After my first time away from parish ministry since the early days of seminary, I will be returning to that role effective May 1 when I assume the role of Director of Adult Education at Naples United Church of Christ. Some of my regular readers may be familiar with that name as I have written several times about my volunteer leadership experiences in this community of faith, especially in leading worship (i.e. sermon manuscript or other recent materials: 1, 2, 3, 4). Read More …
Leadership
Reshaping Seminary Education (#0315)
Earlier this month, I wrote "A Shift in Theological Education" to highlight the shift in seminary education from primarily an on campus face-to-face learning experience to one that includes hybrid (using both face-to-face and online components) or online courses. This shift mirrors what has happened in higher education more generally where online enrollment grew 20% over the most recently available seven year period from 9% to 29%. Interestingly, The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Read More …
A Leadership Check-Up (#0302)
Seth Godin is the author of twelve books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change, and work. He earned his MBA from Stanford, and was called “the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age” by Business Week. For more information visit his website or read his blog. He recently posted "Seven Questions for Leaders" Do you let the facts get in the way of a good story? What do you do with people Read More …
I Will Follow You Anywhere If . . . (#0293)
Scott Williams is the Campus Pastor of the Northwest Oklahoma City Campus of LifeChurch.tv, which launched three years ago and already has an average weekly worship attendance of over 3,500. To connect with Williams, read his blog, watch him on YouTube, follow him on Twitter, or friend him on Facebook. Earlier this week he shared his list of "10 Reasons People Will Follow A Leader Anywhere" 1. They have a mind of their own, not a “Yes Man or Read More …
Multiethnic Calling (#0290)
Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and the co-founder and current Executive Director of the Mosaic Global Network, which is a relational network of local church pastors/planters, researchers, educators and ministry leaders, that exists to catalyze the growing movement toward multiethnic economically diverse churches. His article in the March/April edition of "Outreach" featured brief excerpts from key speakers at the Multi-ethnic Church Conference, Read More …
No More Interim Pastors? (#0285)
The Author Anthony Robinson is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor who currently serves as President of Congregational Leadership Northwest. He travels throughout North America as a speaker, teacher, preacher, consultant and coach serving congregations and their leaders. Robinson has taught at several schools including Toronto School of Theology, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, and Vancouver School of Theology. He is the author Read More …
Decoding the “I’m Not Being Fed” Complaint (#0284)
Steve Mathewson is the Senior Pastor of the Evangelical Free Church of Libertyville, Illinois and the author of The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative (2002). He wrote "What 'I'm Not Being Fed' Really Means" for the March/April edition of Collide. In the article he suggests five possible meanings people may intend when offering this remark: I really am not being fed The church is not meeting my needs You are not addressing my struggles and challenges I do not Read More …
Lead by Letting Go (#0283)
The Reverend Canon Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. is an Episcopal Priest, Director of Spiritual Formation and Anglican Studies and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Previously he served as Canon Educator, Director of Programs in Spirituality and Religious Education, and Acting Program Area Manager at Washington National Cathedral. He is the author of seven books as well as numerous scholarly articles and Read More …
Are You an Antiquated Leader? (#0271)
Ron Edmondson is the co-pastor of Grace Community Church. He describes himself as "passionate about planting churches, helping established churches thrive, and assisting pastors and those in ministry think through leadership, strategy and life." To learn more or to connect with Edmondson, read his blog, friend him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter. Recently, he blogged about the characteristics of antiquated leaders: Keeps people in a box…People won’t stick around in a box Read More …
Avoiding Common Ministry Mistakes (#0268)
Scott Williams is the Campus Pastor of the Northwest Oklahoma City Campus of LifeChurch.tv, which launched three years ago and already has an average weekly worship attendance of over 3,500. To connect with Williams, read his blog, watch him on YouTube, follow him on Twitter, or friend him on Facebook. Previously, I have written posts based on or inspired by Williams on the topics of effective leadership and tweeting in worship (here and Read More …