Team Culture
We’ve all heard the analogy that leading pastors is like “herding cats.” Leading a leader can be an adventure. But rookie pastors need mentoring—and the old-timer pastors sometimes need a fire put under them to help get them out of their “this-is-how-we’ve-always-done-it” mentality. Articles by experienced Executive Pastors and other church leaders can help you find direction.
Honing a Church Staff
By definition, leaders build teams. One cannot be a leader unless others follow. In a similar vein—and again by definition—a church involves a plurality of people. One person cannot operate as a church. It takes a team [...]
God-Honoring Worship Changes
Autumn Ridge Church recently celebrated its 150th anniversary; this has provided a wonderful opportunity for us---to remember with gratitude those who have come before us and to look forward to the ways in which God [...]
Antibodies to Change
The immune system of the human body is incredibly complex and powerful. When it is not working properly, the body dies with surprising quickness. But when it is healthy, the body is able to fend [...]
The Multiple Staff Relationship
The vast majority of churches have only one pastor, but increasingly there are churches with multiple staffs. With this in mind let me talk first about the role of the Senior Pastor, followed by thoughts [...]
Issues with Women in Ministry
A seasoned pastor offered an honest comment as I opened a workshop on the topic of developing a written church Position Statement regarding women in ministry: “This is the burning issue in my church. My congregation and the [...]
Six Practices That Draw the Best Out of Your People
How can you draw the best out of your church staff? What are some ways to create a great, healthy staff environment? Below is a presentation created by Steve Liparoto, outlining the various practices that [...]
Thinking About Mentoring
Our discussions on coaching and mentoring tend to go directly to techniques, but I’d like to consider for a moment the way we think about mentoring. Even though my context is a mission agency instead [...]
From Vision to Execution
Wherever you go today, everyone is talking about vision. Vision is the current buzzword. It's the discussion in boardrooms, in executive offices and in management-consulting firms. It's the leading topic of discussion in synods, and [...]
Learning From the Past to Guide Us Into the Future
Christ Chapel Bible Church finds itself in the late summer of 2006 at a blessed crossroads. That crossroads is the opportunity to invest in one of three ministry options, each of which will offer material care, as [...]
How About Followership?
From the biblical examples of Moses, Nehemiah and Jesus, to our own experience in a church context, we know that leadership is hard work. If you lead (truly lead) paid staff, volunteers, or a mixture [...]
Three Elements of Effective Meetings
What was considered high-tech gadgetry just a few shorts years ago is now commonplace in minivans across America. For some, they are a no-brainer for anyone who transports young children from Point A to Point [...]
Simple Church
Ever have one of those staff meetings when it feels like an explosion went off in the room? It can be quite unsettling, to say the least. We were a purpose-driven church that was driven [...]
XPs and Catalytic Converters
I hate cars. As far as I’m concerned, they’re high-maintenance, expensive machines, that always seem to break down at the absolute worst possible time. While holding the latest repair bill, produced from a mechanic making [...]
Being a Leader vs. Being a Boss
This article is not about politics. Really, it’s not. In fact, some of the information in this article is probably not even accurate because it presents extreme pictures of two people in order to paint [...]
The Secret of Improving Staff Performance
I really hesitated using that title but I did because I get so many questions related to staff performance. Every XP I know deals with this issue of getting people to do better and do [...]
Roles, Responsibilities and Decision Making in 2007
This article is from 2007. Bob has written an expansion and follow-up article in 2022 that can be read here. Rational for All Church Roles/Responsibilities and Decision Making Model General Biblical Principles God’s Kingdom work [...]