Top 10 Mistakes New Pastors Make
I just began a new role at a great church in London, Ontario, Canada. I never thought I’d be north of the border, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the ministry here. Before I came I extensively read about how best to onboard (adjust to a new job setting). In my reading and my 33 years of
How Prevalent are People Pleasing Pastors?
This February Inter-Varsity Press will release my third book titled, People Pleasing Pastors: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Approval Motivated Leadership with a forward by Dr. Ed Stetzer. When I began writing the book, I sought to discover how prevalent people pleasing motivations existed among pastoral leadership. What I found confirmed my suspicion. I commissioned several phases of
Why Leaders Need Emotional Intelligence
One way to grow your emotional intelligence, a crucial trait for successful leaders, comes by reading broadly. One of the best leadership bloggers today and my friend, Dan Black, just released his new book, The Leadership Mandate. He is offering readers of my blog an extended chance to receive 6 special bonuses (valuing over $85) when they purchase
A Former Pastor’s Perspective on What Makes a Compelling Worship Service
In a recent article I wrote for Churchleaders.com, 8 Surprising Insights from a Former Pastor, I shared 8 key insights I’ve learned during the last 18 months as a former pastor. I’ve served 32 years in vocational ministry and took off the past 18 months to write, coach pastors, travel, and begin another master’s degree. The Churchleaders.com
5 Surprising Observations from my 7 Hours with 40 Pastors of Today’s Largest Churches
Each year Leadership Network offers an amazing two day online leadership conference called The Nines. The 2013 conference is scheduled for November 15-16 and will include dozens of today’s most influential pastors and Christian leaders. I’ve been asked to be one of the presenters this year. On August 1 Leadership Network gathered 40 of these leaders at
10 Transformative Takeaways from the Willow Creek Leadership Summit
Two weeks ago I attended Willow’s Leadership Summit and I’m glad I did. In my prior post I wrote about the 4 books I bought because of the Summit. In this post I list the 10 transformative insights I learned. The insights are mostly paraphrases from each speaker’s respective talks, with their names in parentheses. Margin: Make margin
My Journey from Preacher to Parishoner-8 Insights I Learned as “no longer a pastor”
I’ve served in the local church as a pastor for over 32 years, yet for the past year I’ve not served in an official pastoral role. After 7-1/2 wonderful years at a church in Aurora, IL, I left to accomplish several goals that I couldn’t have if I were on staff at a church. I
8 Benefits of Integrity in Life and Leadership
Integrity is taking a beating today. 20 baseball players potentially being suspended for doping Lance Armstrong being striped of all his awards for lying The IRS apparently misusing its power The Justice Department being accused of lying Identity theft occurring to 1 out of 10 people We live in a world where self-interest seems to
What over 1,000 Pastors Read: My Top 5 Posts in the Last 30 Days
Here’s a quick list of the top 5 posts my blog readers read during the last 30 days. 4Spiritual Disciplines Pastors Miss the Most 5 Brain Friendly Tips to Enhance Your Presentations 6 Soul Care Essentials for Pastors Top 10 Issues Facing the Church Today Are you a Transactional or a Transformational Leader: Take this
5 Reasons Why Every Pastor Needs a Coach, and Why I’m Getting One
After 32 years working in a church, I stepped down last year after a fulfilling 7/2; year run as a senior pastor in Aurora, IL. This past year I’ve accomplished several things. Completed a book for Inter-Varsity Press called People-Pleasing Pastors: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Approval Motivate Leadership. It releases in February of 2014. Almost