Scott Williams, author of Church Diversity: Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week (2011 – read my review here) and leadership guru, recently shared an important leadership truth: "If you want to be a leader, you must learn to let go." So What? Williams rightly recognizes how frustrating it can be when someone in a leadership position is unable and/or unwilling to let go of things (e.g., details, leading to micromanaging behavior) or of people. Real Read More …
Leadership
Growing Beyond 200 (#1208)
Most congregations are relatively small. While small is not bad, small and plateaued or small and declining are. In reality, churches of any size are either growing or declining. Healthy congregations should be growing congregations. Carey Nieuwhof, lead pastor of Connexus Community Church, recently wrote about many of the reasons why churches can grow to a certain size, but not beyond such. In a great deal of the literature on the topic of church size, the number 200 is Read More …
Pastoring Isn’t Glamorous (#1205)
Eugene Peterson (b.1932) is a pastor's pastor. He is the author of the best-selling The Message, which is his translation of the Bible into contemporary American language. He is an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) pastor who served as the founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland for twenty-nine years before retiring in 1991. Following his retirement from parish ministry, he served in academia until retiring from that role in 2006. Read More …
Common Pastoral Mistakes (#1184)
Eric Geiger, Vice President at LifeWay Christian Resources, recently shared three common mistakes pastors make: not offering clarity, underestimating the power of culture, and switching strategies too frequently. So What? This short list can serve as a helpful tool for those interested in sincere introspection. If you serve in pastoral ministry, which of these three areas is most challenging for you? How might you focus on strengthening your competency in that area Read More …
Giving Advice (#1181)
Chip Bell, co-author of the international best-selling book Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning (2013), recently shared four sequential steps for effective advice giving: clearly state the performance problem or learning goal, make sure you agree on the focus, ask permission to give advice, and state your advice in first person singular. So What? Just about every person is a mentor to someone else. In church life, such relationships are often Read More …
“All In” Leadership (#1156)
Brad Lomenick, leader of Catalyst, recently shared twelve attributes of what he calls "all in leaders." These leaders are totally committed, and willing to do whatever it takes to be successful. Lomenick's list includes the following attributes: You are trustworthy. 100%. Always with no exceptions. We is much more important than me. If I win, the team wins. If the team wins, I win. You get it done no matter how long it takes. Your intentions and goals are clear. Your Read More …
How Leaders Destroy Teams (#1153)
Scott Williams, author of Church Diversity: Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week (2011 – read my review here) and leadership guru, recently shared five ways leaders destroy their teams: using the "my way or the highway" approach, being "all about the numbers", always talking - never really listening, making changes for the sake of change, and not caring about the people on the team. So What? Whether a given task happens in the life of a church, a Read More …
Do You Like Church? (#1116)
Scott Cochrane, Vice President- International of the Willow Creek Association, recently blogged about what he understands to be the most awkward question any church leader can be asked: do you like church? So What? I think every prospective member of a board, committee, or work group within a congregation should be asked this awkward yet important question. If the answer is "not really, but" would that disqualify someone from serving in a leadership role in your congregation? Read More …
Greatest Leadership Challenge (#1108)
Scott Williams, author of Church Diversity: Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week (2011 – read my review here) and leadership guru, recently shared what he believes to be the greatest challenge facing leaders today: The Greatest Challenge Facing Leaders Today is a group of followers, team members and co-workers that are unwilling to speak up about what’s wrong, what’s ugly, what’s crazy, what’s ridiculous and what needs to be changed. So What? Part of leading Read More …
Pastoral Selling (#1063)
Clergy obviously need more than spirituality, academic preparation, and field education to become great bishops, deans, rectors, and vicars. Retired Navy chaplain George Clifford recently included the above quote in a blog post emphasizing the importance of the skill of selling within the framework of leadership. He writes: Spend a day with the bishop, dean, rector, or vicar of one our relatively few growing, thriving dioceses or congregations and you will observe a Read More …