Since being named Kenton Beshore’s successor and becoming the senior pastor of Mariners Church eight months ago, other church leaders have started to ask questions of us about succession. There are many churches in this season, where the church is led by a faithful and great leader who has led for many years and is…
Change
The Only Place and Time Your Job Won’t Be Changing
In January Elon Musk sent an email to employees letting them know of the challenging days ahead for Tesla. In the midst of a year in which they “made their first meaningful profit in the fifteen years since they created Tesla,” they would be (a) laying off 7% of their workforce and (b) increasing production because…
Before You Go, Check the Pull…
Leading in any context is challenging. You carry the burden of the people and the ministry or organization on your shoulders. Problems will hit your office. Not everyone will like the decisions you make. Or even how you make them. Not everyone will agree with the priorities you set, the direction you take, or the…
4 Reasons Why Pastoral Honeymoons Are Shrinking
In the last several years, I have had many conversations with pastors who have expressed surprise over how short “the honeymoon” period was at their new church. At first I thought that maybe it was a few isolated cases, but I have been hearing it continually for several years. All of these pastors had served…
Stop Being a Cruel Leader
There is a type of leadership that is pseudo-compassionate and pseudo-caring. In other words, this type of leadership gives only the perception of being compassionate and caring, but the reality is that this type of leadership is neither. The type of leadership to which I am referring is leadership without feedback. Leadership without feedback may…
Links for Leaders 9/23/16
Thoughts on leadership from Selma Wilson, Jon Bloom, and more.
Links for Leaders 7/8/16
I’m on my phone too much. You’re on your phone too much. It’s the world we live in, but that doesn’t mean we have to be OK with it. Leaders, your employees are going to have to do a lot on their phones to get work done. But sometimes, like in meetings, being connected to…
Links for Leaders 7/1/16
Leading change is difficult. We’re going through a lot of change at LifeWay right now, and we’ve been learning a lot about how to navigate change effectively so that it doesn’t hinder our work any more than it has to. Sometimes, the speed of change is even faster than normal. Ron Edmondson shares seven of those…
Pain Motivates the Body to Act
“Pain is good. This is good, Eric.” I remember a friend of mine, who is a chiropractor, telling me that when I was sitting on his table in intense pain. I really wanted him to adjust me as quickly as possible to relieve the pain, but he wanted to talk to me about my health…
The 8 Stages of Leading Good Change in the Church
I am honored to lead the Resources Division at LifeWay and serve with a team of leaders who are passionate to serve the Church in Her mission of making disciples. Each Wednesday, I share the heart behind one of the resources our team has developed and give an opportunity for you to register to win a free copy of…