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Category: Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, 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

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…

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Filed Under: Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Leadership, Seriously Troubled Churches

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…

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Filed Under: Church Health/Revitalization, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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

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

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…

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Filed Under: Healthy Pastors, 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

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…

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Filed Under: Healthy Pastors, Interim Pastoring, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Healthy Pastors, Interim Pastoring, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Healthy Pastors, Interim Pastoring, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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…

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Filed Under: Disciple Making, Healthy Pastors, Leadership

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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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