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Saturday, March 10 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Eastern (9 a.m.-12 p.m. Central) Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC Managing church finances requires skill, dedication, and know-how, but…
Phill Martin, a clergy coach and an executive with the National Association of Church Business Administrators, says a typical church invests half its operating budget…
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…
Douglas Brouwer, author of How to Become a Multicultural Church, says in diverse settings it’s not enough to treat people the way you would like…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., founding director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, draws on the example of Judge Warren K. Urbom’s skill in presiding…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., delivered these remarks to a gathering celebrating his tenure as founding director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. The event…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says rather than dealing with a problem person head-on, churches will instead try to resolve the difficulty by formulating a policy…
As multiculturalism takes hold in U.S. churches, there is a greater need for competent intercultural leaders, says Brian Leander of Adelphi University. He says “culturally…
Olu Brown, founding pastor of the fast-growing Impact Church in Atlanta, says that difficult conversations just come with the territory if you are a leader.…
Matt and Kim Bloom, principal researchers with the Flourishing in Ministry research initiative, explain why clergy are at risk of burnout. Their research has found…
Virginia pastor Thomas James, a leading voice on the use of social media in ministry, says our modern world may require a new vision of…
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…
Ann Michel of the Lewis Center staff says church meetings should be holy ground where the Spirit can act because the people of God are…
One core commitment that can help a congregation engage younger people is a willingness to entrust teens and emerging adults with the “keys” to real…
Effective leaders are good communicators, according to Lovett H. Weems, Jr. They understand the importance of all forms of communication and that communication is always…
Pastor Charles Stone, who has studied how brain chemistry impacts our ability to process change, recommends six specific strategies to help congregational leaders embrace change.…
Perhaps the most important component to giving an effective speech is asking the right questions. There are three very simple questions your talk, speech, or…
“For where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.” (Matthew 6:21) Jesus talked a great deal about money. And in our monetized society,…
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…
Everyone can improve how productively they use their time each day. It isn’t necessarily a matter of working harder or having the most items on…
National news recently quoted a speech by a Microsoft executive who said women should trust the “system” to take care of their pay raises. Previously,…
You pick up some books because of the author and some because of the title. This one called to me for both reasons. Through Edgar…
A controversy arose recently over the Rolling Stone magazine cover featuring Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in a Bob Dylan-like photo. Although the issue included…
A phrase made popular by management writer Philip Crosby is “quality is free.” It reminds us that efforts to ensure that work is done right…
One of the least glamorous jobs of any church leader is attending board or committee meetings. Understanding the purpose, vision, and goals of each ministry…
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…
God has given each of us the ability to do many things. Yet we have to make choices, to say no to some activities in…
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…
How do you reignite a church when it seems that no one wants to lead? In every space and place, God wants transformation to occur.…
Just as all Christian leadership originates in our relationship with Christ, our day-by-day leadership depends on relationships with others that mirror the ideals of our…
This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.