What Pastors should Look for in Safe People
In a previous blog post I wrote about how many pastors suffer with relational anorexia. Pastors can find a cure for this devastating issue when we seek out and find people with whom we can process the pain ministry inevitably brings. As you consider the traits you’d look for in a safe person, consider these Scriptures
8 Healthy Ways to Respond when People Leave your Church
Every pastor faces it. Most hate it. You can’t avoid it. People will leave your church. When that happens, what should we do? In this post I suggest a few tips on how to respond when it occurs. In my over 27 years as a senior pastor (and a another 12 as an associate), for various reasons I’ve probably
5 Questions that Reveal your Leadership Strengths
Kevin Cashman wrote a great book every leader should read, Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life. In it he challenges leaders to lead from character, the inside. If you’ve not read it, I highly recommend it. In one chapter he lists several questions that can help reveal where our leadership strengths lie. I’ve adapted
4 Brain Hacks that can Make You a Better Leader
I love leadership and I love learning about the brain. A few years ago I finished an executive masters in the Neuroscience of Leadership which resulted in my fourth book, Brain-Savvy Leaders: the Science of Significant Ministry. As I’ve immersed myself in learning how our brain affects life and leadership, I’ve learned a few short cuts,
Pastor, Do This BEFORE you Talk about Money
Every year as a pastor I’ve taught a 3-5 week series on giving and generosity. One year we titled our series The Treasure Principle, based on Randy Alcorn’s book by the same name. We also sent a copy of the book to every giver on record and encouraged the church to read a chapter each week that matched
7 Reasons why Church People Criticize Pastors
If you serve in a church, criticism comes with the territory. I doubt that any pastor or leader likes it. But, we must deal with it in a God-honoring way. One way to do that is to understand why people criticize us. I’ve listed below what I believe are 7 reasons why church people criticize pastors with
How Caffeine Might Make you a Better Leader
I’m a leader. I want to maximize my brain power. And I care about how I treat my body. I don’t drink coffee or tea, yet I do strategically use caffeine with diet caffeine drinks and 5-Hour Energy (Disclaimer: I am in no way related to the company who produces 5-Hour Energy). I believe my
5 Essentials Necessary to Build Church and Team Unity
Unity is a powerful force in God’s Kingdom, in our lives, in our families, in a business, and in the local church when it includes five essentials, seen in the great leader Nehemiah. Every leader wants his or her organization, team, or church to be unified. Without it teams lose, churches flounder, and businesses drift.
Preaching to a Camera in a Covid World
Free 60-minute Webinar Persuasive Virtual Preaching We pastors have been thrust into a new world as the Covid-19 virus has shut down public worship services all around the world and affected our preaching. We’ve all scrambled to assemble the needed equipment, web services, and routines to video-tape (or live feed) our services and sermons. And
The 6 Biggest Leadership Gaps Pastors Face
In my research for my most third book on people pleasing pastors, I discovered 6 fundamental weaknesses or gaps that leaders in general and pastors in particular face in some degree. These are based on insight from a perspective on how we deal with our emotions called family systems. To which leadership gap do you tend
