Leadership
Leaders in your church can take on different shapes. They can be elders, deacons, parking attendants or Sunday School teachers. How can you encourage these leaders and make sure that they are taking care of themselves—spiritually, emotionally and physically? Are they participating regularly in worship? Are they living a balanced life?
Why Healthy Churches Still Feel Disorganized
Understanding the Hidden Architecture Shaping Ministry Introduction In a previous article, Architectural Leadership: The Missing Discipline in Executive Pastoral Ministry, I introduced the idea of architectural leadership—the discipline of designing the underlying structures that [...]
Be as Ingenious as a VW Bug
You face issues, complications and problems all the time in your church. It’s not a question of whether they will be solved; you have to solve them for ministry to go forward. It’s a [...]
Architectural Leadership: The Missing Discipline in Executive Pastoral Ministry
Introduction I remember sitting alone in my office late one evening after another long staff meeting had ended in quiet frustration. No one had said anything unkind. No one had raised their voice. Yet [...]
A Recipe for Good Decisions
Have you ever made a major decision but secretly lacked confidence that it was the right one? Or worse yet, have you ever made a decision you later regretted? Wouldn’t it be great if [...]
Mastering the Art of Consistency: Raising Your Habits to Reflect Your Calling
I’m a massive fan of J.S. Bach. Arguably the greatest composer who ever lived, his music fills the room whenever I write. Bach was a man of faith who famously signed each of his [...]
How Ego and Blind Spots Hold Churches Back from Fulfilling Their Highest Potential
Churches, face unique challenges in their mission to serve their communities, foster spiritual growth, and maintain operational effectiveness. As an Executive Pastor you play a crucial role in guiding your congregation toward growth and [...]
Ministry Myth Busters—4 Leadership Myths that Hold Your Team Back
Great leaders know that a critical part of their job is clearing the way for their team to be successful. We want to tear down the roadblocks in their way and propel [...]
Clear Priorities Drive Good Decisions
Your decisions create the story of your life. And while nobody plans to complicate their life with bad decisions, far too many people have no plan to make good decisions. Andy Stanley in Better [...]
Be the Unicorn
William will unpack his latest book, Be the Unicorn. The book addresses the questions of, How do I stand out? and How do I become irreplaceable? William bases the answers on his [...]
Be the Unicorn
William Vanderbloemen’s latest book, Be the Unicorn: Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest, is a goldmine of information. He gets right at what the best leaders do and how they [...]
3 Tips for Leading Better Meetings
Do you feel like your time is wasted in meetings? If so, you’re not alone. “A shocking 71% of professionals report having their time wasted, due to unnecessary or canceled meetings.” In [...]
What the Latest Gallup Trends Mean for Your Church & Leadership
Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace is out, and we're here to break down everything you need to know as a leader. The main summary statement Gallup wants leaders to take [...]
2 Trends Impacting Your Leadership This Year
Over the past 3 years the expectations for leaders has only grown more acute. Staff transitions, waning morale, and rising mental health challenges are resulting in new research that suggests that 43% [...]
Learning from Leadership Failures
One of my recent ECFA research projects involves leadership integrity. For David Fletcher’s in-person XP-Seminar in February, I surveyed the attendees, the majority of whom are the equivalent of Executive Pastor, with 1 in [...]
Leading the Flock: 5 Tips for Executive Pastors to Become Effective Leaders
Effective leadership boils down to the healthy habits you implement on a consistent basis. But what are those habits? And how do you practically implement them when your calendar is already packed? [...]
Why Implement a Written Integrity Plan?
Public confidence in nonprofits is declining to dangerous lows. Consider, for example, Gallup’s 2022 study on Confidence in Institutions, which reports that trust in the church has declined to an all-time low. Just 31% [...]
9 Resources on Financial Integrity
A nationwide survey of more than 700 church leaders conducted by Church Law & Tax showed that nearly one-third have served in congregations that suffered from some form of financial misconduct. Half occurred within [...]
Guardrails to Strengthen Pastoral Integrity
My title may seem a little off-putting, perhaps even negative. Why do I need a guardrail? Or better, what is a guardrail for a pastor? This brings another question, If our church incorporated guardrails, [...]
The Art of Leading Change
Leading change is difficult. The hardest part is not deciding which path to follow. The bigger challenge is found in the messy human dynamics throughout the journey of change. Many resources for [...]
4 Reasons You Don’t Delegate
I don’t have time to teach someone else how to do it. It will be quicker if I just do it myself. Chances are you’ve used one of those excuses when you’ve taken on a task [...]
Four Ways You Can Be a Godly Leader in a Sports-Crazed World
I love sports. I am an over-the-top Chicago Cubs fan. My license plate says Cubzwin. My three children all played collegiate sports. My wife and I played collegiate sports. I’m in four fantasy football leagues---that’s [...]
How to Create a Staff Structure that Supports Your Strategy
Building a team that is aligned and achieving mission together is one of the greatest joys of leadership. But most ministry leaders right now are feeling the pain of staff turnover and [...]
Culture is Currency
Your culture drives everything—how you attract great leaders, retain them and how you develop them. It even drives succession. Let’s talk about how the most important investment you can make is in your [...]
Org Charts that Work
Designing an Organization Chart that Aligns, Empowers, and Unlocks Your Team Building a team that is aligned and achieving mission together is one of the greatest joys of leadership. How do you [...]