September 2, 2020
“Leading Ideas” from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
Changing the Tone of Conversations about Money and Church
Money conversations can be difficult in churches. But Lovett Weems suggests two principles that can change the tone of stewardship conversations. Never talk about people’s money apart from their discipleship and never talk about the church’s money apart from its mission. Read more now. https://www.churchleadership.com/leading-ideas/changing-the-tone-of-conversations-about-money-and-church/
Leading Ideas Talks Podcast: Episode 63
“What Promotes Clergy Well-Being and Why it Matters” featuring Matt Bloom
How can clergy thrive in ministry? In this episode we speak with Dr. Matt Bloom, Research Professor at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and Principal Investigator for the Well-Being at Work Program, about how clergy can thrive and better cope with the many challenges to their well-being. Listen now or read transcript. https://www.churchleadership.com/podcast/episode-63-what-promotes-clergy-wellbeing-and-why-it-matters-featuring-matt-bloom/
How to Keep Your Leadership Pipeline Full
How can you make sure your church will have the new leaders it needs? Ken Willard and Kelly Brown consider how succession planning, a process common in the business world, can be adapted to help your church maintain a strong pipeline of leaders. Read more now. https://www.churchleadership.com/leading-ideas/how-to-keep-your-leadership-pipeline-full/
COVID-19 Resources
Leading Ideas articles, podcast episodes, and links. Visit https://www.churchleadership.com/tag/covid-19/
The Right Question
“Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.”
Ozan Varol observes that self-help books tend to suggest that people use the question, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” He suggests this is not the right question. He prefers questions offered by Elizabeth Gilbert.
* What would you do even if you knew that you might very well fail?
* What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?
Want more Right Questions? Read “Right Questions for Church Leaders” at https://www.churchleadership.com/books/right-questions-for-church-leaders/.
Instill in Your Congregation the Connection between Faith and Generosity
Designed to nurture the spiritual discipline of giving, “Theology of Stewardship and Biblical Generosity” may be used in conjunction with an annual stewardship campaign or in a variety of Christian education settings. This video tool kit is ecumenical and may be used for self study or with groups. Featured topics: Stewardship 101; What the Bible Teaches about Giving; A Christian Understanding of Money, Possessions, and Generosity; Biblical Generosity; and Faith and Generosity. Learn more and watch an introductory video now. https://www.churchleadership.com/product/theology-of-stewardship-and-biblical-generosity-download/
Should Pastors Know What Members Give?
“Every time I teach on stewardship,” writes the Lewis Center’s Ann A. Michel, “this question invariably comes up: ‘Should pastors have access to contribution records?'” In some congregations, pastors are prohibited from knowing what people contribute. In others, pastors choose to shield themselves from this information. A good pastor, however, pays attention to all the signs of spiritual development. Read “To the Point: Should Pastors Know What Members Give?” Read now and download free. https://www.churchleadership.com/to-the-point/to-the-point-should-pastors-know-what-members-give/
Support the Lewis Center
“Leading Ideas” is made possible by contributions to the Lewis Center for Church Leadership from readers like you. Thank you.
Donate now: https://www.churchleadership.com/support-the-lewis-center?id=leadingideas
Learn Strategies to Identify and Support New Volunteer Leaders
How can you best support and affirm existing leaders? Help new leaders in your church get started? More effectively invite people to be leaders? Make meetings matter? Learn the answers to these questions and more in “50 Ways to Multiply Your Church’s Leadership Capacity.” Read now and download free. https://www.churchleadership.com/50-ways/50-ways-multiply-churchs-leadership-capacity/
Quotable Leadership
“Integrity can be neither lost nor concealed nor faked nor quenched nor artificially come by nor outlived, nor, I believe, in the long run, denied.” — Eudora Welty
Read the definitive guide to leading a congregation
Church Leadership: Vision, Team, Culture, Integrity
The need for leadership in the church is pressing, and the need for clear, insightful thinking about leadership is great. In “Church Leadership: Vision, Team, Culture, Integrity,” Dr. Lovett H. Weems Jr. draws on the best new ideas and research in organizational leadership, yet always with his trademark theological grounding foremost in mind. Anyone who guides the life of a congregation, be they clergy or laity, will find this book the indispensable tool with which to follow their calling to be a church leader. Learn more and order now. https://www.churchleadership.com/books/church-leadership-vision-team-culture-integrity-revised-edition/
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