It’s Christmas season again. Seems to come every year about this time. The most wonderful time of the year. I hope this is your best Christmas ever! There’ll be parties for hostingMarshmallows for toastingAnd caroling out in the snowThere’ll be scary ghost storiesAnd tales of the gloriesOf Christmases long, long agoIt’s the most wonderful time … Continued
Perhaps the hardest decision a leader makes is when to release someone from employment. I’ve only known a few callous people who weren’t extremely burdened by having to fire someone. Making any kind of employment decision comes with the sobering reality, regardless of what the person did wrong, that the decision will likely impact others … Continued
We need attract some sharp church planters to move from one Kingdom-building opportunity to another Kingdom-building opportunity. Some sharp church planters need to move to church revitalization. I’m frequently in conversations concerning the need to get younger leaders interested in church revitalization. The need is huge. Of course, it is “cooler” to be in church … Continued
In my 5T Leadership coaching practice I have the privilege of working with a lot of different leaders. They each have unique challenges, personalities, and contexts in which they lead. Leading well is hard in every one. There are often common threads, however, among a majority of leaders – especially younger leaders – with whom I interact. They are … Continued
How do you effectively change an established culture? In addition to church planting, I have had the honor of pastoring a few churches over 100 years old. With church planting we established the culture. In the already established churches they were well established long before I arrived. I knew, however, that if the church was going … Continued
I often say, “You limit what you control”. There are limitations pastors unknowingly set for their church. It’s often a matter of control, yet I believe most of the time we do it without realizing they are. Many of these are natural occurrences from doing things a certain way over time. Yet, when these are … Continued
I heard a leader make a common but damaging leadership statement recently that made me cringe. It is perhaps one of the worst leadership statements to organizational health, but I have heard it numerous times in my career. Have you heard this one? Don’t bring me a problem without a solution. When the leader I … Continued
Having been a church planter twice, I understand the unique challenges facing planters. They are constantly struggling with leadership issues, finances and simply knowing what to do next. I’d love to offer a word of encouragement for church planters. Recently I had a conversation with a church planter friend in Chicago. He’s in hard soil … Continued
I started in ministry much later in life. I was 38 when I began vocational ministry. The experience I gained in the business world has helped me greatly in ministry. It’s given me advice I like to share with young pastors. I love investing in young pastors; especially those who may not have previous leadership experience- … Continued
When we think about leadership, we don’t always think about peaceful leaders. But if you’ve ever observed a skillful and thoughtful leader, you know their relationships are marked by peacefulness. I’m not suggesting that these leaders don’t deal with conflict or disputes; I’m just highlighting the fact that they know how to relate with others … Continued
