
Come on, Pastor. Is Your Job Really Tougher Than Mine?
It can be hard to be a pastor. But Jayson Bradley reminds us that job frustrations and challenges are not unique to the ministry. By…
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It can be hard to be a pastor. But Jayson Bradley reminds us that job frustrations and challenges are not unique to the ministry. By…
Barry Howard outlines ways a congregation can prepare spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally for the arrival of a new pastor to make the most of a…
Church consultant Susan Beaumont shares four leadership practices that can help a congregation prepare when their pastor is getting ready to leave. Approaching the situation…
Lewis Center Director F. Douglas Powe describes shifting staffing patterns and ministry models emerging as more and more mainline congregations suffer decline. The Lewis Center…
How can a pastor avoid common pitfalls and make the most of opportunities when moving from one congregation to the next? In this episode we speak with Lovett H. Weems, Jr., about how to plan for a pastoral transition, leave well, and get off to a strong start in a new church.
News Release LEWIS CENTER LAUNCHES MAJOR STUDY OF THE NATION’S RELIGIOUS WORKFORCE WASHINGTON, DC — The Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary…
HiRho Y. Park has studied how pastoral leaders can be more effective in cross-racial and cross-cultural ministry contexts. These pastors can be bridge builders, she…
Perhaps the most impactful task for bishops and superintendents is matching pastors and congregations through the appointive process. Despite their best efforts, some matches do…
Looking for practical strategies to more effectively engage others and lead change? Listen as leadership expert Lovett H. Weems Jr. shares some of his sage advice on the attitudes and practices that can help church leaders thrive.
Bishops and their Cabinets are entering the season of appointment-making. Many bishops and superintendents have developed careful processes and then seek to improve them each…
It is increasingly common for a congregation to share a pastor with another congregation and for pastors to be serving more than one church. Lew…
Bill Wilson of the Center for Healthy Churches says that the arrival of a new minister can be a marvelous opportunity to start anew for…
Charley Reeb, a Florida pastor known as a gifted preacher, says that it’s often easiest for listeners to stay focused when a sermon is organized…
How can you connect with more people and engage current parishioners better through preaching? In this Leading Ideas Talks, Lewis Center Director Douglas Powe speaks with Pastor Charley Reeb, author of That’ll Preach!: 5 Simple Steps to Your Best Sermon Ever (available at Cokesbury and Amazon).
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…
What do those in the pews need from a sermon? Larry Buxton says it’s more than platitudes and common sense. An effective sermon needs to…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., explains that while people may give pastors a leadership position, the true authority needed to lead must be worked out among…
The secret of great preaching, according to Charley Reeb, is to engage your listeners. Stop thinking about what would impress your seminary professors, he says,…
Many preachers shoot themselves in the foot when they start off with hackneyed or formulaic phrases that fail to capture the fleeting attention of those…
Personnel matters in ministry settings are almost always more complicated than in business, says church leadership expert Mike Bonem. He names the shifts in attitude…
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…
Heather Bradley and Miriam Bamberger Grogan are executive coaches with a particular concern for the wellbeing of clergy. They say that spiritual leaders are often…
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., reports that despite a modest but steady increase in the number of young clergy in the United Methodist Church over the…
Reflecting on the forced resignation of a mega-church pastor in South Carolina, Roger Lovette says serious problems follow any time a church is built around…
Laurie Haller says that clergy going into a new church can only lead effectively when they are authentic to who they know they are and…
Karoline Lewis writes that the notion that one can keep all the important aspects of life in perfect balance is an unattainable myth. It can…
Our basic responsibility as Christian stewards is to manage our personal financial resources so that we can care for ourselves and our families and marshal…
When I came to my first local church appointment in California from the East Coast, about the only thing I had been told about the…
Financial wellbeing is essential to the overall health and well being of those in pastoral ministry. Accordingly, the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health…
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.