as well as for the…
Ten Commandments for Pastors Leaving a Congregation
Lovett Weems recommends a book to help pastors who are ending ministry with a congregation or moving to a new pastoral assignment. Lawrence W. Farris…
Jesus Asked the Right Questions
Marc Brown explores how Jesus defines the reality of God’s kingdom and his own identity by asking the right questions. In the ninth chapter of…
It Takes Teamwork
Kevass Harding writes that God calls us to be in relational ministry where God’s people work together for the building up of God’s kingdom here…
Keeping Your Ministry Fresh and Creative
Self-care is a key to staying fresh and creative in ministry over the long haul according to Jim Somerville. I’ve been an ordained minister for…
Good to Great and the Social Sectors
Lovett Weems draws church leadership lessons from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great and the Social Sectors, which itself draws lessons from the business world for…
Small Churches as Healthy Family Systems
Lewis Parks examines basic concepts of family systems theory as a positive framework to understand the dynamics of small membership churches. While teaching pastoral care…
It’s Not about the Numbers…. Actually It Is about the Numbers
Lovett Weems stresses the need for quantitative metrics, arguing that churches will never make the changes needed to attract new people until they commit to…
What Leaders Need to Know about the Emerging Church
Susan Cox-Johnson shares insights about the the Emerging Church and ways of connecting with postmodern generations. It was only a few years ago that I…
Focusing Your Message
Ann Michel offers a variety of suggestions to help churches improve different kinds of communication by prioritizing messages. Sometimes church members are poorly informed because…
When Church People Swarm
Margaret Marcuson says that when anxiety is high, church people often function reactively rather than thoughtfully, and band together like locusts. As a young seminarian,…
Leadership Lessons from a Dairy Queen
Adam Hamilton says ensuring a quality experience and pursuing excellence demonstrates that we care about people and desire a relationship with them. One evening, my…
Doing Things Well
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., advises that churches set high standards, pay attention to details, and do things with quality, rather than doing just enough to…
Becoming a Spiritual Leader
Bishop John Schol writes about the spiritual qualities of leadership: deep faith, discipleship, and the heart and mind of Christ, and the fruits of leadership.…
