Isn’t it amazing what love can do to a normal human being? Take the 16 or 17 year old guy. His whole life has been about himself. He’s never done anything very unselfish, let along sacrificical, nor has he given any lavish gifts to anyone. And then SHE comes along! He’s head over heels in […]
Is Planning Unspiritual?
In a recent post, Ten Planning Principles From The Book Of Proverbs, I shared the results of a study I did on the subject of planning in that heaven-sent, down-to-earth book. I concluded at the end of my short summary that God commends planning which follows the principles found in Proverbs and He will bless pure-hearted, prayerful […]
Ten Planning Principles From The Book Of Proverbs
Is strategic planning Biblical? Is it wise? Is it helpful? The Book of Proverbs answers these questions with a resounding “Yes!” if we follow the following principles: 1. Planning, thinking deeply about our future work, is legitimate and wise. Don’t just “go with the flow” while claiming to be spontaneous or Spirit-led. (Somebody said that “Only […]
Four Bottom-line Truths About Vision
Vision is like the weather: everybody’s talking about it but nobody’s doing much about it. Let’s try to de-mystify this a bit, and maybe we can do something about it. Vision is simply a dream, a mental picture, of a better future. As leadership begins with dissatisfaction with the current state of things and a […]
Four Ways Pastors Must Be Faithful
Impartial juries. Fair-minded umpires. Faithful pastors. Some things are just expected aren’t they? Everybody expects pastors to be faithful. But what does Scripture actually say about faithfulness and pastors? We must be faithful to the Triune God Himself. It all starts here, of course. There is a sense in which pastors are professionals who work […]
Three Places Pastors Can Find Real Fellowship
My title probably seems odd to some readers. Pastors are surrounded by people in their churches and churches exist, in part, to provide fellowship for their members. But most pastors find that experiencing real fellowship – socializing that is deeply satisfying and moves us along in our spiritual journey – is a challenge. The norm […]
Book Review: Permission To Speak Freely
Doug Crandall and Matt Kincaid’s secular, business world-oriented book, Permission To Speak Freely, makes a great, challenging read for Christian leaders. Here’s the bottom line premise of the book, from page ix of the Foreword (by Shann Ray Ferch): “By not only listening deeply, but encouraging those around us to speak freely, leaders can create […]
Book Review: Hit The Bullseye
It’s not every day that I would review a fifteen year old book, but Paul Borden’s Hit The Bullseye: How Denominations Can Aim The Congregation At The Mission Field, is as timely, or even more timely, than when the author penned it. The former Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches of the West, renamed […]
Five Observations About The Turn Inward
Sometimes a wrong turn can be tragic, sending a ship to the bottom of the sea, a motorist onto the wrong lane of the highway or a passenger jet onto the wrong runway. In churches it’s often the turn inward which sends the congregation on a one way journey to obscurity. Here are five […]
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 […]
Book Review: Designed To Lead
What? Another book on leadership? Yes it is, but Designed to Lead (The Church and Leadership Development) has a different take on the subject. As the subtitle suggests, Eric Geiger and Kevin Peck’s 2016 book focuses on the place of the local church in developing leaders for the whole wide world. Their thesis is that […]
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 […]
A Different Way To Download A Vision
Just about everybody knows that vision is important. It gets us dreaming and praying and moving in the same direction. When a Christian ministry believes it has received a vision from God, it’s very powerful. The “catch” of course, is how we get this vision from God. There are innumerable opinions on the subject as […]
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. […]
Six Ways Leading A Worship Team Is Like Leading A Church
It had been over ten years since I’d led a worship team while also leading the church. I had vowed to not do that again, but in a time of need, I broke my pledge. To my pleasant surprise, the task has been immensely enjoyable for me. I think it’s been helpful to our church […]
Three Reasons To Kick Robert Out Of Your Church
No, I’m not talking about Elder Bob, or Deacon Robert or Youth Guy Robbie, I’m talking about the ubiquitous Robert’s Rules of Order. No offense is intended to Henry Martyn Robert either. The US Army Major meant well when he published his Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies in 1876. Robert was […]
If Not Robert’s Rules, Then Whose Rules?
In a recent blog, Three reasons to kick Robert out of your church, I wrote about the problems involved in using Henry Martyn Robert’s famous Rules of Order in churches. They’re not consistent with the New Testament leadership pattern, They’re not consistent with a Biblical philosophy of leadership, and They open the door for ungodly, […]
When Is A Pastor Like The New Sheriff In Town?
In earlier posts I’ve written about the analogies I use to help people understand the new varieties of transitional (or interim) pastoral ministry. I’ve explained that proactive interim specialists, variously called “strategic interim pastors,” “restoration pastors,” “redevelopment transitional pastors” or simply “interventionists,” are like: “This Old House” crew members Dog or horse whisperers Special forces […]
When Is A Pastor Like Nanny McPhee?
In an earlier post I wrote about some of the analogies I use to help people understand the new varieties of transitional (or interim) pastoral ministry. I explained in “Three analogies for understanding the redevelopment transitional pastor” that these proactive interim specialists are like This Old House crew members, dog or horse whisperers or special […]
