10 Tips for Handling Criticism in Ministry
Margaret Marcuson says that criticism and complaints are an issue in almost every area of ministry. She outlines ten strategies for handling complaints and criticism…
Browsing: Leadership
Articles
Leadership from Inside Out
Ever since I read Wesley Granberg-Michaelson’s Leadership from Inside Out, I have urged every minister I could button-hole to read it as well. My attraction…
Lessons for Clergy Preparing to Leave a Congregation
Lawrence W. Farris writes that how a pastor leaves a congregation is crucial for the pastor’s future work and well-being as well as for the…
Ten Commandments for Pastors Leaving a Congregation
Lovett Weems recommends a book to help pastors who are ending ministry with a congregation or moving to a new pastoral assignment. Lawrence W. Farris…
Jesus Asked the Right Questions
Marc Brown explores how Jesus defines the reality of God’s kingdom and his own identity by asking the right questions. In the ninth chapter of…
It Takes Teamwork
Kevass Harding writes that God calls us to be in relational ministry where God’s people work together for the building up of God’s kingdom here…
Keeping Your Ministry Fresh and Creative
Self-care is a key to staying fresh and creative in ministry over the long haul according to Jim Somerville. I’ve been an ordained minister for…
Good to Great and the Social Sectors
Lovett Weems draws church leadership lessons from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great and the Social Sectors, which itself draws lessons from the business world for…
Small Churches as Healthy Family Systems
Lewis Parks examines basic concepts of family systems theory as a positive framework to understand the dynamics of small membership churches. While teaching pastoral care…
It’s Not about the Numbers…. Actually It Is about the Numbers
Lovett Weems stresses the need for quantitative metrics, arguing that churches will never make the changes needed to attract new people until they commit to…
Focusing Your Message
Ann Michel offers a variety of suggestions to help churches improve different kinds of communication by prioritizing messages. Sometimes church members are poorly informed because…
When Church People Swarm
Margaret Marcuson says that when anxiety is high, church people often function reactively rather than thoughtfully, and band together like locusts. As a young seminarian,…
Leadership Lessons from a Dairy Queen
Adam Hamilton says ensuring a quality experience and pursuing excellence demonstrates that we care about people and desire a relationship with them. One evening, my…
Becoming a Spiritual Leader
Bishop John Schol writes about the spiritual qualities of leadership: deep faith, discipleship, and the heart and mind of Christ, and the fruits of leadership.…
Spiritual Leaders and Vision
Bishop Schol writes that spiritual leaders help a congregation discern and attain a vision of their future. Spiritual leaders are compelled by vision. Out of…
Assessing the State of Pastoral Ministry
David McAllister-Wilson recommends Jackson Carroll’s book about pastoral excellence that draws from sociological research and interviews with pastors. “Tend your career with care. Take the…
Church Leadership Holds Much in Common with Gardening
Robert Martin likens church leadership to gardening because it requires knowledge of the climate, vision, and hard work. I could have kicked myself. There I…
Leaders Stay Connected
Margaret Marcuson discusses the tension between individuality and togetherness for church leaders using the metaphor of a string quartet. Leaders straddle the tension between togetherness…
Women Leaders Changing the Church
Mary Clark Moschella reviews Back Talk! by Susan Wilhauck which distills insights from feminist theories to articulate a bold strategy to change the church. Backtalk!…
Women and Leadership: New Ways of Thinking
Ann Michel discusses how decades of ordination of women has led to progress with regard to the understanding of women’s leadership, but challenges remain. This…
Leadership Multiplication and the Way of Jesus
Dwight Zscheile believes that developing leaders is a priority in churches today and he writes about several dimensions of the work of leadership development. The…
A Church That Feeds Body and Soul
Michele McGrath describes the process of leading a congregation in defining a vision that captured the church’s true passion and identity around feeding others. After…
“Who is the Greatest?” – The Perennially Wrong Leadership Question
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., writes that authority is not about status; it is about what God’s will is for each of us and how faithful…
Leading in the Wilderness: Thoughts on 21st Century Pastoral Identity
Dwight Zscheile outlines how the paradigm of pastoral leadership has changes over the centuries, suggesting that today’s leaders must reclaim the task of leading through…
From Faithful Ministry to Fruitful Leadership
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., discusses excellence in pastoral leadership in terms of character, competence, and contribution. These are necessary for fruitful leadership. “What is your…
Coaching New Leaders
Steward Perry describes a simple process of on-the-job coaching to help new deacons get familiar with the ministry of visitation. Getting new people involved in…
Building Community in Churches with High Turnover
Jim Somerville draws from his experience teaching at a college to find a helpful approach to the coming and going of church members. Many communities…
Servant Leadership: Jesus & Paul
Ann Michel reviews Efrain Agosto’s book which suggests Christian leadership involves core New Testament values — service, humility, love, justice, suffering and sacrifice. Efrain Agosto’s…
Knowing the Pathways of Congregational Life
Margaret Marcuson advises pastors to learn the history and familiar ways of a church before introducing change because the patterns of the past will have…
Leadership and Racism
Leadership requires us to declare that racism is wrong, and we must work constantly to confront it and end it, according to Lovett Weems, writing…
