The Power of Consistency
The following is a guest post by Michael Kelley, director of discipleship at LifeWay Christian Resources. Imagine a leaky faucet. Regardless of how you hard you twist the knob, it still drips. One drop at a time. Incessantly – drip, drip, drip. The consistency becomes an annoyance pretty quickly. But put in the right environment […]
The Two Most Difficult Ministry Roles to Fill
Based on phone calls and emails from pastors and friends looking for staff members, the two most difficult roles to fill on a church staff are (1) a kids ministry director/pastor and (2) a groups director/pastor. Churches seem to be having a difficult time finding the right leaders for these critical roles. The numerous inquires […]
A New Role? Consider the Push and the Pull
When leaders ask me about pursuing or considering a new ministry role, I ask them about the “push” and the “pull.” The “push” is those things that cause you to want to leave the role you are currently in. The “pull” is what excites you about the new opportunity. Lessons I have learned about the […]
3 Ways to Re-Declare Vision
There has been a lot written about the importance of “casting a clear and compelling vision.” Leaders often invest a lot of time with their leadership teams crafting words, figuring out the best way to capture the direction they sense the Lord leading the church they serve. And leaders often invest far too little time […]
Buy a Cemetery Plot Next to a Famous Person
I learned of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery reading Tim Chaddick’s book Better, written on the Book of Ecclesiastes. Chaddick, who pastors in LA, drives by the Hollywood Forever Cemetery regularly. Out of curiosity, I wondered how much a plot would cost. With a few clicks on the Internet, I discovered there is a market for […]
10 Signs You Have a Silo Leader
Wise leaders are often repulsed by the idea of a ministry or organizational silo. A silo is, by definition, “a system or department that is isolated from others.” Silos can cause ministries or organizations to move in a plethora of disparate directions. Thus, a silo sucks funding from the overall mission, causes confusion as to […]
4 Reasons Great Leaders Struggle to Stay
Over the last several years I have had numerous conversations with great leaders who are struggling to stay in their current ministry assignment. Though not perfect, these leaders have faithfully led, have remained above reproach, and have enjoyed significant impact in their respective ministries. They are well respected, serve in churches that are generous to […]
Rescued from the Futility of Accomplishing
After declaring everything to be meaningless, Solomon asked a piercing question: What does a man gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun? (Ecclesiastes 1:3) Everyone pursues something, labors for something, works for something. And Solomon’s point was that all the labor under the sun is meaningless because there really is […]
What happens when your discipleship pastor goes missing?
Leaders and organizations make decisions all the time. They choose a direction, allocate resources, and execute. Often there are unintended implications, sometimes good and sometimes bad. The unintended implications don’t necessarily reveal themselves immediately but are often more understood as time passes. In the last 6-8 years, the role of “minister of education” or “discipleship […]
3 Reminders from the Cult I Accidentally Joined
About six months ago, something unexpected and strange started happening to me. People, it seemed, began to wave to me as I was driving. For 18 years I had driven the same ’95 Nissan pickup truck, the one I purchased with my father my freshman year of college. Because the truck died, my plan to […]