Blog-Generated | Coaching Churches

Create Better New Year

Posted by on November 29, 2013

It is that time of the year when we evaluate the current year and start planning for the next. What got us to this point in our leadership journey will not likely get us to where we need to be next year. We must constantly be making changes and continuing to learn. Mark Miller has some great insights on how to create better plan:

“Have you begun you planning for 2014? If you lead an organization, I’m guessing you started months ago. How about your personal plan for a better 2014 – have you begun creating that yet? If you haven’t, now is a great time to start! I’ve been a fan of individual development plans for many years. I feel the process has helped me grow in all areas of my life.”

An Unguarded Strength Is A Double Weakness

Posted by on November 27, 2013

We are often emotionally moved when we hear a great speech or read a great book but we are rarely permanently changed. Where is the breakdown between what we feel in the moment and what never seems to become a part of our daily lives? The Legacy Dad blog takes on this important subject in all of our lives:

“There are things that I really like about men’s conferences, leadership conferences, and so on. And if we are all honest, for those of us that go to these conferences, we find ourselves for the first week (few weeks, months or slightly thereafter) doing these things that we say we are going to do and THEN life steps back in and we lose our focus and our way.”

7 Suggestions When Church Is In Decline

Posted by on November 26, 2013

All churches at some point in time stall in their growth and lose their momentum. The key is to discover why and try to make the necessary changes before real decline sets it. If you find yourself in this situation, Ron Edmondson’s post will be very helpful:

“There are no cookie-cutter solutions for reversing a church in decline. Churches have unique characteristics, because they have different people. They are different reasons that cause decline. It could be anything from poor leadership, to being locked into the traditions of men or simply a change in population in the community.”

Character In Kids: No App For That

Posted by on November 25, 2013

I will admit that I am torn when I see my grandchildren spending lots of time with electronics. There are incredible upsides to what is available today. However the are major dangers as well, especially if it takes the place of intentional conversations that deal with real life issues. Mark Merrill brings his perspective to this challenge for every parent:

“At times, it can seem as if there is an app for almost everything. There’s no child who will learn about good character from sitting on the couch and staring down at their iPad. It is our job as parents to build character in our kids. Here are 4 ways to teach character to your kids”

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How To Use Social Media

Posted by on November 22, 2013

One of the great questions facing leaders today: Is the use of social media a waste of time and manpower or should it be a critical piece of todays marketing platform? The truth can lie somewhere in the middle and Carey Nieuwhof has some helpful guidelines for any organization:

Social media has changed the leadership landscape radically in the last few years.

The question is how do you use it optimally as a leader?

In my experience, social media is both about what you do on social media as well as how you do it. The what is your content. The how is your tone.

Both are critical.

How To Manage Time

Posted by on November 18, 2013

In reality time management is not the real issue it is the daily setting of the right priorities. However, there are some things that we can do to become more efficient in how we get things done on a daily basis. Carey Nieuwhof has some great insights into how to make the most of every day:

“Do you have enough time to accomplish everything you want to get done?

Almost everyone who’s asked that question answers “Not really.”

The irony is that we all have exactly the same amount of time: 168 hours each week.

And yet some people manage to do extraordinary things with their time. Others not so much.

Too many leaders wonder where the time went and why they’re not getting half of their dreams started, let alone accomplished.

Why is that?

How To Be An Out Of Control Parent

Posted by on November 13, 2013

We all start out as parents providing protection, instruction and correction for our children. The problem is sometimes we get stuck there and its time for them to go to college. If we don’t transition our parenting style they will never be able to assume responsibility and become successful. Mark Merrill gives some practical steps to help in this transition:

“Of course, none of us is ever ultimately in control of our lives or our kids. Only God is. But we do have some control over how we parent our children. When our children are younger, we are more “in control” of them. But as they grow older, we move to being a more “out of control” parent.”

Sometimes the problem is not primarily with the kids but the parents. Read More …

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When Rest Is Forced Upon You

Posted by on November 11, 2013

We all promise ourselves and our families that we will make sure we don’t push too hard and lose our margin. Then we start to get that sinking feeling I am doing too much and boom we hit the wall. Joseph Lalonde gives us some excellent insight how not to cross over that line and the value of rest in our lives:

“One of the things I really enjoy is an early morning run. I’m able to get up and out of the house before anyone is awake and hit the road running.

My mind becomes focused on completing the run within half an hour. Running is a blast.

And yet I’ve suddenly been sidelined. I’ve been forced to rest.

Ever been there?”

Maybe its time for you to build rest into your priority list. Read More …

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Vision More Than Words

Posted by on November 6, 2013

In the end everyone is watching to make sure our walk equals our talk. Any good leader can give a great speech but the payoff is are they living out what they say is important. Mark Miller challenges us to look beyond what we say to what we do as leaders:

One of the never-ending responsibilities of a leader is to remind people what we’re trying to accomplish and why it matters. This is the essence of vision casting. Unfortunately, most leaders under communicate their preferred picture of the future.

If the leader is sold out to the accomplishment of the vision, why would he or she under-communicate it? There are probably several contributing factors to this phenomena.

How To Overcome A Bad Day

Posted by on November 4, 2013

Regardless of how great a leader you become you will still experience bad days. They are a reality of life and we need to know how to work our way out of these days or we can lose our perspective and then our momentum. Carey Nieuwhof has very practical suggestions on how to move forward:

I had a bad day recently.

Chances are you have too.

Mine blindsided me, and it threw me off so much I got almost nothing accomplished that I wanted to accomplish.

I don’t like days like that. (Does anybody?)

But they’re inevitable in leadership.

Someone sends you an email that sets you off.

A crisis hijacks the day you were going to spend getting a project done.

Unexpected bad news pours in.

You experience conflict with a teammate.

You simply woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

It happens.