Three Items I Learned at the XP-Seminar that Worried Me
For the last few years, I have spoken at the XP-Seminar, except for the Snow-Covid Seminar a few years ago. The seminar is one of my few live speaking gigs every year. David and Tami […]
2 Temptations Church Leaders Face When Visiting Other Churches
Taking time to visit other churches in your area or across the country is a great way to grow in your leadership. I love seeing a church in action and I always come away with […]
Bring Your Questions: Get answers and try to stump the chumps
Get answers and try to stump the chumps
Once a year we do an open question time. This is your opportunity to bring any church question. Ask anonymously as no names or locations are ever cited […]
Surprise Findings in the XP Survey
What We Expected & What We Found
Let’s look at seven surprises that will give encouragement, challenge, and ideas to ponder as we move forward in this uncertain season. Jesus often used in his teaching the […]
Keeping Your Mind Alive While in Ministry
How do you as a church leader stretch yourself and stay fresh? Pastors must engage their minds in creative, fun and dynamic reading. As important as physical exercise, mental exercise excites intellectual curiosity. By seeking […]
Ed Stetzer on a New Cohort for Executive Pastors
Leading the School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership at Wheaton College is a great joy. We’ve seen our program grow exponentially, and the current pandemic has not slowed us down.
One of the advantages of our […]
3 Ways Intentional Coaching Helps Executive Pastors
Like it or not, Executive Pastors are coaches. You can embrace your role as a coach and improve your effectiveness by coaching your team.
I’ll admit it. The word coach used to make me cringe. And […]
Seven Common Pitfalls Every Pastor Should Avoid in a New Church Role
A quaint story circulated among Methodists describes a young pastor, fresh out of seminary, who had just begun his first pastorate. As he drove up to the small church, he noticed an old tree blocking […]
Value of Courses
Monday, February 25, 2019
Hey Fletch … I am super excited to take your courses on XPastor! I am a worship pastor of 30 years who is looking to make a change in leadership. Is […]
New XP and Coaching
Friday, February 22, 2019
Hey Fletch … I am a new executive pastor at our church and recently took over this position. I have been a youth and family pastor for many years. I would like […]
Residency Program for XPs?
Friday, February 15, 2019
Hey Fletch … I read the Hey Fletch column of January 28 and was intrigued about the potential of a residency program. I’d love to be in one to learn how to […]
Is There Still Room for Me at the XP-Seminar?
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Hey Fletch … I have done an excellent job of procrastinating and haven’t enrolled in the XP-Seminar. Do you have room for one more?
DRF—You are cutting it close, so very close. […]
Wife Sees Me Differently Than I See Myself
Hey Fletch … I have taken the XP-Indicator […]
Networking with other XPs
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Hey Fletch … I’m feeling a little dry and out of contact with other XPs. What can you suggest to help me get connected with people leading churches of a similar size […]
Which of the 30 Workshops Is Best for Me?
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Hey Fletch … I see that you are having over 30 workshops at the XP-Seminar. I’m already enrolled and am excited to be back. Give me some insight on which ones […]
Leading a Church Staff is Like Herding Cats
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’m about to become the XP in our church. I’ve never had a church position before and several people tell me it is like herding cats. Really?
DRF—Popular expressions have […]
Start-up Manual for New XP?
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Hey Fletch … I was an XP over 20 years ago in a startup role when two churches merged. It has about 1,400 attenders. Since then I’ve been teaching in a university. […]
New XP in the First 100 Days
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Hey Fletch … I was recently promoted inside my church to the XP role. I’m looking for a recommendation for a book that deals with the transition to a new role in […]
Learning Online To Be an XP
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Hey Fletch … I see your online courses have credit hours. Does this lead to some type of certification? Are there any discounts for bundling? Thanks for your assistance!
DRF—XPastor’s online classes are […]
Networking with XPs
Friday, September 14, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’d like to learn more about the XP role and perhaps become an XP. You recommended getting into a network with XPs. Right now, I only know one or […]
Is There an XP Group in My Area?
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’ve just found your website and am very excited to dig in. One of the things I need to do is find other XP’s in my area to meet […]
XP Certification
Friday, August 10, 2018
Hey Fletch … The banner image on the courses page suggests a certification. Is a certification available?
DRF—Yes, the XPastor Online Courses are available to audit or for certification. Some people […]
3 Kinds of XPs
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Hey Fletch … I came across your pivotal article on the 3 Kinds of XPs. Thanks so much for making this available.
DRF—It is always gratifying to hear from the XPastor community. […]
Too Early to Enroll in the 2019 XP-Seminar?
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’m interested in attending the XP-Seminar in 2019. When will registration begin?
DRF—We had plenty of emails in May and June about this. People were asking extra early this […]
Can I Shadow a Leader for a Day?
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Hey Fletch … I am relatively new as an XP. First, your website and the XP-Seminar have been tremendous resources. Second, I want to hang out with an XP in my area […]
Skills for an XP
Monday, June 25, 2018
Hey Fletch … Compared to five years ago, what skills, knowledge, leadership or sensitivity is needed to lead as XP in a growing evangelical church?
DRF—I’ve mentioned before that recently Matt Branaugh, an […]
XP in Church of 300 Needs Coaching
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Hey Fletch … I see on your site that you provide coaching. I am interested in the process and the price. I am currently in a split role of Children and Executive […]
Two XPs in a Church
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Hey Prof … I’ve been learning that there are a number of different ways churches use their executive pastors, more than I realized! The idea about the two XPs in a church […]
The Executive Pastor Indicator
Friday, June 8, 2018
Hey Fletch … I filled out the XP indicator. When do I get the results?
DRF—I love eager beavers! You are avid and want to learn about your strengths. You are saying, “I’m […]
Learning About Leading a Church
Monday, May 14, 2018
Hey Fletch … please I want to know more about the school. Thank you.
DRF—I love hearing from folks overseas. We don’t offer a school so much as courses for church leaders. […]
Mentally Unchallenged
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’ve been a pastor for 15 years and I’m mentally dying. I’m at a place of intellectual stagnation. What can I do to get out of my muddle?
DRF—Perhaps the […]
Coaching for New XPs
Friday, March 30, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’ve heard you might provide coaching for new XPs. If that’s the case, how do you structure the coaching experience and how much does it cost?
DRF—Great to hear from […]
Two XPs in Our Church
Monday, March 26, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’m trying to research churches that have a double XP organization. We are thinking of an XP of Operations and an XP of Ministries. We currently have a Lead […]
Executive Pastor as Dr. No
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Hey Fletch … one of the challenges that I face as Executive Pastor is that everyone is pitching things to me. I feel like I’m “Dr. No.” There are tons of good […]
Church Grows from 300 to 2,000 in 5 Years
February 17, 2018
Hey David … We have grown from 300 to 2,000 in less than 5 years. Our original Executive Pastor job description was for a smaller church. What do you have as examples of […]
The Revolving Door
Recently, after eventful days at the church office, David and I have compared those events to the movie, Grand Hotel. Grand Hotel, which came out in 1932, is the movie in which Greta Garbo famously […]
Derailed? Four Proven Ways to Get Back on Track
Let’s face it—life happens. We all get off track at one time or another. And it’s always more difficult to get back on track the second time. Third time. Fourth time. Several weeks ago, a […]
A Shameless Plug for XPastor Online Courses
To all my fellow XP’s out there—many who, like me, have come out of marketplace—I say, “If you ‘wanna learn’ what you need to know to be an effective pastor, administrator, leader, and coach, look […]
The Effective Executive
Peter Drucker’s goal in The Effective Executive seems so simple; as he states in the preface, “The subject of this book is managing oneself for effectiveness.” It […]
Networking—Inside and Outside the Church
Leaders can effectively communicate their mission with people from all walks of life by using several different methods of communication. One of the best ways I’ve found for communicating your message is through networking and […]
Ministry Briefing
Matt Steen and Todd Rhodes are putting together an interesting concept. In XP Ministry Briefing, they summarizing 200+ articles that you need to know as a church leader from the past thirty days. It […]
“Second Chair” Leadership: How to be a Superstar Executive Pastor
I’ve been somebody’s “Number Two Guy” for the majority of my career. I’ve been someone’s “Commander Riker” to their “Captain Picard” for almost twenty years. And, yes, I realize I’m dating myself with this analogy—Star […]
Executive Pastors’ Perception of Leadership and Management Competencies Needed for Local Church Administration
The following is a dissertation written by an Executive Pastor. To aid in making the information more readable on the web, the footnotes have been removed. To view footnotes, charts, Appendices and the Reference List, […]
Running Through the Sprinklers: A Humorous Look at Fiduciary Responsibilities
Executive Pastor David Troublefield read a comment on XPastor that said, “And if you want to forget all your troubles, eat a cherry popsicle while running through the sprinklers barefoot!” So David put on his […]
Leading from the Second Chair
Many capable, idealistic, servant-minded people find themselves in “second chair” management and leadership roles within Christian organizations and churches across the country. For many, this is a positive, fulfilling experience; for others, it is frustrating […]
The Executive Pastor: Key to Future Leader Development
If you ask most Executive Pastors to show you their radars, they’d look a lot like FAA snapshots charting planes in flight across the country. While I know you’re as stressed as a control tower […]
Second Chair: Fascinating Insights About XPs
One of the least understood roles in churches is the “second chair” role—the person who reports directly to the Senior Pastor (or sometimes the church board) and oversees a large portion of the church staff. This […]
The XP Mentoring Checklist
One of the greatest privileges of serving as an Executive Pastor is the opportunity we have to come alongside men and women and help them develop in their leadership. The first few months of the […]
Leadership Assessment Tools
Nathan Baxter is a former Executive Pastor that has a heart for mentoring. One tool that he uses as he helps pastors is the Birkman Leadership Assessment Tools. Here Nathan outlines some of the available assessments, […]