pastoral leaders Archives » Page 2 of 3

April 30, 2019

Traveling with God

I travel on airplanes a lot, mostly internationally, and I usually request a seat with more legroom because I am quite tall and a regular economy seat is just too small for me, especially on longer flights. So I am willing to pay a higher price for a more comfortable seat. Recently I was upgraded to business class (first class on most aircraft nowadays) on a 10 hour flight back to Atlanta from Rome and I felt truly blessed to get a better class of service with even more comfort for such a long flight. My status as a regular […]

April 25, 2019

5 Challenges With Being A Local Pastor (or Leader) in the Age of Social Media

Social media is changing you and me in more profound ways than any of us imagine. Like a growing number of people, I’m increasingly concerned with how addictive tech has become, and am leaning in on the arguments that some like Roger McNamee (who has a fascinating conversation with Sam Harris here) and Tristan Harris make that social is addicting us to outrage and challenging the underpinnings of what we’ve known as civilization. If you’re interested, for a good introduction on how tech is manipulating how you think, check out this article from The Guardian. The problem with technology is that while we’re its parent, we’re […]

February 12, 2019

8 Signs Your Church Is Actually Reaching Unchurched People

Reshared with kind permission from Carey Nnieuwhof So are you really reaching unchurched people at your church? How would you know…for real? Just because a church is growing doesn’t mean it’s filling up with unchurched people. Hoping to reach unchurched people is one thing. Reaching the unchurched is quite another. When unchurched people actually start connecting with your church, things change deeply. So how can you tell you’re really making inroads with the unchurched? When you see these 8 signs pop up in your church, you will know that you are really making inroads with the unchurched. Hoping to reach unchurched people […]

January 18, 2019

LEADING-WELL, Free Online Mentoring Resource

Perhaps you are encountering a new need in your ministry but can’t find anyone else familiar with your specific situation. For instance, maybe you are being led to start a ministry to refugees and are asking the Lord to place someone in your path who can help guide you. With experts from a wide range of backgrounds, such as leadership development, pastoral training, church planting, Muslim-Christian relations, evangelism, etc., Leading-Well offers users a variety of experienced ministry leaders to connect with for free, one-on-one coaching. Watch this short video interview with the visionary behind the Leading-Well platform, Brother C.J. Davison, […]

December 13, 2018

5 Hard Truths About Healthy Church Growth

Most church leaders I know would love to see their church grow. Similarly, most leaders I’ve met want their church to grow for what we might call the ‘right’ reasons: they sincerely want more people to encounter the love of Jesus Christ. That’s amazing. And yet there’s a strong reaction against growing churches by many leaders. For some reason, many people love to take pot-shots at growing churches and large churches. Some are categorical denouncements. I don’t know what to do with those. Sometimes I sense that underneath the anger are jealousy and resentment on the part of leaders whose […]

November 9, 2018

How To Create Amazing Ministry Content (Part 1)

One of the most common comments I hear after preaching is, “How do you preach a 40 minute sermon without notes?” People tend to be dumbfounded that I, and others who preach at our church, can do this. The honest truth is that I think anyone could because it has to do with the creative process that I choose. My creative process is both simple and complicated. It’s simple because I do the exact same thing every time that I preach and yet it is complicated because it’s a long, multi-step process. I decided to share the process in this post. Now, you may or may not […]

September 20, 2018

Five Gauges For Staying Healthy In Ministry

Reposted with kind permission from Breeze. It seems like every other week that a prominent Christian leader quits, is fired or lands in the news because of some sort of scandal. I don’t know about you, but I find these stories demoralizing because each story tarnishes the reputation of Jesus and His Church in our culture. These stories are also scary because I find myself thinking, Can anyone do this? Can anyone lead in the spotlight without failing? The truth is that hundreds, probably thousands, of church leaders and pastors serve and lead faithfully for years, even decades without a major failing. […]

July 3, 2018

5 Reasons People are Leaving Your Church

Guest post from Aaron Buer of Breeze Church. Recently I was invited to speak at a church in our town where a friend of mine is the senior pastor. While I was speaking, I experienced something incredibly distracting. I kept recognizing people. “Hey! They used to attend my church!” They were everywhere! This of course led to all sorts of questions, the biggest of which was: Why did they leave? Ever been there? One of the hardest parts of church leadership is watching people walk away. I want to take some time in this post to talk about reasons that […]

January 25, 2018

Is there a Need for Church Management Training in America?

In America today, many churches are struggling to effectively disciple and grow their churches. In fact, church attendance has been declining dramatically since the 1960’s (Tobin Grant, Religion News Service, January, 2014). One of the main reasons seems to be our changing culture in America. It used to be that virtually everyone went to church. It was part of our American culture. People went to church in many cases because it was what most Americans did on Sunday mornings. Pastors did not have to work that hard in getting people to come or remain in church. But that is not true […]

January 23, 2018

How To Identify A Great Future Leader

Post shared with permission by Bob Tiede of Leading With Questions. GUEST POST BY RANDY HALL In order for any business or organization to get stronger, it needs to continuously develop leaders. The future of the business depends on its ability to either create or recruit leaders who can help it grow, adapt, and succeed. The leaders in an organization are its future. They are, or will be, tasked with creating the culture, establishing direction, and figuring out how to effectively engage employees to move in that direction. Leaders are also charged with creating the strategy for developing additional leaders so […]