The Essence of Church Leadership

The Essence of Church Leadership Know Where You Are Realism Know Where You Are Going Vision Have a Plan Strategy Move the People Motivation STEP ONE: WHERE WE ARE           Where We Are: The real disasters I see in leadership occur when leaders do not have a realistic sense of where the congregation truly stands concerning

A Place to Stand: Healthy Boundaries between Pastors and Congregations

  Most pastors I know have clear calls to ministry, work long hours, carry battle scars, sometimes get discouraged and struggle to balance vocation and family. They really do have servant’s hearts but they are human and there are a few considerate things the people in the pews can do to support their pastors. If

7 Thoughts for those Discouraged in Ministry

Are you discouraged in your service to the Lord? It happens to all of us. As much as we would like life to move “up and the right,” we will all endure seasons of feeling inadequate, dejected and downright pessimistic. Sometimes we just want to become 10 years old again and “take our ball and

My Advice for Responding to Criticism (Don’t)

My Advice for Responding to Criticism (Don’t) If you are a leader you are going to be criticized.  Period.  And if you are a significant leader you are going to be severely criticized.  It honestly doesn’t matter if you are a good leader or not.  That is just how it is.  People criticize leaders.  Always

Christian Leaders and Celebrity Culture

Today I read about the “crash and burn” of another well-known Mega-church pastor.  It is truly heartbreaking.  We have all watched this movie before.  We cry every time.  I hurt for the spouse and family of the pastor, the congregation and the many people who are just a little further from Jesus than they were before

Should Pastors Talk Politics from the Pulpit?

Should Pastors Talk Politics from the Pulpit? I am not a real political guy. I vote and watch debates but I don’t give money to support politics or politicians and I don’t volunteer to work at political events. If people are “electioneering within 500 feet of the voting booth” that is clearly someone else’s problem.

United Methodist Clergy Trading Cards (2017 Edition)

United Methodist Clergy Trading Cards At a St. Louis Cardinal Baseball game a few years back, a fellow United Methodist clergy member and I were discussing the need for our denomination to attract more gifted people into ordained ministry.  It seemed to us that many of our brightest and best young people don’t even consider

Ten Things Pastors Think are True (that I don’t think are true)

I like Social Media. I really do. Over the course of a day I can keep up with huge numbers of people in the time it would take to complete a single phone call. I also like the fact that people read my stuff and listen to my sermons while I am doing other things.