1,400 Articles
from 400 Leaders
Listed from the most recent
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 [...]
Keys to Successful Hiring
The cost of a bad hire could be up to $250,000! That figure is from to the Society of Human Resource Management, an expert HR organization. Say what?!? How can that be? When you [...]
Artificial Intelligence Brings Legal Liability
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a helpful tool for churches. Many are using AI to ethically research sermon ideas. Others use it to redact a 45 minute message into a 1,000 word article for [...]
Facility Costs in a Church Merger
Hey Fletch … Our church is talking about merging with another church. We would be the lead and adopt their church. We are a setup/teardown church, and they have a paid-off building. I’m working [...]
Is Your Church Eligible for a Security Enhancement Grant from FEMA?
Eligible churches and other nonprofits can apply for the annual FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). If awarded, the church can receive up to $150,000 per site for target hardening against potential terrorist or [...]
10 Steps to Communicate a Pastoral Transition
The decision to let a pastor go is never an easy one. But once the decision has been made, it's important to handle the situation with grace, dignity, and respect. After all, this is [...]
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 [...]
Not the Fun Guy on Staff
Hey Fletch … I’m not the fun guy on staff. Do you have any ideas or resources for doing some fun or creative or helpful activities together that might help us? I’m thinking eating [...]
Keys to a Healthy, Successful and Flourishing Church Merger
Several years ago, I stood in the back of our newest campus during the campus’s first baptism service. This campus was a merger with a 15-year-old church that had lost its evangelistic effectiveness. An [...]
Facility Stewardship
Facility Management, or as we like to call it Facility Stewardship, is a complex and demanding role that requires a combination of skills, foresight, and adaptability. In pursuing excellence, facility stewards often seek inspiration [...]
Teacher Salaries
Hey Fletch—Why do you utilize teacher compensation data for comparison data? I don’t necessarily believe they are compensated very well on average. Fletch—Some folks don’t think teachers are paid a fair and living wage. [...]
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 [...]
Transforming Your Data into Discipleship
Every data point represents a soul. Are you treating it that way? You and I got into ministry because we know people matter. We feel compelled to help people meet, follow and share Jesus. [...]
Despondent over Lack of Fruit in Ministry
I’m no stranger to disillusionment in ministry. For 47 years I’ve served the Lord in a variety of roles: church staff member, seminar leader, Christian university professor, and writer. Not every position has panned [...]
Options for Churches Seeking Audits or Other Accountability Measures
Churches desiring to employ an audit or other accountability measure with respect to their financial operations may opt for various approaches, depending on their size, scope, and complexity. Audits and other financial accountability activities [...]
When and How to Change Ministries
Questions to Consider Before and After You Decide to Leave Feuding Cripples Church— That headline was plastered on page 1 of the city newspaper. By a 17-6 margin, the deacons and trustees had voted the [...]
Five Reasons You Might Not Be Hired
You can learn from other’s mistakes. If you avoid these areas, the chances of a long-term successful career at your next church will be greatly improved. I recently had the opportunity to correspond with [...]
Talking to Visitors
Hey Fletch—We have a lot of people who visit our church but they don’t come back. We send out letters and emails to newcomers. Apparently these are not working. Any thoughts? Fletch—I stumbled on [...]
Be the Unicorn
William Vanderbloemen 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 [...]
The Necessity of a Child Safety Team
One of my favorite pastimes after a long day of work is to sit and watch sports. During each sports season, you’ll find me enjoying my favorite Atlanta-based teams as they work together to [...]
When the Ground Shifts: Understanding the Magnitude of Ministry Transitions
Growing up in Southern California had its constants—the eternally pleasant 75-degree weather, the ever-congested freeways, and the notoriously high cost of living that always seemed to outpace a pastoral salary. It also had its [...]
5 Ways to Protect Against Being a Bad Boss
There was a recent study that showed that two Walgreens stores had completely different success metrics and employee retention even though they were close to each other, had the same clientele, had the same [...]
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 [...]
Is There Life After Vocational Ministry?
When I was a pastor, I would have days where I thought I was the luckiest person on earth. Standing in front of a couple renewing their wedding vows, preaching a message I was [...]