In 1955, author and writing consultant, Rudolph Flesch published what would become his most provocative book, Why Johnny Can’t Read: And What You Can Do About It. The volume was a critique of the “look-say” method for teaching reading and compared reading education in the US unfavorably to other advanced countries. In 1976, leadership guru […]
Book Review: The Unstuck Church
As a new pastor I was given a big set of cassette tapes which told me exactly what I wanted to hear. As a gifted teacher it was music to my ears to hear from a superstar pastor that all I needed to do was to study the Bible all week, pausing a few times […]
Five Facts About Leadership Coupons
We’re all familiar with coupons. In my case, my wife clips them, hands them to me, and expects me to use them. I’m not a big fan of them. Too often, the extremely fine print says that they’re outdated or only apply in certain stores, from three to four AM, or when there’s a full […]
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 […]
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 […]
God Doesn’t Offer Stock Options
Many corporations offer stock options to their employees. It works out pretty well for everyone. Employees get a piece of the company. Employers get increased dedication from their employees. Sadly, many Christian workers make the mistake of assuming that they are earning shares in the ministries they work for through their hard work and dedication. […]
The Three Best Things I Never Knew About The Trinity
This is not a book review but I have to give credit where it’s due: Fred Sanders’ The Deep Things of God (How The Trinity Changes Everything) was an eye-opening, heart-warming, worship-inspiring experience for me, and continues to influence my life and work. Like all evangelical pastors, I believed in and taught the doctrine of […]
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 […]
Six Characteristics of Pastors Who Deserve to be Followed
I received some pushback regarding a couple of blog posts I wrote about allowing pastors to lead their churches. I argued that most churches which are actually making devoted followers of Christ out of the raw material of lost people have pastors who are expected to actually lead. Actually leading means that these privileged pastors […]
Six Marks Of A Genuinely Loving Pastor/leader
I’ve seen it repeatedly. When church members are surveyed regarding what they want in their church’s next pastor, the attribute most frequently mentioned is “a loving caregiver” or “a loving shepherd.” However we may feel about the level of Christian maturity reflected in these results, this is reality and it’s not lost on pastors. Pastors […]
The Anesthesia That Makes Church Surgery Possible
I love to use the medical model for church revitalization. It is so blessedly simple. Anybody can remember that the process is going to involve a few weeks of diagnosis, followed by approximately a year of surgery, followed by about another year of recovery. Diagnosis, surgery, recovery. A fifth grader can understand it. After explaining […]
Three Benefits of Getting a Fresh Start
Not so long ago, the ideal among evangelical pastors was the “lifetime pastorate” of 20, 30 or 40 years. Our models were a few famous pastors. “Since their ministries were long and successful,” we reasoned, “if I have a long ministry it will also be successful.” That was a poor deduction. Those long ministries were […]
Can Ordinary Pastors Become Revitalization Pastors?
The short answer is a happy “Yes!” I should define my terms. “Traditional” pastors preach sermons, teach classes, pray, give pastoral care and do administrative tasks. Those are all important. The revitalization pastor does all of those things and is also able to provide the visionary and strategic leadership which can take a willing (key […]
Book review: 5 Gears: How to be present and productive when there is never enough time
Most of us have used figures of speech derived from the experience of shifting the gears of a car or a bicycle. “On my way home from work I try to shift gears so I’m ready to interact with my family.” “While doing lunch with my co-workers I have to change gears and remember to […]
Four Ways To Be Stupid With Your Smart Phone
Okay. I finally did it. After years of cajoling from family and friends, I finally bought a smart phone. Now I have to learn how to use it. More importantly, I have to learn how not to use it. As usual, our advances in technology have outdistanced our manners, our ethics. On a global scale, […]
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 […]
Long Pastorates: An Alternative View
By Rev. John Herman, Former Executive Director, Evangelical Free Church of America Pastoral Care Ministries This article originally appeared in EFCA TODAY magazine, Summer, 2004, Volume 78, Issue 2. I think brother Herman has something very important to say here about an extremely relevant topic for church health: pastoral tenure. BAT ……………………………………. The long pastorate […]
Giving Thanks For The Future
The last year and a half has been a challenging time for most of us. I don’t think I’m going to get any argument there. And I’m not going to tell you to be thankful. But I am going to depart a tad from my usual “helping churches thrive” theme and give you some good […]
Wanted: The Pastoral Flight Simulator
An old friend and I were having one of those conversations that old friends (or married couples) repeat regularly: Brian: “It’s so hard to be a young pastor! There are so many landmines, so many ways to get in trouble!” Old Friend: “The young guys have all the energy; the old guys have the wisdom […]
Seven Helpful Hacks For Beleaguered Pastors
After sending you Seven Ways To Get On Offense last week, I sensed a need to get more specific and down to earth with my suggestions. Our big, challenging subject is the need for pastors to be able to transition from a reactive, back-on-your heels type of ministry, to doing the kind of proactive, intentional […]
