Creating your church's culture doesn't happen by accident. The truth is, I could walk into your church today and ask, "Why do you do that?" (that being a program, tradition, practice, use of terminology, etc.) and you would probably have any number of reasons for...
You've probably experienced it before, maybe more times than you care to count. You know...somebody apologizes to you, but the apology is cluttered with background noise. Rather than a sincere apology where the offender takes full responsibility for their words and...
Maslow's famous Hierarchy of Needs suggests that people are motivated by a variety of needs and that these needs exist in a hierarchical order. In his book, The Leadership Experience, Richard Daft observes an interesting connection between Maslow's hierarchy and work...
Yesterday I posted "Why Calling Isn't Just for Pastors." I was recently introduced to a fantastic video by The Fund for Theological Education that provides a clear snapshot of calling from a biblical perspective. The video combines the idea of vocation, calling,...
In church world, pastors often promote a sincere yet misguided idea that to be "called into the ministry" is the highest way to serve God. In fact, if you ever went to church camp as a teenager, you might have even heard a speaker give an altar call for people who...
One of the essential keys to effective leadership is cranking up the heat on your core values and key practices. This weekend we had small groups coach and consultant Alan Danielson speak to our small group leaders about "Getting off the Couch" and being...
Karen and I spent the last two days at Willow Creek's Global Leadership Summit (satellite location). It was a great experience with several top notch leaders. As I've reflected on the conference, I decided to summarize my key takeaways:1. Inspired Team Members vs....
Your organization, like every organization, deals with problems...daily. So how do you solve those problems? Most leaders are doers--activators by nature--who would just as soon eliminate the problem as quickly as possible. While that works some times, perhaps...
Just finished reading Scott Wilson's book, Steering Through Chaos: Mapping a Clear Direction for Your Church in the Midst of Transition and Change. Pastor Scott shares the story of how he helped The Oaks Fellowship successfully navigate a series of...