Leadership
Holistic Leadership Development
You want to develop leaders who will do what Jesus called us to do, leaders who can take the church forward into the 21st century. You look to the fields and see them, as Jesus does, ready for harvest — and you know that’s where your ministry needs to concentrate.
What’s needed is holistic leadership development — the kind of leadership development that comes from the harvest and leads people back into the harvest, resulting in subsequent generations of new believers and new leaders living as Jesus called us to live.
We can help you develop leaders the kind of leaders you need in a way that is both relational and intentional… and ultimately effective in helping your church accomplish its mission.
Responding to criticism
Responding to criticism: Do you ever get criticized? I’m guessing if you’re a ministry leader, the answer is yes (exercising my profound powers of discernment). The real question is how to handle it when criticism comes. How can you avoid reacting defensively, help...
Listening to build trust
Listening to build trust: In ministry, we are inevitably dealing with people that have differences: different perspectives, different priorities, different directions. The default for most of us is to convince people of the rightness of our view. We get into a...
In leading turnaround, start small
I’ve been coaching the new pastor of an old church. He’s very sharp and knows what needs to be done to bring about renewal and positive change. The question is not about the “what” but the “how,” and that’s what we’ve been working on. One thing he’s been doing is...
7 Most Important Questions when Leading Change
As you consider leading change, here are the seven most important questions you need to be asking. Take some time to sit down with a pen and paper and reflect on these questions as they pertain to a particular change you are looking at making. How will you free up...
How to lead a new initiative across an existing system
Do you want to do something big across a network of churches or ministries? Leading change across an already established system can be challenging. That’s true no matter how beneficial what you’re offering may be. So how can you best implement something new across an...
Revitalized by intentionality: focus on outcomes
Does your team focus on outcomes when they work together? Last year I coached a man who was commissioned to create an assessment tool to improve the effectiveness of church planting partnerships within his denomination. His role was to come alongside them and help...
The substance of worship
Parishioner: "Pastor, I'm just not getting anything out of worship." Pastor: "I'm SO sorry! There's been a terrible misunderstanding. We're not worshiping YOU." Worship isn't about getting. It’s about giving. Our worship is our coming before God and worshipping him...
Book Review: “Set It Up: Planning a Healthy Pastoral Transition”
Set It Up: Planning a Healthy Pastoral Transition In this short and practical book, Dr. Parnell M. Lovelace, Jr. looks at the critical area of pastoral leadership that is so often neglected-- the passing of the baton to the next pastor. I read widely in the area of...
Increasing the span of care
Note: This blog entry is an excerpt from the first draft of The Leadership Difference, which I expect to publish later this year. As your organization grows, you’ll see an increased need for structure. What just seemed to work organically before no longer works...
My biblical role model
If you could be like any person in the Bible, who would it be? (I’ll let you opt out of the martyrdom part because so many biblical characters met painful ends.) My favorite biblical role model has always been Barnabas. He’s not a spotlight kind of guy, but he made a...
Creating a planning rhythm
For optimal effectiveness in accomplishing your goals, set aside time for a regular planning rhythm. Yes, it takes time, but in the long-run it saves you time by maximizing your results. It's counter-intuitive, but the more you have to do the more necessary it is to...
Vision and mission: again
Vision and mission. Odds are, you’ve read about these two items before. Nearly every book on leadership talks about the importance of knowing your vision and mission. There’s a good reason for that: you can’t know whether you’re successful unless you know what you’re...