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 3 […]
O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike […]
Internal controls are vital in the life of a church’s finances. But, what are they? How can they help staff, give great data and protect against fraud?
Mike Lee is an experienced CPA and oversees auditing […]
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% […]
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 […]
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, what […]
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 take […]
Church transitions are difficult, but they don’t have to be destructive. No one gets into church leadership to scatter the sheep. They often want the best for the church and its members, but the transition […]
At some point, every lead pastor asks this question: How do we govern this church? Often with little background on the subject, pastors and boards cobble together a system that either works for the pastor or […]
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 that […]
We’ve all inappropriately handled our emotions at work. We’ve either stuffed our emotions when we should have shared them or we’ve spewed emotions when we should have stayed silent. Venting in the workplace is important […]
Many Baptist leaders and congregation members were discouraged after the release of the Guidepost Solutions Report on May 25th, investigating actions of the SBC Executive Committee related to sexual abuse. The Report focused on sexual […]
A church leader read XPastor’s article, Why Church Membership, and submitted the following thoughts on the topic. The individual suggests expanding the topic to include church discipline and gives examples from their church. This […]
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 of […]
As someone who has been burned out, I know it’s not a question of if your staff is experiencing burnout, but how many of them are already burnt out.
Most people have no clue. I know […]
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 their […]
The following is an anonymous article from a pastor. It could be from a senior or executive pastor, or a pastor who leads a department. No solutions are given to working with a controlling pastor, […]
Pastors and church leaders are biblically aware that predators will prey on their church. One of the biblical roles for the pastor is to be a shepherd and guard the lambs. What pastors generally miss […]
A blanket of sadness covered the office that Thursday as we waited anxiously to know whose names would be called. It was eerily quiet for […]
There is much conversation these days regarding the Great Resignation. Is it coming? Yes, for some. For those of you that would actually prefer to retain your best team members, start by creating a culture of strong […]
Ransomware is a serious threat that costs a lot of unbudgeted dollars to fix. Effective protection is available! Here’s what I recommend. Ransomware is not like most malware threats that slip into systems under the radar. […]
The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has a downloadable PDF detailing what to do when fraud is discovered.1 When a church discovers embezzlement within the ministry, the following issues should be considered with the assistance of […]
In Fletch’s book, Predators—The Case of the Church Embezzler, uses a fictional case study of WheatFields Good News Church. Executive Pastor Dan Black created a report card to evaluate how the church is doing in […]
In Fletch’s book, Predators—The Case of the Church Embezzler, he uses a fictional case study of WheatFields Good News Church. Executive Pastor Dan Black created a report card to evaluate how the church is doing […]
This material is from The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. With its mission of Enhancing Trust, ECFA now certifies nearly 2,300 Christ-centered churches and ministries based on its high standards in financial management, governance and […]
In Fletch’s book, Predators—The Case of the Church Embezzler, uses a fictional case study of WheatFields Good News Church. Executive Pastor Dan Black created a report card to evaluate how the church is doing in […]
In Fletch’s book, Predators—The Case of the Church Embezzler, uses a fictional case study of WheatFields Good News Church. Executive Pastor Dan Black created a report card to evaluate […]
On May 19, 2019, David and Tami Fletcher met for over three hours with Frank Pomeroy, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Paul Buford, Senior Pastor of River Oaks Church of Sutherland […]
Depending on the nature of the crisis, there are various levels of communication necessary.
Often a Risk Management Team will begin as WheatFields’ did—see The Case of the Church Embezzler.” The church knows something must be done, but does not know the needed scope. Experts help teams learn the […]
These tools are provided by The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. With its mission of Enhancing Trust, ECFA now certifies nearly 2,300 Christ-centered churches and ministries based on its high standards in financial management, governance […]
Eventually most churches encounter a known registered sex offender who is either already in the congregation or desires to attend. Trying to determine whether or how to live with a wolf is dangerous and fraught […]
Use this Report Card to help you evaluate your readiness for an event at your church. Score 0 for not prepared to a 10 for fully prepared.
In the […]
Today’s public safety personnel are busy. Given the workload placed on public safety, anything you can do to make their job easier is greatly appreciated.
Collect the 5 W’s and […]
It was a Busby family vacation trip to Texas. The afternoon we drove from Houston to Dallas is still etched in my memory. It was […]
What will it take for your church to become a healthier church? Given the realities of your particular ministry setting, how will you begin that process? If you were to start that process today, what […]
