8 Ways to Treat your Successor
We are only eight months in to the transition at Mariners Church between Kenton Beshore (long-time senior pastor) and me (the new guy). But we are frequently receiving phone calls from churches that see succession from a long-time senior to a new leader in their not-so-distant future. The healthy relationship Kenton and I share is […]
Christian Leader: Remember, You Are a Child Before You Are a Boss
We lose our power as Christian leaders when we think as “leaders of people” before we think as “children of God.” We must posture ourselves first as sons and daughters of God, not as rulers and bosses. If we lead others without following Him, we are not leading well and who knows where we are […]
5 Strategies to Bring Out the Best in Your Team
While team competence is important, team chemistry is more so. My friends at Vanderbloemen care deeply about team chemistry — not just team competence. Because they work with church leaders every day, I find their insight on bringing out the best in your team to be very helpful and very insightful. While building and leading […]
How One Change in Technology Changed So Much for Teachers (and Leaders)
Before we had kids, Kaye taught public school for eight years. When we found out we were having our first daughter, we decided she would take step away from teaching for several years. Her last day as a teacher (the first time around) was one day in June of 2007. The first iPhone was released […]
3 Things That May Be True if People Are Constantly Complaining to You
In my first full-time ministry position, right out of college, I learned so much because I served with a leader who loved me enough to confront me and tell me the truth. He coached me on developing other leaders for ministry, and he encouraged me in my personal development. And I still remember one interaction […]
Chasing 2 Rabbits in Leadership and Ministry
Confucius is credited with saying, “The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.” It is a statement about focus, and it is true. If you chase two rabbits at the same time, you won’t catch either one because they will pull you in different directions. Right as you are close to catching one, you will […]
5 Big Lessons I Have Learned From a Long-Time Senior Pastor
In the last six months, I have been exposed to a plethora of Kenton-isms – statements Kenton Beshore employs to teach a point to me or to a group of pastors he is mentoring. Kenton served in one place, Mariners Church, for 40 years with 35 of those being as senior pastor. So when he […]
4 Voices About the Power of the Word in Our Lives and Churches
Earlier this week I was sharing some stories of transformation I am aware of taking place in our church. And those stories are connected to people who are new to the faith spending time in the Scripture. As we talked, we reflected on the reality that the Word does a work on us. The Word […]
3 Ways to Treat Your Predecessor
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 […]
Church Leaders: Because Leadership Is Transferrable…
In the book The Leadership Code, Dave Ulrich and his coauthors articulate that as much as 70% of leadership is transferable from one context to another (the other 30% is specific to that context or industry). This means that the vast majority of what makes someone an effective leader in one context is transferable to […]