How an Ice-Age Context Impacts One’s Approach to Leading
When the pandemic began, Andy Crouch, Kurt Keilhacker, and Dave Blanchard insightfully gave leaders categories for how they were viewing the pandemic — as a blizzard, winter, or the beginning of a little Ice-Age. The imagery is helpful. You hunker down and wait it out in a blizzard, expecting things to return to normal pretty […]
5 Things I Am Preaching to Myself While Preaching to a Camera
Last week I shared six things I am greatly missing from teaching in old-school physical gatherings among people I love who are singing to God and ready to hear a message from His Word. When preaching to a camera, it can easily feel like I am preaching to God’s people without being among God’s people. […]
6 Things I Am Deeply Missing While Preaching to a Camera Each Week
A few weeks into this madness, the global pandemic that has resulted in the unprecedented move to not provide physical worship gatherings at our church, Kenton Beshore called to check on me. Kenton is my predecessor, our pastor emeritus, and he still serves as teaching pastor for us. “How in the world are you not […]
How Are You Thinking About Re-opening Church?
One of the most common questions ministry leaders are asking one another in this crazy season is around “re-opening church gatherings.” While none of us can really answer with any certainty “when” we can re-open church gatherings, we can think about “how” we will re-open church gatherings. As leaders, we cannot know when things “will […]
One Thing Church and Marketplace Leaders Can Learn from Each Other
Last Friday I spoke for my friend John Townsend at a leadership event he hosted for leaders in his network. After my presentation, I fielded some questions for a few moments and was asked (I am paraphrasing), “Because you have led in both marketplace and local church contexts, what is one thing you think those […]
3 Possible “Vanity Metrics” in Ministry
A “vanity metric” is a metric a leader or team focuses on that has no relation to organizational health. In fact, it can be a cover for a lack of health. Ministry leaders must be aware of the lure of vanity metrics. Metrics in ministry!? What!? Yes, some ministry leaders hold disdain for all metrics, […]
Research on Fandom, Small Groups, and 3 Implications for Church Leaders
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a funny bit where he pokes fun at us sport’s fans. He says that because players are constantly changing teams, we are not really loyal to players as much as we are loyal to the clothes the players are wearing. Sport’s fans are essentially rooting for laundry, that we are standing […]
Pastors: Shepherd and Lead “the Teacher in You”
Kenton Beshore (my predecessor and pastor emeritus at our church) and I meet every other week for lunch, and I always learn something. Recently Kenton shared some helpful insight about managing the multiple responsibilities of a senior pastor. They would likely apply to other roles too. I am paraphrasing, but he essentially said: “You are […]
4 Systems Church Leaders Should Care About
Some church leaders resist systems because systems can feel “unspiritual” or “corporate.” I have heard the critique for years. Yet church leaders who are critical of systems enjoy their systematic theology textbooks while blood flows through circulatory system and the sun is held in perfect distance from the earth in the solar system. In other […]
3 Essentials for Leadership Development
In his book The Leadership Code Dave Ulrich articulates that being a “human capital developer” is an essential role of being a leader. According to Ulrich, with personal integrity as the indispensable and foundational characteristic of a leader, there are four other essential characteristics of leadership: strategist, executor, talent manager, and human capital developer. After […]