Articles on the New XP
So, you’re new to the XP role. Welcome to the front row of ministry! Your job is a position of power, influence and, at times, the one to take the criticism and hard conversations. Take comfort in knowing that many have walked this road before you. They have documented their thoughts and learnings in the form of articles, posted here … so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel!
Defining the Executive Pastor Role and Its Need in the Church
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 [...]
Not for the Faint Hearted …
My first ninety days as an Administrative Pastor at my church was not for the faint hearted. Take your pick of the more interesting opportunities for growth that I experienced in my new position in [...]
The Secret of Winning Senior Pastor-Executive Pastor Relationships
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, [...]
The Revolving Door
Recently, after eventful days at the church office, David and I have compared those events to the movie, Grand Hotel. Grand Hotel, which came out in 1932, is the movie in which Greta Garbo famously [...]
Derailed? Four Proven Ways to Get Back on Track
Let’s face it—life happens. We all get off track at one time or another. And it’s always more difficult to get back on track the second time. Third time. Fourth time. Several weeks ago, a [...]
Who Needs an Executive Pastor, Anyway?
Pastors have been on the scene for a couple thousand years. Executive Pastors, by many different definitions, have been around for about twenty-five years. We obviously know more about how to be the former than [...]
A Shameless Plug for XPastor Online Courses
To all my fellow XP’s out there---many who, like me, have come out of marketplace---I say, “If you 'wanna learn' what you need to know to be an effective pastor, administrator, leader, and coach, look [...]
The Effective Executive
Peter Drucker’s goal in The Effective Executive seems so simple; as he states in the preface, “The subject of this book is managing oneself for effectiveness.” It does not take long to realize, however, [...]
Networking—Inside and Outside the Church
Leaders can effectively communicate their mission with people from all walks of life by using several different methods of communication. One of the best ways I’ve found for communicating your message is through networking [...]
Ministry Briefing
Matt Steen and Todd Rhodes are putting together an interesting concept. In XP Ministry Briefing, they summarizing 200+ articles that you need to know as a church leader from the past thirty days. It [...]
“Second Chair” Leadership: How to be a Superstar Executive Pastor
I’ve been somebody’s “Number Two Guy” for the majority of my career. I’ve been someone’s “Commander Riker” to their “Captain Picard” for almost twenty years. And, yes, I realize I’m dating myself with this analogy—Star [...]
Overtime and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Do you believe in slavery? Because we believe in the dignity of all people, we have enacted various laws to protect our workers. Whether you want to read this article or not, you need to! [...]
Keys to a Successful First 100 Days as a Senior Pastor
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 [...]
Working in Healthy Ways with Strong Leaders (Part 3 of 3)
(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 Leaders, [...]
Tsunami Leaders (Part 2 of 3)
[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 found [...]
Changes in the XP Role
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 [...]
Working with Strong Personalities at the Top (Part 1 of 3)
“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 [...]
Three Kinds of Executive Pastors
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 [...]
The Heart of an Executive Pastor
"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 [...]
Good Fit or Poor Fit: How Can You Tell?
When Goldilocks visited the Three Bears’ house, she tried three different rocking chairs. Papa Bear’s was “too big,” she decided. Then Baby Bear’s broke into a dozen pieces under her weight. “Too small,” she declared [...]
SP-XP Communication
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 [...]
Discovering Your Need for an Executive Pastor—Excerpts from a Dissertation
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 [...]
Case Studies of Policy and Vision Implementation by the Executive Pastor–A Dissertation
The following is a dissertation written in 2004 by David Fletcher about the Executive Pastor position. The footnotes have been removed to simplify reading on the web. Unfortunately, the images (and there are many) do [...]