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 …
Leadership
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 …
Don’t Wreck Your Ministry (#1058)
Ben Reed, pastor of small groups at Long Hollow Baptist Church (Hendersonville, TN) and communications director for the Small Group Network, recently blogged about how people wreck their ministries. Reed shared a few obvious ways people ruin their ministries before sharing a list of 17 additional ways he labeled "not so obvious," including: quit dreaming, never build relationships with people outside of the faith, spend 98% of your time in your office, never go to Read More …
Time for Leaders to Stop (#1056)
Scott Williams has considerable leadership experience as a prison warden, lead pastor of a congregation that grew to an average weekly worship attendance of over 3,500 during his tenure, consultant, and social media guru. He is also the author of Church Diversity: Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week (2011 – read my review here). Recently, he shared his list of "21 Things Leaders Need To Stop Doing." Stop treating your employees like they are just another Read More …
Is It Time To Stop? (#1020)
Maurilio Amorim is CEO of The A Group, a media, technology and branding firm in Brentwood, TN that consults with some of the country’s largest ministries, leading churches, and Christian publishers. Recently he blogged about his response to an unexpected question. When asked to write down his favorite quote, he shared the following: Every leader must learn that just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. So What? In the post, Amorim provided a few examples of Read More …
The Day the Pope Resigned (#1002)
Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI surprised everyone with a sudden announcement he will resign on February 28. While there is much speculation about the timing and reasoning, all agree his health has deteriorated significantly in recent months. He is the oldest pope elected since 1730, first German to hold the title in half a millennium, and the first pope to resign in six centuries. As one who has supported the use of and, more recently, participated in the use of Read More …
Our Generation’s Task (#0981)
President Barack Obama spoke the following words yesterday as a part of his second inaugural address: We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths –- that all of us are created equal –- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that Read More …
Self-Appraisal Statement (#0970)
My understanding of who I am is shaped more by following the way of Jesus than any other factor. I strive to live the love of neighbor Jesus taught by embodying an ever-widening inclusiveness of the circle of those I count as neighbor. My academic preparation for Christian ministry in schools affiliated with three traditions, varied roles in parish ministry in congregations affiliated with four additional denominations, and interactions with those in the wider family of faith through Read More …
Statement on Ministry (#0962)
Tiger population has declined by 90% over the last 50 years; those involved in creating a brighter future for tigers understand that extinction will be reality if significant changes are not implemented soon. The role of religion in America has changed dramatically and the size of mainline/progressive Protestantism has declined dramatically over the last 50 years; those involved in leading United Church of Christ communities today must be open to innovation and experimentation in order to Read More …