Reviews & Rest
“Am I doing a good job?” “Do I need to change anything?” All staff needs to regularly hear that they are hitting the mark with their work. An annual review is good too … a time to officially hear of their strengths and limitations … a chance to talk through hopes for future growth. Hear some wisdom from one pastor:
One thing I want to do is avoid the typical evaluation, which is more about what’s wrong and needs improvement. I have never liked evaluation meetings which I go into wondering what I have done wrong this past year and what I am going to have to change or improve. Granted, some of that is necessary, but for that to be the main impression is not good.
—David Kasselman, Central Church of Christ, Amarillo, Texas
Webster defines “Sabbatical” as: “A period of time during which someone does not work at his or her regular job and is able to rest, travel, do research, etc.” Does your church have a Sabbatical Policy? If so, who gets one? Just the Senior Pastor? Just the Executive Team? All the pastors? How often?
5 Warning Signs of Leader Burnout
Burnout is a real risk for many pastors and ministry executives. In an effort to satisfy external or self-made expectations for advancing the Kingdom, leaders may consciously or unconsciously make tradeoffs against their holistic [...]
Finding Real Encouragement: A Battle Plan for Your Soul
The enemy has a strategy, and it’s devastatingly simple. If he can get us discouraged, he can get us disappointed. If he can get us disappointed, he can get us distracted. If he can [...]
360 Reviews: Solving the Mystery
Fletch is a skeptic and Nathan is a believer. Nathan will try to win over Fletch on the role and effectiveness of 360 degree reviews. Nathan feels that there are key success [...]
Stressed Out? Learn to Relax in Jesus’ Easy Yoke
Can a pastor really be relaxed? Would that even be a good thing? Wouldn’t that be lazy and unproductive? Bill and Kristi teach that our Lord Jesus was a relaxed leader. But [...]
Sleep Smart: How to Get a Better Night’s Sleep
America isn’t sleeping well. 39% of Americans say they suffered from some sleep issue in the past twelve months. Moreover, almost 20% of adults use over-the-counter or prescription drugs to help them [...]
Is Your Church Eligible for the Clergy Renewal Program Grant?
In a grant landscape that can be challenging for faith-based organizations, Lilly Endowment stands out as a funder that provides some opportunities specifically for churches. One such grant is The Lilly Endowment National Clergy [...]
Unleashing the Potential of Performance Evaluations
Performance reviews: Everyone knows they’re necessary. Almost all organizations have the expectation that employees will participate in at least an annual review—a few attaboys or some harsh scolding—that will motivate that employee through their [...]
Sabbaticals—Sayonara or Siesta?
Leading a church can be a 24/7 role. Even when taking a regular day off, stress can accumulate over the months. Many churches have instituted sabbatical policies to help their key leaders [...]
The Power of a Restorative Sabbatical
Pastor, could God use a sabbatical to re-energize your passion, realign you with His direction for you and your church, and restore your soul towards sustainability in the next season of serving? Let me [...]
The ROI Of Employee Engagement
A New Way To Measure Your People Development Efforts According to Gallup’s recent State of the Global Workplace report, 85% of employees are disengaged in their work. But how do we measure improving [...]
How Not to Take on Undelegated Responsibility
Some personality types, like mine, simply love taking on a challenge and taking on responsibility. It comes naturally, especially for leaders. Taking responsibility is a good virtue and it is celebrated in every sphere [...]
A Rule of Life for Executive Pastors in 2022
As I write this, it’s less than three weeks until 2022. Budgets are, by and large, complete. The staff Christmas party is right around the corner. Staff members are wrapping up the last of [...]
Balance Before Burnout
Dealing with Significant Church Issues Covid is the current stress factor for pastors. At day 584 and counting, it has brought many pastors to burnout, more than any other event in our [...]
4 Ways To Avoid Burnout
Are you ready to trust—and relax? Because to avoid burnout, you need to encourage your church employees to pour back into themselves a little each day – while you reinvest in yourself, [...]
A Theological Case for Sabbatical Policies
Every faith-based organization—especially churches—should set itself apart from its business and government counterparts by putting a sabbatical policy in place not as a perk or a benefit but rather at the heart of its [...]
A New Scorecard: Why Your Church Needs Spiritual Measurements
Four years ago, our staff huddled up in the Senior Pastor’s office to answer one question: What are the marks of a disciple? The person leading the meeting drew a figurine on the board [...]
Leading from the Second Chair—Depression Inside the Church
I was a young 20-something, eager to get ahead, and interviewing for a promotion to Project Manager. My boss at the time gave me this little bit of wisdom as she described the role, “You’ll [...]
Stress Relief for Pastors and Leaders
Does it feel like helping others is sometimes hurting you more? Are you taking deliberate steps to manage stress in your life? Everyone experiences stress. Even good events like weddings, births, and graduations create stressful conditions. [...]
Questions for the New Year
The New Year brings new opportunities to focus our lives on what and who matters most. In my mentoring and consulting practice, I am working with my clients this month, helping them talk through their [...]
Sabbatical Policy
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church---items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and policies. Below is the 2005 Sabbatical Policy of the Westminster Church [...]
Sabbatical Policy
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church---items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and church policies. Below is the Sabbatical Policy from Bel Air Presbyterian [...]
True Confessions of a Decent Horse
“My good Horse, you’ve lost nothing but your self-conceit. No, no, cousin. Don’t put back your ears and shake your mane at me. If you are really so humbled as you sounded a minute ago, [...]
Sabbatical On-Ramps and Off-Ramps
One of the keys to a successful sabbatical has nothing to do with what you do on your sabbatical itself, but everything to do with how you transition into and out of it. For twenty years I have [...]
Pastoral Review Plan and Forms
XPastor tries to help churches by providing some of the essentials for running a church—items like job descriptions, employment applications, review forms and opportunity profiles. Below is the 2012 Pastoral Staff Evaluation Plan and [...]