5 Ways to Minimize the Stress of Pastor and Employee Evaluations
Sarai Rice says congregations often evaluate pastors and staff in ways that lead to a lot of stress but little clarity or accountability. She offers…
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Articles
The Divine Logic of Delegation
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff explains that delegation and collaboration are more than effective leadership strategies. They are acts of faith that imitate…
Leading Voices: “Leaders Need a Servant’s Heart”
“Leaders Need a Servant’s Heart” is presented by Tracy Malone, Reverend Bishop of the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church. .In celebration of…
Leading Voices: “Leaders Do Not Take Everything Personally”
“Leaders Do Not Take Everything Personally” is presented by Rev. Dr. Camille Cook of Georgetown Presbyterian Church. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the…
Leading Voices: “All Great Leaders Need Contextual Intelligence”
“All Great Leaders Need Contextual Intelligence” is presented by Lewis Center for Church Leadership Director Doug Powe. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the…
Strengthening Online Worship Beyond the Pandemic
Lovett H. Weems Jr. says a continued commitment to online worship is not a hindrance that detracts from in-person worship but rather a vital way…
To Lead Change, Leaders Need the Courage to Change Themselves
Mike Bonem says that healthy organizational change will not occur unless a leader is willing to reflect, learn, and grow. To lead well, you must…
My 10 Biggest Leadership Mistakes
Ron Edmondson shares his biggest leadership mistakes so that you can learn from his experience. These leadership lessons point to the importance of honesty and…
What to Do When People Leave Your Church
Ron Edmondson writes that people leave churches for all kinds of reasons, but it’s still hard not to take it personally. He shares five tips…
A Simple Approach to Creating a Culture of Accountability for Ministry Leaders
Kelly Brown says that creating a culture of accountability can be simple. SIMPLE is an acronym for remembering these six key principles: setting expectations, inviting…
5 Ways to Help Church Staff Succeed
How can your congregation help those in paid staff roles perform most effectively? Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff outlines five ways to clarify…
3 Strategies for Leading Beyond Your Blind Spots
Lewis Center Director Doug Powe says we all have characteristics that others recognize but we can’t quite see in ourselves. Effective leaders see past these…
3 Ways Not to Respond to Criticism
Criticism is almost unavoidable for leaders, says Maxie Dunnam. What is key is knowing how to handle it appropriately. An old saying was right, “Criticism…
Confess Your Mess
Marv Nelson explains that leaders gain respect when they own their failures and shortcomings, not when they ignore problems or shift blame. In confessing your…
Young Clergy Effectiveness: Good News-Bad News
Data from the Lewis Pastoral Leadership Inventory™ (LPLI) suggest that younger clergy share many of the same strengths as their older colleagues and that they…
Setting the Right Expectations for Volunteers
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe Jr. says it can be difficult to hold volunteers to high standards of job performance, but clear position descriptions,…
3 Suggestions When a Ministry Project is Unsuccessful
Pastor Vincent Howell, an expert on project management in ministry, says even when a project doesn’t fully meet expectations, it’s important to keep a positive…
Free Staff-Parish Resources Available
Some of you work with Staff-Parish Relations Committees regularly. Keep in mind some one-page resources that you may want to use or share with them…
Learning from Failure
Christian Coon, co-founding pastor of Urban Village Church in Chicago and author of Failing Boldly, believes that a key to fruitful ministry is the ability…
Why Year-End Evaluations Rarely Help Leaders Grow
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains why year-end performance evaluations are insufficient to help people grow and improve. While year-end reviews are important, ongoing feedback that…
Leaders Know Themselves
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., discusses the importance of leaders having a mature, self-aware understanding of themselves. He writes that in order to achieve a healthy…
Clergy Evaluation
Most denominations and congregations provide for a committee that is responsible for clergy support and evaluation. Both pastors and these committees often have misgivings about…
Cultivating a Feedback-Friendly Congregation
Think of a time when good feedback or a helpful suggestion made a big difference for you or for your church. Think about what you…
The Power of Five Questions
In a local church, feedback will happen — whether you ask for it or not! But the challenge is to collect feedback in a systematic…
What’s Good about That?
It’s good to pay attention to what’s going well. Most congregations — like most people — can accomplish more by building on their strengths than…
A Little Criticism Goes a Long Way
Leaders must have feedback to grow. Those who become exemplary leaders start out much like others. What causes them to grow into stellar leaders is…
Limitations of an Annual Review
December is often the time when congregations and denominations require annual evaluations of clergy and staff. Evaluation is a good thing. But when the only…
Feedback without the Pain
A limitation to most feedback systems is that they tend to accentuate the negative. We know that leaders want and need feedback for growth, but…
Principles for Sound Staff Evaluation
Many people flinch at the mention of evaluation, and with reason. In congregations, staff evaluation often is conducted as a popularity poll with anonymous respondents…
Find a Few Wise People
When pastors tell me about particularly troubling dilemmas they face in their congregations, perhaps the most common advice I offer is, “Find a wise person,”…