“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” Psalm 133:1 This is my sixth post in six weeks on the subject of “bad pastors.” I’m putting the term in quotation marks because we’re dealing with a subject which is – admittedly – highly subjective. A “bad pastor” is a pastor which […]
Why Did Our Good God Send Us A Bad Pastor? (Part One)
I confess that no one has ever put it quite that bluntly as my title, but I’ve heard a number of softer versions of it over the years. It usually sounds something like this: “We prayed and worked through our pastor search process but the guy we got was not what we were looking for […]
Why Did Our Good God Send Us A Bad Pastor? (Part Two)
One week ago, we began wrestling with this painful question. While I’ve seldom had it put to me as bluntly as my title, I’ve heard little speeches like the following, several times: “We prayed and worked through our pastor search process but the guy we got was not what we were looking for or expecting […]
Why Did Our Good God Send Us A Bad Pastor? (Part Three)
I’ve heard my share of horror stories about bad pastors. Very few of them are as unfortunate as one I was involved in personally. Near the end of an interim pastorate, when we were just getting our pastoral search team organized, our church was approached directly by a young man who seemed like God’s special […]
Give Your Pastor The Gift Of Reasonable Expectations
Pastor Appreciation Month is already behind us, but the “holiday season” is coming on fast. Many church members gave their pastors a gift in October, even if it was just their well-wishes. Others are thinking about what they might give their pastor for Christmas. If that’s you, this post is for you. If you’re a […]
Before You Say “WE Do” – Twenty-Five Questions Churches Should Ask Prospective Pastors
A few weeks ago I wrote a post for prospective pastors called, “Before You Say I Do,” inspired by a premarital counseling program that I used in the past. I gave prospective pastors twenty-four questions to get answered before accepting a call to a church. Today’s version is for church boards and/or pastoral search committees. […]
“Our Pastor’s Gone; We Got Our Church Back!”
Television’s Art Linkletter used to say that “kids say the darndest things.” He was right of course, but the same could be said of church members who are being interviewed by interim pastors, denominational leaders or consultants: “Church members say the darndest things!” The first time I heard this phrase I was gob smacked. I […]
The Revitalization Playbook: Make Good Use Of Membership
Wait a minute! Don’t touch that dial! “Membership” doesn’t have to be as unexciting as a new vaccine. I know that many churches don’t have an actual membership. If that describes your congregation and this is a conviction for you, then it’s okay if you change the channel. I’ll understand. I’m not going to use […]
Keeping The Band Together: Maintaining Unity As Your Church Grows
Would that every church leadership team would be faced with the challenges of significant church growth! A pastor who is dealing with that happy situation put this question to me: “I love the unity we have in our church right now. How can we maintain it as we continue to grow?” Again: wouldn’t it be […]
Keeping The Band Together: Maintaining Unity As Your Church Grows, Part Two
Sometimes our success can be our own undoing. Oh-so-happy is the experience of the small, united church! Such congregations tend to grow spontaneously: “Come and check out our wonderful little church! I think you’ll love it.” And they do come, and they do love it, because we’re all looking for love, and this kind of […]
Keeping The Band Together: Maintaining Unity As Your Church Grows, Part Three
A wise, young pastor whose congregation is experiencing healthy growth put this question to me: “I love the unity we have in our church right now. How can we maintain it as we continue to grow?” Here are the answers I’ve shared so far: (Read the first full post here and the second post here.) […]
Seven Reasons Why Pastors Are Dropping Out
“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus…” F/I Timothy 1:3 “Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” I Timothy 4:14 You may have heard about the young man who told his mother that […]
Three Advantages Of Leading By Following
Our usual breakfast group of pastors was commiserating, again, about the highs and lows of trying to lead our churches. At some point the older, wiser denominational leader who was a part of our group spoke up: “You guys need to get ahold of the concept of leading by following. Figure out how to lead […]
The Importance Of Love In Leadership
In secular society, the words “leadership” and “love” are not usually found in the same sentence, unless someone is telling you that “they love to do leadership.” But Christian leadership is different. It’s different in its purpose, as Christian leaders lead for the glory of God and the good of their followers. The servant leader […]
When Majoring On The Majors Becomes A Major Problem
I’m a big believer in majoring on the majors. For a local church, majoring on the majors means loving God and people and faithful obedience to the Bible while we’re pursuing our one God-given mission of making disciples. For a denomination, majoring on the majors probably means helping its churches to be what I just […]
Why Did Our Good God Send Us A Bad Pastor? (Part Four)
Here’s the last “bad pastor” horror story I’ll share for a while: Even before I completed the interim pastorate, Donna and I were beginning to have concerns about the new long-term pastor who had taken my place. He had expressed anger with our church members for not hosting him as enthusiastically as he thought they […]
Full Disclosure Vs. No Disclosure: How Much Should We Tell?
Here’s the scenario: Your church’s youth director has just resigned. He was well-liked and seemed to be effective. Most of the church has no idea what went on behind the scenes. Only a few leaders know that there were character issues, accountability issues, communication issues, philosophy-of-ministry issues and eventually, personal issues between the senior pastor […]
Full Disclosure Vs. No Disclosure: Part Two
Last week I wrote about the conundrum of what to tell a congregation when a staff member has resigned or been dismissed under less-than-ideal conditions. We explored the options of: Full disclosure – Telling a congregation the gory details of the departed staff member’s failures, or No disclosure – Saying nothing publicly about the departure, […]
