Five Common Pitfalls When Hiring Staff
Losing a significant member of your church staff can be a watershed moment. It can be emotional, messy, and stressful and when it’s all over, you are left facing the tough job of replacing them. Many churches have dealt with this situation, and understand the...
Journey toward a new beginning: How do we get people on board?
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a challenge to brainstorm ways to thrive as if things were to stay the way they are now for the next three to four years. Innovation means change. To make any effective change—from worship, to small groups, to children’s ministry—you...
Leading through crisis well
Are you looking for a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the intensity? How about some hope for the future and inspiration for leading through crisis well? Leadership in times of crisis requires being grounded and maintaining perspective. A key element of leading...
Treating people with dignity in times of transition
Transition is something we are almost always uncomfortable with. Change is hard for everyone. It’s no different in ministry. At the same time, it’s inevitable for growth and progress. If a ministry is alive, it will change. Yet one casualty of change can be...
Who will succeed you?
No matter who we are, none of us is indispensable. Yet many leaders have not put much time or thought into considering who else could step into our shoes in the event of sickness, death, or other unforeseen events. Reflect on your own situation. Who could take on your...
The 3 Rs of listening to the Holy Spirit
Whether you are part of a small group, a ministry team, a discipleship relationship or a coaching relationship, you will need to be intentional about listening to the Holy Spirit. That’s how we help others growth: not by telling them what to do but by listening to the...
Digging down to the roots of leadership problems
Sometimes there’s a disconnect in ministry between what we say and what we do. For instance, I have always said compassion ministry is important– but the question is what am I personally doing to engage in it? So I began praying to ask the Lord for some...