Why Today’s Churches Fail at Leadership Selection

Imagine stepping into a time machine and landing in the middle of one of the early church’s most pressing conflicts—a food pantry crisis that’s causing a rift within the congregation. This isn’t just any disagreement; it’s a pivotal moment that challenges the very fabric of church leadership and decision-making. This week, I want us […]

Leadership Multiplication

I’m constantly asked what it takes to raise up more leaders or, to put it biblically, to make more mature disciples. And that’s good because leadership and discipleship multiplication are some of the most important ministries church leaders can undertake.  So I’m going to brush stroke the basics of a leadership culture. If you want […]

Leadership Lessons from the Movie Ender’s Game

I saw Ender’s Game on its opening day and fell in love with the movie. Not because I love sci-fi over all other movie genres (I do). Not because Harrison Ford is my favorite swashbuckling actor (he is). And not even because I thought it had a great plot, great writing, great acting, and […]

Leadership Roles

Confusion frequently abounds regarding the functional role of the official Leadership Team of the congregation. Congregations and leaders themselves seldom seriously consider the diversity of expectations surrounding the roles of church leadership. Think about the different perspectives present within a congregation regarding how leaders, whether that be the elders, council, pastor, session, board, or […]

Barriers to Effective Leadership Teams Part 1

For the week of March 07, 2005

Barriers to Effective Leadership Teams: Part 1: The Absence of Shared DNA

By: John Laster

There are three common, interrelated barriers to more effective leadership teams: the absence of a shared DNA, the presence of fear, and a lack of trust within the team itself.

The concept of “shared DNA” contains […]

How to Undermine Church Leadership in One Easy Step

The church had done all the hard work of building a solid foundation. They identified their mission, vision, and values and they developed both membership and leadership covenants. It looked like they were ready to move to the next steps of growth.

Enter the nominating committee.

There were several leadership positions that needed to be filled, but few […]

Effective Leadership Demands High Trust

Again, this is a preview from our upcoming book, 21st Century Strategies for Church Growth

Streamline Decision Making with High-Trust Leaders

In most churches, the decision-making process is cumbersome at best and dysfunctional at worst. The solution to the issue is found in mission and vision alignment and in selecting only trustworthy leaders of integrity – and then […]

More on Leadership

Following up on my last post, I want to consider further the importance of conviction for effective leadership. Consider this quote from Martin Luther: “Here I stand. I can do no otherwise. God help me.” Or what do you think allowed Nelson Mandela to give hope to the people from his confinement?  Or what […]

Don’t Make These Five Leadership Selection Gaffs

The pastor was sharing his frustration about one of his executive team members during a recent consultation. “No matter what I do, Cyndi finds a problem with pretty much anything I suggest. She either tries to fix what’s not broken or she sabotages the idea completely. I wish I’d never invited her onto the team, but now […]