I want every board member reading this to know that I greatly respect you. I’ve walked miles in your moccasins. I know how smart you are, how knowledgeable you are, and how much you’ve invested in your churches. Nevertheless, you need to let your church’s “lead” pastor lead the church that you have poured so […]
Seven Ways To Get On Offense
Okay, I might as well admit it. I’m a typical football fan. I’m mostly interested in offense. I know the birthdays and blood types of the offensive players, especially the so-called “skill positions,” and don’t know much about the defensive players. Shame on me. But my football watching habits also have something to do with […]
The Two Greatest Occupational Hazards of Christian Ministry
At the Bible college and seminary which I attended, more than one chapel speaker told us in no uncertain terms that the greatest occupational hazards in the ministry were “money and women.” This was usually expressed with some vehemence, as if money and women were evils, in and of themselves. Of course, they didn’t really […]
Sample Secret Seeker Form
Sample Secret Seeker Form Date visited _______________ Name of church__________________________________________ Preacher/speaker_______________________ 1. Was the secret seeker an individual, couple, family? (Please describe) 2. If you had any experience with learning about the location/service times etc. from a phonebook, web site, sign, newspaper ad or other means, tell us about it: […]
Models for Elder Ministry
There are many models for how elders "do" their work and what is expected of them. This tool is for pastors and elders to work through together. It will help you talk through your different understandings and come to agreement on what kind of elder meetings and expectations you want to have. Download Elder […]
The Church Life Cycle
A Brief Explanation of the Church LIfe Cycle Birth (1) – Being a part of this brand new church is one of the most exciting things I've ever been in on. Everybody is helping; spirits are high; everybody is having fun. Many are inviting new people to come for we have nowhere to […]
The Parable Of The Headhunter
Note: I first wrote this parable to help pastor search committees to move in the direction of realistic expectations for pastors. Even if your church is not searching for a new pastor, this little story may help you to understand and bear with the pastor you already have. The senior pastor search committee of First […]
The Sign On The Roof
The church classroom in which the afternoon workshop session was being held was filled to capacity and beyond: the front row seats were unexpectedly taken and the back wall was lined with conference attendees who were willing to stand for fifty minutes to get in on this session. Many in the room had […]
Is There Hope For The Congregational Church?
My impression is that increasing numbers of pastors of evangelical churches today (2011) have “just about had it” with congregationalism, that form of church government which invests every member with the right to speak up, vote and get involved in decision-making processes. Pastors – not just those who lack patience, but those who want their […]
“Playing Twenty Questions”
Elsewhere on this site (“Gaining Restoration Authority) I’ve written about the value of conducting listening sessions at the beginning of a change-oriented interim pastorate. We have found this to be so valuable that we (Donna and I) would do this in any new pastorate that we would undertake, interim or long-term, no matter what the […]
“In Defense Of Playing Defense”
Okay, I might as well admit it. I’m the guy (or one of the guys) who’s always talking about playing offense, not defense, in the ministry of the church. “I love playing offense,” some of you have heard me say, “I don’t like playing defense, and I hate punting.” I’m not really talking about football, […]
Heaven Help Our Church!
My guess is that some of you reading these words today feel just like the title; you have been crying out to God to come down and rescue a church which you dearly love. I would like to be the instrument of God today to give you some hope for the healing of your church. […]
“Enjoying The Ride”
(Or, “How you can survive the pastoral transition at your church”) Psychologists today tell us that stress is an inside job, more of a function of the individual human personality than an inevitable reaction to circumstances. You could almost say that we make our own stress. Two people are strapped into the same roller coaster. […]
Interim Pastor-Proof Your Church
Leaving your church is probably okay; leaving a mess behind for an interim pastor or somebody else to try to clean up is not okay. While I love what I do, I don’t want to have to come to your church.
When Good People Do Bad Things, Part Three
(Note: This is the third of three articles on the subject of “When Good People Do Bad Things.”) A wise individual once said that “Renewing your church is like remodeling your house…” If you’ve ever remodeled or attempted to remodel a house you can guess what’s coming… “Renewing your church is like remodeling your house: it will […]
“When Good People Do Bad Things, Part Two”
Note: Elsewhere on this website is an article called, “When Good People Do Bad Things.” The following is part two (to be followed by a part three). I was in the sixth grade and it was my eleventh birthday, November 22, 1963. As we were ending our physical education class, the next roomful […]
When Good People Do Bad Things
Over the past few years, several television networks have broadcast reality shows with names like, “When good pets go bad,” “When animals attack,” or “When nice dogs bite.” The common denominator in these shows is the perplexing problem of seeing normally docile, loveable animals turn mean and ugly. In my work as a redevelopment […]
Joy In The Journey
(Unexpected fringe benefits for the interim pastor or “Guys, have your wife read this!”) “Ohhhhh yukkkkk! That sounds awful! That’s the last thing I’d want to do! Oh man, you can have that ministry!” Those words were the actual reaction of a fellow pastor upon hearing the basics of my strategic interim pastor ministry […]
Working Yourself Out Of A Job
(How interim pastors can help their church’s pastoral search committees) Of the many projects I’ve undertaken as an interim pastor in several churches, helping these church’s long-term pastor search committees has been among the most satisfying. The help I have given has been greatly appreciated, the task of leading these groups has been comparatively […]
Do We Have To Have These Business Meetings?
Many pastors enjoy church business meetings as much as root canals. A trip to a proctologist or a funeral for a thither is a more welcome event on the calendar. “Do we have to have these business meetings?” they groan to no one in particular. Far too often these necessary-but-evil events turn out too long, too boring […]
Traditions or Trends: Which Should We Follow?
Most of the readers of this blog know about the dangers of traditionalism. Yale University professor Jaraslov Jan Pelikan has been credited with saying that “Tradition is the living faith of those now departed. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those now living” [emphasis mine]. A “dead faith,” I’m sure Pelikan meant, because the traditionalist […]
