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 […]
Book Review: Working With Emotional Intelligence
We shouldn’t need this book, but we do. As evangelical Christian leaders, we should have already cornered the market on emotional intelligence. We should be the experts, the icons, the poster children for this important quality. Before going any further, let’s return to author Daniel Goleman’s definition of emotional intelligence – known since the author’s […]
Six Evenings When Boards Are At Their Best
I’ve been through a lot with boards. I’m sure it’s also true that boards have been through a lot with me. They remind me of the old saying that “you can’t live with ‘em and you can’t live without ‘em.” However frustrated we may become with boards, it’s pretty clear from Scripture that God intended […]
Three More Evenings When Boards Are At Their Best
In spite of all the snide remarks, jokes and complaints we pastors make about church boards, in the last analysis, most of us know that they are necessary. No, not a necessary evil, just necessary. “What’s the definition of a board?” “Dead wood.” What’s the other definition of a board? “A group of highly competent […]
Elders And Congregationalism: Seven Ways To Make It Work
As a seminary student I was taught that there were three types of local church governance (“ways in which decisions are made,” is a good way to explain it): Episcopalian – From the Greek word, episcopos (An overseer or manager as in Acts 20:28). This is church government from the top down, as in the […]
Nickels And Noses: Better Ways To Measure Church Effectiveness
Are we really getting anywhere? Are we actually making disciples, or just going through the motions, doing what we’ve always done while getting what we’ve always gotten? These are hard but important questions for church leaders to ask. I’m assuming that you agree with me that the church’s #1 “job,” its mission, is to make […]
The Pastor As A “Player’s Coach”
I’ve really been enjoying football lately. The fact that I’m from Wisconsin probably has something to do with this, but I promise that I won’t say anything more about that. But Sunday evening, a couple of broadcasters were singing the praises of Matt LaFleur as a “player’s coach.” They went on to describe a player’s […]
Seven Marks Of The Closed-System Church
Let’s get right to it. In the business world, a closed-system at the leadership level means that the senior leaders are listening to themselves and each other, but to no one else. Those in production are shut out of the decision-making process, as are the front-line workers, as are the customers. These companies go from […]
The Pastor’s Salary: An Alternative View
Note: My thoughts below relate to Senior or “solo” (the only one the church has) pastors. Another note: This is a hard subject for pastors to talk about. Now that I’m no longer a pastor of a congregation, I can share my thoughts on the subject freely. My viewpoint is quite different from that of […]
How Fast Can My Church Change?
A pastor whose church is experiencing vibrant health and growth recently asked me this great question. Would that more church leaders – the world over – had cause to be asking this! As I write these words, his congregation is growing and significant changes are being made to accommodate and catalyze that growth, and it’s […]
How Fast Can My Church Change? Three More Factors
Last week I wrote about a happy question put to me by the pastor of a growing church: “How fast can my church change?” I noted that there’s probably no simple answer available, but I noted several factors, which, considered together, should help a leadership team determine how fast their church can change. BTW: The […]
Seven Ways Board Members Can Make A Big Difference
Board members get picked on a lot: Q – “What’s the definition of a board? A – “Dead wood.” “A camel is a horse put together by a board (or a committee).” “A board is a group of highly competent people who get together once a month and act like complete idiots.” But in truth, […]
“Our Pastor Just Went Away Mad”
I’m sorry to say that I have heard these very words from the leaders of more than one congregation, sometimes followed by the question: “Now what?” This should almost never happen of course. Pastors, of all people, should know how to – as the old saying has it – “just go away,” instead of going […]
Surviving Those “No-Win” Pastoral Situations
I imagine that people in other professions also experience “no-win” situations. It just so happens that, having been a pastor for many years, and working with many of them now in coaching and consulting relationships, I’m tuned in to the dilemmas in which the leaders of churches sometimes find themselves. Such as: A beloved staff […]
Surviving Those No-Win Pastoral Situations, Part Two
“I am greatly encouraged. In all our troubles, my joy knows no bounds.” […]
Four Ways To Reform Your Killer Committees
Criminal justice experts debate whether those guilty of homicide can be reformed. Conservatives tend to say “no,” liberals tend to say “yes,” and Christians often say that since regeneration transforms the worst of us into new individuals, that fact should at least be taken into consideration by parole boards. But that’s not my area of […]
The Ill-Fitting Staff Member: How Does This Happen?
Like an ill-fitting pair of shoes, ill-fitting staff members make for painful experiences for both the staff members themselves as well as the churches they serve. It’s not easy to address these situations, but it’s important that we face the facts and get these individuals re-trained or re-deployed. Today’s post will be the first of […]
The Ill-Fitting Staff Member: Four Possible Solutions
“It was he [the risen Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers…” Ephesians 4:11 “…speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” […]
The Ill-Fitting Staff Member: The Best Solution For Many Situations
“A change will do you good” From the song by Sheryl Suzanne Crow, Sheryl Crow, Jeffrey Trott and Brian Mcleod “…dig up your unplowed ground…” From Jeremiah 4:3 and Hosea 10:12 I’ve written two posts now on the subject of ill-fitting staff members: church employees who – however gifted and dedicated – never were or […]
Pastors And Churches: Prepare Your Board For The Future
“…men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do-“ I Chronicles 12:32 “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.” Acts 6:3 Nobody wants to prepare for a crisis. It’s a lot of […]
How Your Church Can Get A Great Preacher
Most church-going people want their congregation to have a great preacher. Good for them. Why would we want anything less? The wrong way to make this happen is to get rid of your current preacher and go find one who is already great. There are all sorts of problems with this approach which we won’t […]
