Bishop David Evans is the Senior Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church, Lindenwold, New Jersey. Nicholas Smith is his Executive Pastor. Twenty years ago, Bishop Evans named Nicholas as his designated successor. Their long time relationship is […]
Shared leadership at the helm of any organization, especially the ever-growing model of co-lead pastors in a church, can be a huge blessing when successful. However, it has the potential to be quite catastrophic to […]
Hey Fletch … We have some serious problems at the church and are also […]
I believe in the Executive Pastor position to my core. There is tremendous value that an Executive Pastor can offer a church. God has been preparing me for this role my entire life and brought […]
Thursday, October 4, 2018
Hey Fletch … I just finished reading “The Senior Pastor and Executive Pastor Team” by John Hawco on XPastor. You posted his entire dissertation and it is awesome! Thanks so much […]
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’m a new Senior Pastor. I love the role and thought that most of what I would do would be preaching. While the preaching is going well and the […]
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Hey Dr. Fletcher … I’m thanking God for all you are doing in His will. What was the relationship between the Romans and the Jews at the time of Jesus? Will you […]
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Hey Fletch … We are a small groups based, disciple-making church that does lots of church-planting. I wrote to you before about hiring a care pastor. I need to turn over this […]
Monday, June 18, 2018
Hey Fletch … As a pastor, managing people drains me. It sucks. It’s a skill that no one wants to do—a real pain. I don’t want to be the bad guy, like […]
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Hey Fletch … I see that there are three types of Executive Pastors. There are those who are the solo XP for a church, an XP of Ministries and an XP of […]
Friday, April 27, 2018
Hey Fletch … Hi again! Been a couple years. Followed your advice. Finished my MBA. Started and currently running my own business. And this year began taking night courses for a Master […]
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Hey Fletch … I’m demoralized and ashamed to repeat what my Preaching Pastor said to me. In front of one of my staff, he said, “You don’t matter. People won’t remember you […]
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Hey Fletch … I have a senior pastor who is constantly bringing change to the church. One week it is a new way to do small groups, and he did this by […]
Monday, February 26, 2018
Hey Fletch … Have been an XP for nearly 20 years and I’m curious on your thoughts on organizational structure of the SP/XP positions. I’ve twice been in the “2nd chair” position, […]
Friday, February 23, 2018
Hey Fletch … 21 years ago God gave me the privilege of leading a team to plant our church. Thank you for your ministry to XPs around the world. We are looking […]
January 26, 2018
Hey Fletch … What is the best way to convince a strong Senior Pastor of the necessity for creating an XP role at the church?
DRF—The answer is “complexity.” Strong Senior Pastors understand that! […]
“And all other duties as may be assigned.” This is commonly the last line in a job description, but the practical reality for many second chair leaders is that this is their first responsibility. This […]
Having an excellent Executive Pastor can dramatically increase the health and growth of a church. Similar to the relationship between a COO and a CEO, an Executive Pastor oversees all administrative and operational aspects of […]
Throughout my years in the Executive Pastor role, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know many of my peers in ministry. At the risk of […]
As was mentioned in the title, I’ve learned five lessons during my first eighteen months as an Executive Pastor. In order to provide some context, I will briefly state my ministry experience. My background has […]
I recently sat down with the Lead Pastor of our church, discussing my current role as the Director of Operations. During the discussion, I mentioned that I was hoping to move my position to become […]
What ingredients make an effective senior leadership team? There’s no better person to ask than Jimmy Collins, past president of Chick-fil-A. Collins was second-in-command under Truett Cathy, the man who invented the chicken sandwich. Together, […]
Turnover in churches is high right now. Senior Pastors are retiring as baby boomers age, and the wave is only going to grow. Perhaps more than I’ve ever seen, there are scores of people facing […]
(The following article is Part 3 of a three-part series written by Paul Utnage. To start at the beginning with Part 1, read “Working with Strong Personalities at the Top.” The link to Part 2—Tsunami […]
[The following is Part 2 of a three-part series. To start with Part 1, read “Working with Strong Personalities at the Top.” The link to Part 3—Working in Healthy Ways with Strong Leaders can be […]
Oh, how the XP job has changed! Over the last decade or two, the role of the Executive Pastor has changed significantly. Once a more business role, the position seems to have developed into something […]
“Leading up requires great courage and determination. We might fear how our superior will respond, we might doubt our right to lead up, but we all carry a responsibility to do what we can when […]
Who will be your next XP? What is the rise and function of the Executive Pastor? Whether you call the position Executive Pastor or Senior Associate Pastor or Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, there are many […]
“God has blessed me with the heart of a pastor, and I love people,” says Olson, 48, who joined the Lake Avenue Church staff last summer after eighteen years in ministry at Rolling Hills Covenant […]
One of the vital elements of the XP role is that of communication between the Executive Pastor and the Senior Pastor. The core of the XP-SP relationship is one of trust. Many new XPs are hired […]
The extant literature presents material on how to discover when an Executive Pastor is needed in a local congregation. Wes Kiel, in his unpublished article that was used in three Leadership Network forums in the […]
There are 5 Functions in church leadership. A variety of church staff use these roles, from senior pastor to executive pastor to others in leadership positions.
Over 4,600 people have discovered their 5 Functions in XPastor’s […]
I served for years as the XP on a team of three pastors planting Terra Nova Church in New York. On my journey there, I made a three-year stop as Lead Pastor of a suburban church, […]
When a United States President enters office, there is a lot of press given to his first 100 days agenda. The reason for this is everyone understands the early days of the new administration will […]
Whether you realize it or not, being in the “second chair” is the ultimate leadership paradox. You are a leader: mentoring staff members, overseeing the day-to-day operations, and ensuring that the organization is running smoothly. […]
The proliferation of “megachurches” has been described as one of the most significant social developments of the decade of the eighties. That trend shows no sign of subsiding, indeed it seems to be accelerating. Lyle […]
Mount Vernon Baptist Church’s history dates back over 145 years. During these years, the church faced many challenges. Individuals emerged to lead the church forward. The church is again at a crossroad in its history. In this […]
The following is a dissertation written by a Senior Pastor. To aid in making the information more readable on the web, the footnotes have been removed. To view footnotes, tables, appendices and the bibliography, please view […]
The winds of change had been blowing for several years. Not in response to a particular problem, a mid-life crisis nor a lack of ministry fulfillment. Rather, it was a persistent, gentle unsettledness, resulting in […]
When was the last time that the President of the United States attended the dedication of your Youth Education Center? When was the last time that the President quoted your Senior Pastor or called for advice? Dr. […]
With the acceptance of the operating principle of the historic importance of preaching, it will do well to briefly address other pressures on the preacher. In a chapter entitled, A Pastor’s Job Description, counselors Frank Minirth and […]
Today I received an email from a Lead Pastor asking a question about a different operating structure in a church: “I wanted to get your thoughts on a new structure that I have heard a little […]
“I felt my heart strangely warmed.” Those were the words Jonathan Wesley used to describe his conversion the night he attended a meeting on Aldersgate Street in London. The words also describe how I felt when […]
April 23, 2003 is a day that Natalie Gilbert will never forget. On that day, when she was 13 years old, she was scheduled to sing the national anthem for the 2003 NBA Playoff Game […]
A couple of months ago, I was asked to give a presentation entitled, “Executive Pastor: If, When, Why, How?” As you can guess from the title, the focus was on churches that were thinking about […]
Each time I work with a church leadership team, I schedule time for coaching the Senior Pastor and Executive Pastor together. This dynamic working relationship experiences significant wear and tear and needs to be inspected […]
Over the summer, I hit a new mile marker in my leadership coaching by working with my 50th SP-XP team. I have had the privilege to spend time in thirteen states, nine denominations, and churches […]
