Leadership Archives - Helping Churches Thrive

Becoming A Leader

Some of you have heard my own leadership story. For those who haven’t, here’s a short version. In my first church planting attempt, right out of seminary, I thought that all I needed to do was to teach the Bible well and my tiny church would grow. It didn’t. In my second church planting attempt…

Why Pastor Johnny Can’t Lead

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: Pastor Unique – Becoming Turnaround Leaders

Pastor Unique is not just another indictment of the American Church or American pastors. Authors Lavern Brown, Gordon Penfold and Gary Westra have given us a roadmap for real change and it is practical and doable. One clarification: PASTOR UNIQUE is about turnaround pastors in the sense of long-term (not transitional or interim) pastors, who seek to lead…

The Case For “Face To Face”

“…media means middle; it’s from the Latin for middle. When you put a device in the middle, between people, you distance us from one another, and this is actually the power of media. The more I can control the mediating channel, the less you really know about me.” Andy Crouch, Partner for Theology and Culture…

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…

Six Characteristics Of The Pastor Who Deserves To Be Followed (Revisited)

I received some pushback a while back regarding a couple of blogs 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…

Negativity Bias And YOUR Organization

“I plan to live an unhealthy lifestyle and pass away in my cubicle, preferably on a Monday.” Dilbert “There was a wicked messenger, from Eli he did come, With a mind that multiplied the smallest matter. When questioned who had sent for him, he answered with his thumb, For his tongue it could not speak…

Countering Negativity Bias In Your Organization

In “Negativity Bias And YOUR Organization” I wrote about the unfortunate effects of the human bent toward negativity in human organizations. It was a pretty negative post (of course!) but I promised I would share some hints for countering this pernicious problem. Here’s how I defined negativity bias: Human beings are “bent” toward negativity. Negative…

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…

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…

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…

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….

In Leadership, SPEED KILLS

If you’re old enough, you may remember the anti-drug abuse campaign: SPEED KILLS. If you’re even older, you may remember the highway safety campaign: SPEED KILLS. In leadership, speed can be deadly as well. Before I explain how, I need to say this first (just in case you don’t know me): I do believe in…

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…

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…

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…

The Introverted Pastor’s Survival Guide, Part One

Many people are surprised to hear that a lot of pastors are introverts. More specifically, they are – in my opinion – introverts in an extrovert’s job. For the record, the basic differences are as follows: Introverts are less outgoing, talkative, enthusiastic and energetic, than their extroverted cousins. Introverts are more oriented to the world…

The Introverted Pastor’s Survival Guide, Part Two

A few years ago I came upon a delightfully different title in a bookstore’s psychology section: Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking. I wonder if anybody heard me saying “Amen!” as I paged through the book. Author Susan Cain argued that modern western culture is biased against introverts, noting…

The Introverted Pastor’s Survival Guide, Part Three

I’ve mentioned, in two previous posts on this subject, that many pastors are “introverts in an extrovert’s job.” By an “extrovert’s job,” I mean that the general population, widely believed to be more extroverted than introverted, carves the pastoral model in its own image. Here’s what I mean: While I’ve had people compliment me for…

An Apostle’s Counsel To An Introverted Pastor

Introverted pastors have been around at least as long as the Apostle Paul’s young protégé, Timothy. It didn’t help that his father was an unbeliever (Acts 16:1). While his mother and grandmother were Christ-followers (II Timothy 1:5), there are encouraging words which introverted sons need to hear from their fathers, and Timothy probably didn’t hear…

Why We Must Get Disciple-Making Back Into The Christian Life

Here’s what I’m concerned about… In the New Testament, sharing one’s faith, personal efforts to make disciples by individual disciples, is the norm: Jesus wasted no time in sending the twelve, and then the seventy, into Judea and Galilee. As busy as he was, Jesus regularly modeled personal disciple-making for his 12 men-in- training (John…