David Fletcher

XPastor has more than 300,000 visitors each year, hundreds of pages of documents and tons of megabytes downloaded each month. With this growing body of information, here are some suggested starting points.

Check out the following pages that center on the practical concepts of the Five Functions of Leading and Managing the Church—Administrator, Catalyst, Mentor, Minister and Overseer. The Five Functions are one way to objectively talk about the role of the XP. David's dissertation talks of the five functions. The Executive Pastor Indicator measures the five functions. This is free! When Sr. Pastors and XPs take the XP-I, then an objective discussion can begin about the role of the XP.

If you want personal interaction with other XPs, check out the Forum or the Help page. Read scores of articles written by XPs. All of our events have quality information presented, followed by plenty of time for discussion and interaction.

David, had another contact today from someone else that knew me from your circulation. It has a great impact. —Paul Smith, Purcellville Baptist Church, Purcellville Virginia

David's goal in the XPastor events, such as the XP-Seminar, is to give content on the five functions and then present case studies. The format allows for 20-40 minutes of presentation followed by discussion in small groups. This is a directed discussion, but not a dictated discussion - meaning that the content gives a path to follow and then people can tell their stories and learn from one another. You are not asked to fill in the blanks. You must think and process the material to apply it to your own church. The new kids on the block learn from experienced XPs, while the experienced XPs learn as they vocalize their experiences and share ministry.

The case study approach in the XP-Seminar is a widely used format at business schools, such as Kellogg and Harvard. This gives people an opportunity to hear a real world problem, discuss possible solutions in a small group and then hear from the XP who led the solution. Having the XP present allows for large group interaction on the church and the problem/solution. The purpose is not to make clones, but to hone our ministry through the successes and failures of others.

 

'Wisdom is proven right by her deeds'

Matthew 11:19 & Luke 7:35

Web Site

XPastor shall be an exemplary, free forum of information on leadership and management in the church. XPastor shall be devoted to Executive Pastors, church leaders and Senior Pastors. Information on the web site shall be at no or low charge, and all articles and personal information on the site shall be posted with the permission of the authors.

Events

XPastor shall host high quality one-day symposiums and two-day seminars to enrich, challenge and stretch Executive Pastors, church leaders and Senior Pastors. Events shall be of moderate cost to foster easy accessibility by staff of large and small churches. Sponsors shall be sought who value the Mission of XPastor and can disseminate information about the events. All sponsors shall be clearly identified in written material and web pages.

Further Education

XPastor shall foster environments for further education for Executive Pastors at the Masters and Doctoral levels, encouraging individuals to study together in qualified programs.