Help and Resources for Pastors and Their Wives.
Posted in Leadership on Aug 25th, 2010
My wife and I just returned from a conference in Bogota, Colombia where we taught pastors and their wives. We were privileged to serve with Juan Carlos Flores Zúñiga and his wife Orietta who arranged the conference through his organization. Lance Witt and his wife Connie were also on the teaching team. He served as [...]
Posted in Leadership, leadership assessment, ministry, self-care on Aug 9th, 2010
I commissioned Barna Research, Lifeway Research, and Christianity Today to survey almost 2,000 pastors to discover what issues can cause a ministry or a leader’s passion for ministry to die. I based my latest book on those findings. You can download a free chapter of the book here.
Out of those findings, four key questions emerged [...]
Posted in Leadership, leadership assessment on Jul 26th, 2010
Leaders need healthy feedback to lead well. An excellent process, a 360 assessment, has helped me grow in several areas.
Simply put, as the diagram pictures, a 360 assessment seeks input from your peers, your supervisor, your subordinates, and a few others.
I’ve had two 360’s done on me, one very extensive, and one very simple that [...]
Posted in Leadership on Jun 16th, 2010
Sometimes we can view leadership as simply big-picture, long-term, and strategic, especially if we lead organizations such as a church or a non-profit.
I’ve learned, however, that how I treat one-on-one encounters with leaders can impact the leader and the organization often in greater ways than my big-picture leadership.
Here are three questions to silently ask ourselves [...]
Posted in Leadership on Jun 15th, 2010
Recently Leadership Network asked 40 pastors (including the likes of Wayne Cordeiro and Elmer Towns) to explain in 6 minutes what they wish they had done differently in ministry. They held an online conference called SAGE.
As one of the speakers, I spoke on why I wish I was less like a turtle.
You can read an article [...]
Posted in Leadership on Jun 7th, 2010
I just spent ten days with my family on vacation in the Bahamas in a condo literally steps from the beach. The snorkeling was dazzling, even better than snorkeling in Hawaii two years ago. I saw over two dozen varieties of fish, excluding the nurse sharks, dolphins, and a giant starfish I found.
My experience with [...]
Posted in Leadership on Apr 28th, 2010
Do your best and leave the results to God.
That phrase may seem a bit worn, but it’s well worth heeding. In Christ’s parable of the talents, the master, representing God, gave responsibility to the servants, us, based on individual ability.[1] The story implies us that some pastors (and people) have greater competencies than others. Similarly, [...]
Posted in Leadership on Apr 16th, 2010
A psychologist friend of mine helped us create these 7 rules that guide how we talk in our staff meetings. We call them conversational ethics.
Listen: let others say their piece. As Covey says, “Seek to understand before being understood.”
Suspend judgment: Don’t make assumptions about what others say.
Share in the thought pool: everybody gives input; participate [...]
Posted in Leadership on Mar 9th, 2010
Recently during our weekend services I realized how much power I wielded as a pastor. I’ve served in vocational ministry over 30 years, and I knew intuitively that my position brought with it power over people, but not until recently did I understand a unique power my position carried.
When I say ‘power’ I don’t mean destructive [...]
Posted in Leadership, Uncategorized on Feb 10th, 2010
A very successful businessman inadvertently taught me a lesson about paying attention to other people’s needs … with macaroni and cheese.
Recently I ate breakfast at my favorite diner with one of our church’s key leaders. He owns a flourishing business and gives quite generously to our church. As I enjoyed the blue plate special of eggs, [...]
