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Category: Church Boards And Staffs

The Board At Its Best

Just in case you haven’t heard the old joke: “What’s the definition of a board?” “Dead wood.” To many, a board is a necessary evil.  Churches and other non-profits have to have them; the alternative is a singular leader with dictatorial powers, something that is never a good idea. In my view, when it comes…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Structure, Leadership

The Board At Its Best, Part Two

“Let them [God’s children] exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.” Psalm 107:32  I don’t know that anyone has ever described a church board meeting as being “fun,” but I can testify that I’ve participated in some which have been deeply satisfying, God-blessed, Spirit-anointed experiences….

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Leadership

Three Evenings When Boards Are At Their Worst

Some of you knew it was coming. After writing two posts about evenings when boards are at their best, you guessed I’d be blogging about evenings when boards are at their worst. Boards are at their (absolute) worst when self-willed people are fighting to get their own way. James put it bluntly when he said…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Seriously Troubled Churches

Six More Evenings When Boards Are At Their Worst

The meeting began almost on time but ended well past everybody’s bedtime. At seven pm the members were still sharing prayer requests about their relatives’ physical ailments. At eight pm everybody started reading their reports. At nine pm the long discussion about what kind of baptistery heater to buy commenced. At ten pm the real…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Seriously Troubled Churches

QUICK GUIDE – Getting To Sticky (Effective Pastor/Board Relationships)

The term and the concept of “Sticky” pastor/board relationships has been borrowed from Pastor Larry Osborne’s iconic book, Sticky Teams. Describing Sticky – Here’s what we mean by a Sticky church leadership team: 1.The senior (or solo) pastor is a godly and loving man who truly cares about each member of the church board and…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Quick Guides

Five Ways To Practice Spiritual One-upmanship

We might as well admit it. We’ve all used spiritual one-upmanship to win an argument or get our way in a board meeting or committee debate. My dictionary defines one-upmanship as “the technique or practice of gaining a feeling of superiority over another person.” Spiritual one-upmanship uses questionable appeals to the Bible, claims to godly…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Seriously Troubled Churches

Three Reasons Why Board Members Should Let Their Pastors Lead

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…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure, Leadership

More Reasons To Let Your Pastor Lead

In an earlier blog (“Three reasons why board members should let their pastors lead”) I spoke directly to board members and made a case for allowing your “lead” pastor to actually lead your church: to be the one who comes down from the mountain with both a vision and a ministry strategy for your church….

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure, Leadership

The All-Important Partiality Clause

“…an overseer must be above reproach…”  From I Timothy 3:2 (ESV)  “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.  Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Seriously Troubled Churches

How To Keep A Good Pastor, Part One

Last week I wrote about seven reasons why pastors are leaving their ministries: The pastoral “call” isn’t what it used to be. The home church isn’t what it used to be. Pastors are rethinking the pastor paradigm [the full-time superhero trying to excel at every task that God assigned to elders]. A hard-to-live-with performance value…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

How To Keep A Good Pastor, Part Two

Recently, I wrote about why good pastors are leaving their ministries (Seven Reasons Why Pastors Are Dropping Out): The pastoral “call” isn’t what it used to be. The home church isn’t what it used to be. Pastors are rethinking the current pastor paradigm [the full-time superhero trying to excel at every task that God assigned…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

Experiencing God’s Leadership

“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers…While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”  From Acts 13:1-2 After many years of believing that church leaders were pretty much “on their own” with…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership, Pastoral Search Teams

Worn-Out Shoes And Fair-Haired Boys

“Why don’t you love me like you used to do? How come you treat me like a worn-out shoe?” Hank Williams Here’s a phenomenon I’ve seen a number of times.  If you’re an experienced leader, I’m sure that you’ve seen it too. An older, generally respected, long-time leader of an organization recruits or hires a…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

Sample Elder Covenant

NOTE: I’ve been a part of writing several elder board covenants. This one is my favorite.   As elders (Acts 20:28-10; I Peter 5:1-4) we pledge ourselves to: Watch our relationships with God carefully, knowing that we are only as useful to each other and our church as we are close to God. Acts 20:28 Make…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Structure

QUICK GUIDE – Structure For Success

  When it comes to church structure (constitutions, by-laws, policies, flow-charts, etc.): What works? What kind of structure is conducive to disciple-making effectiveness? The following are 30 “bullet point” sized suggestions. 1. Mission and vision driven – (or purpose driven) – What is your church for? Who is it for?  What is it supposed to…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Church Structure, Quick Guides, Seriously Troubled Churches

QUICK GUIDE – Coaching Staff Members

  You may know the name Marcus Buckingham as the creator of the Strengths Finder inventory and the author of the popular book Strengths Finder 2.0.    We recently had the chance to see Buckingham’s 2017 presentation from the Global Leadership Summit entitled “Reinventing Performance Management.”  The talk was so practical that we want to…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Leadership, Quick Guides, Seriously Troubled Churches

QUICK GUIDE – Senior Pastor Performance Review

Based on the paper, “The Pastoral Performance Review: An Opportunity to Empower” Contact Rev. Scott Roen for the complete document – scottdavidroen@gmail.com PERSONAL MATTERS: (As far as the board is able to determine the following…) How did the pastor take care of himself physically? How did the pastor take care of himself emotionally? How did…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Quick Guides

QUICK GUIDE – An Alternative To Pastor Performance Reviews

The relationships between church boards and senior or solo pastors are challenging.  In most congregations, the board and pastor have a complex, not-easily-negotiated relationship: All board members, including the pastor, are brothers in Christ, and equals before God. The board, in most cases, was involved in the hiring of the pastor and the writing or…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Quick Guides

QUICK GUIDE – Succession Planning For Pastors

  Condensed from “Succession Planning”, NL Moore & Associates  Planned or unplanned, every church will go through a pastoral succession. In the next 10 years, more than half of all churches in America will go through a pastoral succession. There are not enough students in seminaries today to fill the empty pulpits that already exist…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Healthy Pastors, Leadership, Pastoral Search Teams, Pastoral Transitions, Quick Guides

QUICK GUIDE – Training Elders

I agree with Pastor Larry Osborne that the health of a church begins in the board room. Pastor/board unity is the key to church unity.  The leadership of a united board will usually be followed by a united church.  We believe that elders should be trained for their critically important role.  It is not enough…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership, Quick Guides

Church Boards: Coach Your Pastors!

The relationships between church boards and senior or solo pastors are challenging.  In most evangelical congregations, the board and pastor have a complex, not easily negotiated relationship: All board members, including the pastor, are brothers in Christ, and equals before God. The board, in most cases, was significantly involved in the hiring of the pastor…

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Filed Under: Church Boards And Staffs, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors

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Testimonials

Elder Jim I wanted to let you know that we have really made some huge changes in the last few months.  We are seeing new people every week and we had a leadership meeting with 23 in attendance. Pastor ______ is doing well and God is doing amazing things.  Thanks for your support, prayers and love for the church!
Elder Jim
A New Church-Goer ...thank you for your messages at [our church] over the past weeks.  I just started going to _____________ while you were there and hadn't been to church in decades.  Your messages kept me coming back...  Thank you for helping me find my way back to God.
A New Church-Goer
Pastor Trey Turner "Brian is an experienced and insightful investigator of church systems.  He has real skill in looking at and diagnosing some areas needing attention.  I benefited greatly from his insight.  As a result, our church is benefiting greatly.  The process Brian took us through gave it the encouragement it needed to begin coming out of the 2020 difficulties.  We will work on the insights Brian provided as a roadmap back to better health."
Pastor Trey Turner
Pastor Greg Lund I've appreciated so much Brian's very practical coaching as he's guided me and the leadership of our church as we've sought to become more effective for God's kingdom. His extensive experience in assisting churches navigate a variety of issues makes him highly qualified to help lead churches through congregational change.
Pastor Greg Lund
Pastor Bruce Jahnke
"Our church is extremely grateful for the insight, adaptability and wisdom Brian so graciously contributed to our needs as we transitioned.  Our pastor transition was from Father to Son, which is by definition, difficult.  Yet Brian was able to foresee issues, feelings and responses with high accuracy.  Brian is personable, yet can direct when he needs to help us be reasonable and vision-oriented."

Pastor Bruce Jahnke
Andy Shanholtz I had the privilege of co leading a pastor’s training group with Brian. Brian’s wealth of knowledge and practical experience was an asset to all of us. The interaction with the group and the relationships built was a great value. I highly recommend having Brian facilitate a group to provide invaluable resources and practical knowledge.
Andy Shanholtz
Pastor Jed Manders
Leadership development within cohorts and peer groups has become increasingly popular, and rightfully so. Being involved in Brian’s leadership training group allowed me the opportunity to work through challenges, develop strengths and learn from both reading and peer development.


Pastor Jed Manders
Pastor Mark Pitroff "I have been so privileged and encouraged to be ministered to by Brian Thorstad as I have served as an Interim Pastor here in central Wisconsin.  He has been such a help and encouragement to me and especially, to this church I have served - Faith Community Church of Waupaca.  His leadership in helping us develop the “Journey Wall” enabled us to look back on the church’s history, the high points as well as the difficulties faced, especially in recent years.   Brian has helped FCC recover from a very difficult time…  Brian was such an encouragement to us, especially in the early months of recovery and preparation."
Pastor Mark Pitroff
Pastor Dan Norman “I enjoyed getting to know the guys in the group [and] I appreciated the thought, mind and spiritual challenges presented… I found many things that I was able to immediately apply, and I am still developing next steps that much of the discussion and training of this class helped to build a foundation for. [The handouts on strategic planning] will continue to be helpful in trying to guide our church to being more intentional. This [was] exactly what I was looking for at exactly the time I needed it.”
Pastor Dan Norman
Pastor Steven Boyd  "This course showed me that I, as a solo pastor, have to do things that don’t come naturally to me and has given me some tools to do the hard things.”
Pastor Steven Boyd 
Pastor Brian Schley “I found value in our meetings and am grateful you invited me to be part of it as a ‘future senior pastor.’ I enjoyed being able to be part of the conversations and glean from those beyond me. Thanks for your leadership with the group and your heart for pastors!”
Pastor Brian Schley
Pastor Todd Sauve "It was a privilege to have been a part of a pastors group led by Brian Thorstad. It's always great to learn from other pastors, and someone needs to provide leadership to make that happen. I'm thankful that Brian was willing to do that, and to share from both his successes and failures in ministry. He's honest, humble, and cares about people."
Pastor Todd Sauve

Brian A. Thorstad

Call: 651-319-1953

Email: churchwhisperer@gmail.com

1931 Cook Avenue
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494

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