Let's continue today with some more thoughts about how to face challegnes coming your way ... 3. Don’t go it alone. Please don’t face your mountains alone. Yes, many times they are burdens are issues that you alone fully understand and have to deal with. But gather a few climbing companions. It’s amazing how our … Continue reading The Challenges of Ministry (Part 3)
The Challenges of Ministry (Part 2)
What do you do when facing challenges? Here are a few things that have helped me along the way ... 1. Believe that your challenges have the potential to make you strong. The very process of facing and dealing with life’s challenges is how we become strong people. You can’t develop ‘strength’ without pressure and … Continue reading The Challenges of Ministry (Part 2)
The Challenges of Ministry (Part 1)
This is my twenty-ninth year of active involvement in church leadership, both as a volunteer and as a staff member. People often ask me how I enjoy what I do – church ministry. I have a common answer – “I find ministry very fulfilling and I also find it very challenging.” On the fulfilling side … Continue reading The Challenges of Ministry (Part 1)
Evaluate Your Progress
Activity is not necessarily accomplishment! It’s easy to be very busy, especially in church life, yet not be moving forward to great fruitfulness and kingdom productivity. Therefore, it is essential that we stop regularly for periods of review and evaluation. How are things going? Really? What’s going well? What’s not going well? One common tool … Continue reading Evaluate Your Progress
Leadership Selection
TO JESUS, SON OF JOSEPH, FROM THE JORDAN MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT FIRM By Dr. Fred Mueller Dear Sir, We would like to thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you picked for management positions in your new organisation. All of them have taken our battery of test and each of them has had … Continue reading Leadership Selection
Climb a Tree
There is a big difference between leadership and management. Management tends to focus on “doing things right” while leadership focuses more on “doing right things”. Here is a good story to illustrate this difference. Imagine a group of people cutting through a jungle. The managers are right there, making sure things are going smoothly - … Continue reading Climb a Tree
Leadership Essentials
Leadership is a complex task! There are multiple things that we need to be aware of and do well at – mission, vision, core values, strategy, goals, plans, systems, programs, culture, just to name a few. Therefore, having a clear “big picture” of how all these pieces fit together is essential. Let’s briefly look at … Continue reading Leadership Essentials
Leading Your Church Through Change
Church leaders are “change agents”, called by God to initiate change by moving people forward to where they need to be. I believe that every leader needs a “model” for leading change. I have put one together from the life of Nehemiah that has been a great help to me. Here are eight steps to … Continue reading Leading Your Church Through Change
What’s a Senior Minister to do?
Church work is never done. There's so much to do with seemingly not enough time to fit everything in. The urgent constantly seeks to crowd out the important. We often question whether all our efforts are truly effective. So, what's a Senior Minister or Pastor to do? The leaders of the early church faced the … Continue reading What’s a Senior Minister to do?
Multiply Your Ministry Impact
Everyone wants to have a fruitful life and ministry. But that's only half of our mandate. God wants us to be "fruitful AND multiply" (Gen.1:28). He desires us to reproduce ourselves in others "after our kind". Great leaders are able to train others to join them in ministry and thereby multiply their ministry impact. God … Continue reading Multiply Your Ministry Impact
A Balanced Perspective of Church
So you're a pastor. What are you supposed to do with this thing called "church"? Is it a family to simply enjoy and have fun with? Is it an army to try to take the world with? Or is it a business? Gaining a proper perspective on church can be quite a challenge but it … Continue reading A Balanced Perspective of Church
Don’t Quit!
Being a leader or ministry volunteer can be very rewarding and fulfilling. It can also be a source of frustration and extra stress. In other words, ministry can be very draining – spiritually, emotionally and physically. What are some of your frustrations? Come on, I give you permission to have an official approved "whinge session" … Continue reading Don’t Quit!
Church Governance
In many ways, churches tend to rise and fall based on the quality of their leaders. Strong godly leadership is important, as is good governance, clear decision-making processes, and appropriate accountability. When it comes to the subjects of leadership and governance, the New Testament presents a fairly fluid and emerging model for local churches. That's … Continue reading Church Governance
A Theology of Self Care
The Apostle Paul gathered the leaders from the church at Ephesus for some parting words. He had been with them for a few years and they had experienced an incredible revival in their city and beyond. We don't have this meeting on DVD but thankfully someone took some notes of what he said (see Acts … Continue reading A Theology of Self Care
Leadership Development Event
One of the best leadership development events in the world is the annual the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Bill Hybels and his team always put together an amazing line up of speakers all with the specific focus of helping people develop their leadership gift. A few weeks ago this years summit was held in Chicago … Continue reading Leadership Development Event