Eight Things Church Leaders Should Never Say About Leadership Development
What you say about leadership development, even in casual conversations, will inevitably impact the culture you are forming. Because how you speak of leadership development will influence perceptions about developing leaders, here are eight things church leaders should never say (if you think any of them, some rethinking is in order): It is not my job. […]
Four Hard Questions Pastors Should Continually Ask Themselves
When the apostle Paul challenged the believers in Philippi in their obedience to the Lord, he told them: “Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me” (Philippians 4:9). When he wrote the believers in Corinth, he said, “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Though not perfect, […]
Three Challenges of Leading a Growing Church
There are some inherent blessings to serving on staff at a growing church. The energy and excitement are high as you are privileged to see new people coming to faith, new families being served, and new people being connected. The growth creates momentum and helps cover up mistakes that are more noticeable when you are […]
3 Reasons Student Pastors Make Great Senior Pastors
First Baptist Church in West Monroe (First West) is a great church that has served North Louisiana well for a long time. A year ago they asked their student pastor, Michael Wood, to serve as their senior pastor. Not only were the people convinced of his character, as they watched his life for several years, […]
Leaders—Go Forth and Die
Robert Quinn, a leadership professor at the University of Michigan, has joined others in pointing out that the origin of the word “leader” means to “go forth and die.” In his book Change the World, he writes: Leadership authors do not understand that leadership means “Go forth to die.” If they did understand it, they […]
3 Ways to Identify Your Ministry Convictions
Most church leaders will claim they have a conviction to develop leaders and a conviction for biblical community—to help people grow together in community. But it is one thing to say you have certain convictions and quite another to display those convictions in your everyday leadership. If something is a conviction in ministry, you cannot […]
3 Reasons Pastors Should Reject Leadership Books
There are two polar opposite views about church leaders adding “leadership and business books” to their reading diet. On one extreme, there are people who consider it unspiritual and ludicrous for a church leader to read a leadership book written from a perspective that is not distinctly Christian. After all, what does leading an organization […]
Gospel and Groups
When writing Christians living in Corinth, the apostle Paul emphasized the gospel as of “chief importance” and “what believers have taken their stand on.” They did not receive and believe the good news of Jesus and then move on to something else. We don’t “move on” from the gospel because there is nothing else of “chief […]
Two Divisive (and Wrong) Definitions That Hurt the Church
Perhaps an unbiblical approach to ministry exists in many churches because an inaccurate vocabulary has infiltrated the people of God. When most people hear terms like “clergy” and “lay people,” certain images and definitions enter their minds. And these definitions are far from their original and intended meaning. Clergy Churches often think it makes sense […]
One Practical Reason Some Churches Struggle to Find a Pastor
In the last few years, several pastoral search teams at large and megachurches have asked me to offer insights I may have about the pool of candidates they are prayerfully considering pursuing to possibly become the church’s next senior pastor. And it has been fascinating to me that the lists are very similar. The same […]