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Category Archive: Pastoral Leadership

5 Practices Of Leaders Who Develop Leaders

Posted by on February 22, 2023

One of the hardest challenges for churches to grow beyond 500 is the necessary transition for staff team members from ministry to leadership. Most of them were hired for their relational skills and have no practical training on developing other leaders who actually do the ministry.

Most churches either simply hire more staff workers or stop growing and never really understand why. Hopefully, your current team can be developed into leaders of other leaders. If they cannot, they may need to transition to another smaller church that is a better fit for they’re gifting. This post by Dan Reiland will help clarity next steps:

“Developing leaders is an art. It’s a great responsibility and one of the most meaningful things you can do as a leader. Personally, I love it!

Developing leaders is life-changing, Kingdom advancing, and spiritual legacy in the making.

It’s nearly impossible to accomplish your God-given vision by yourself, therefore developing other leaders becomes essential.

It’s rare that anyone would disagree with that, and yet a surprising number of leaders acknowledge the lack of intentional development on their staff and among their volunteer leaders.”

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7 Things That Changed in 2020 That Make Leadership Harder

Posted by on December 7, 2020

Just when you think all this chaos is about to stop, something else happens and it even gets worse. It is extremely difficult to develop a leadership plan when the crisis continues to change. However, there are some trends that are beginning to develop that are probably not going away and we must deal with that reality. Carey Nieuwhof has some great insights:

Your head likely hasn’t stopped spinning in 2020. Same.

Maybe on one or more occasions you’ve done what I’ve been tempted to do as well: bury your head in the sand because it’s just so discouraging to see what’s actually happening.

As much as it’s healthy to unplug for a day (or a week) to catch your breath, refresh your soul and tap into hope, ignoring reality isn’t a great long term strategy.

Leaders who ignore the culture have a hard time influencing it because they no longer understand it.

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Is America Burning Out? How To Minister To An Exhausted, Cynical Culture

Posted by on October 12, 2020

This current disruption has lasted so long that the impacts will be permanent and require new approaches to ministry. Jesus Christ is still the hope of the world and we have to shift now to make sure He is at the center of our messaging. The culture can always push back on the church or even Christianity. It’s extremely had to push back on Christ. This post by Carey Nieuwhof is a great help:

“You know that people burn out. In fact, given the way you feel, you may have asked whether that’s what happening to you. But here’s a deeper question.

Can a culture burn out? And if the answer is yes, any chance that’s happening to America in this moment?

An accurate diagnosis might be helpful right now because, if you’re like me, as you read the news and scroll through your feed, it’s hard not to feel despair.

I was speaking to a group of next generation church leaders recently, most in their twenties or early thirties, and as I thought about their future, I was reminded of how pessimistic so many of the outlooks on the future are right now.”

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How To Lead A Church That Can’t Agree On Anything Right Now

Posted by on August 31, 2020

In my lifetime the church has never gone through this much disruption for this long of a period of time. The church has literally been scattered and we are living through at least 5 major crisis that have created massive amounts of stress. The country is more divided than ever, which sadly means your people are probably more divided than ever as well.

This post by Carey Nieuwhof is extremely helpful in that he seeks to help us find the things we all still have in common. If we focus on our shared mission, then we will see all of this as a divine opportunity for the kingdom. Enjoy this great post:

“This is probably one of the hardest seasons you’ve ever led through.

One of the things that’s making this season particular challenging is that, regardless of ideology, theology or viewpoint, we are more divided and adamant than ever.

People don’t agree on masks, social distancing, schooling, reopening church, online church politics or whether there’s even a real threat.

As one lead pastor told me recently, “There used to be two options. Now it feels like there are four or five, and no one agrees with anyone anymore.”

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My Single Biggest Regret From A Lifetime Of Ministry

Posted by on July 12, 2020

Regrets mainly come not from mistakes made but opportunities missed. This post by Joe McKeever will take you to a place every pastor has already been before if you have been leading in a church for at least 10 years.

What I need you to hear is that this issue impacts every leader I have coached my entire life, especially trying to lead myself. So this is not a pastor problem but a Christian leaders problem and that should help you to see we all face this challenge.

With that said, you are leading in an environment where the unrealistic expectations of the people you lead are extremely demanding. That means you have to have the spiritual maturity to say No to many things and learn to live your life before an audience of One.

“The first entry in the book is dated October 9. However, the paragraph above that reads:

The month of October got off to a poor start around the McKeever household. I announced to Margaret that until October 27, there were no open days or nights. The month was filled with church meetings, committees, banquets, associational meetings, speaking engagements at three colleges, a weekend retreat in Alabama,and a few football games. She cried. Once again, I had let others plan my schedule in the sense that I’d failed to mark out days reserved for family time.

I ran across that book today, read that paragraph, and wept.”

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Should You Close Your Church After Reopening?

Posted by on July 6, 2020

When I started writing the book Church Scattered: Christianity for 21st Century I could have never imagined our current situation. Yes I am a strong advocate of putting more leadership into the church scattered but I never wanted the church gathered to close its doors.

Now everything has changed to the point that church leaders are having to re-think strategy not only for now but more importantly for the future. The Father is disrupting His people again and scattering them into the mission fields. This post by Carey Nieuwhof will help you walk through the challenges ahead:

“Every time you think 2020 is going to get easier, it just gets more complex. So here’s a question: “Should you close your church after reopening it?”

While that sounds like a terrible question, what if it was your best church growth strategy? I know that probably sounds like heresy and you may be too annoyed to read further, but just hang on for a second more.

As the coronavirus resurges across the US, and even areas that thought COVID wouldn’t impact them are breaking all-time infection records, clearly this is a time to ask all the questions.

But this is a deeper question. In Canada, our cases have slowed to almost a trickle, but I think it’s a live issue here too…if you really want to reach more people.”

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Pastors How To Lead 3 Different Groups Back To Church

Posted by on May 26, 2020

Just to get one thing said that is very important, the church never really closed. The buildings did but the people have been living on mission the entire time. This messaging is important in speaking to all of the people who will be coming back to live worship. Some can’t wait to come back and will deal with all the necessary changes. Others will be more cautious and it may take them several months to return. Dan Reiland as always is very helpful:

“If you are truly leading, that means you are guiding those you lead somewhere that you and they together have not been before. That “place” is a better life through Christ. The foundation of that premise never changes, but culture has changed, so we must adapt as needed.

The purpose is that people may continue to say yes to the person and message of Christ and mature in their faith.

So, why do you need to lead people back to church?”

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4 Ways To Quickly Stop Your Innovation Curve And Miss The Future

Posted by on April 29, 2020

As an executive coach I have worked with the leadership of companies who are fighting disruption every day for survival. Disruption is so dramatic it really means that you cannot go back to the way things used to be. You absolutely have to change by keeping what is valuable from the past but radically adopting what will work best for the future. This excellent post by Carey Nieuwhof will help you navigate this transition:

“Sure…the world has changed almost unbelievably since mid-March 2020, but stop for a moment and think about how much you’ve changed.

You’ve led through the biggest crisis in a generation, or perhaps a century. And as a result, you’ve innovated.

You went from

Meeting in-person to meeting online
Leading your team in-person to leading your team remotely
A stable financial plan to a completely new financial plan
A predictable org chart to redeploying staff in brand new areas they weren’t trained for
Having no idea how to do what you needed to do to making it work”

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Five Ways You Will Be A Different Pastor After The Pandemic

Posted by on April 19, 2020

It will be impossible to return to the way things were before the pandemic. The Father is leveraging this crisis to call His church to maintain the sacred message of the past but learn through this transition to prioritize the ministry of the church scattered. This may be the greatest opportunity in our lifetime to see many people come to Christ as new normals are developed for everyone. This post by Thom Rainer is excellent:

“In a recent article, I wrote that churches will never be the same after the pandemic. An important corollary to that thesis is that pastors will never be the same. Though the biblical standards of pastoral ministry remain constant, how pastors carry out that ministry will change dramatically. In many ways, the changes are already taking place.

Pastors will either thrive with an attitude of abundance or retreat with an attitude of scarcity. Some pastors are already adapting incredibly well during the pandemic. They are functioning more with an attitude of God’s abundant provisions than one of scarcity. These pastors are becoming amazingly creative and positive about the future. Unfortunately, others can’t wait to return to a church world that no longer exists.”

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What Will The Post-Coronavirus Church Look Like

Posted by on March 29, 2020

I sincerely believe that one of the lasting lessons of any disruption is that things will never be the same again. We can return to the ways of doing church that were effective in making disciples. However, we should as church leaders use this time to make any change that will help us be more effective in reaching and equipping people. This post by Thom Rainer is excellent:

“Church leaders and members are rightly giving much attention to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. In-person church services are being canceled. Small groups are meeting digitally, if at all. Church leaders are urging members to support the church financially through digital giving. Churches are preparing ways to minister to their communities in the midst of the pandemic.

I am grateful for the responses and for the caring hearts of so many church members. In the midst of a major challenge, it is heartwarming and reassuring to see many people who really care.

But the coronavirus will move past its pandemic state at some point in the future. I am fascinated to see what our churches will look like on “the other side.” Here are eight likely developments:”

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