First let me say this: The lead pastor is ultimately responsible for EVERYTHING the church is called to do. From worship to weddings, finances to funerals, bulletins to butts in seats, discipleship to digging the weeds, annual planning to plunging toilets, and vision to visiting, the buck stops with the person sitting behind the […]
I was speaking with a pastor in Iowa the other day and shared that I’d just completed forty years in parish ministry. He offered some generous congratulatory sentiments and thanked me for my service. But then he paused and asked me a really great question: “What has God been showing you during that time?”
I […]
Fasten your seat belt, friend, because this is the most high powered approach we have. I do not know anything that works better than giving Friday nights to Jesus. Giving Friday nights to Jesus will reach more people in less time than any method I know. In fact, if you give Friday nights to […]
For the week of January 17, 2005
From Program Manager to Transformational Leader
By: Tom Bandy
One of the hardest shifts for clergy to make is the shift from program manager to transformational leader. This is a shift from program development to leader development, or, a shift from “shepherding” to “midwifing”. The key is to develop an […]
When it comes to professional pastoral ministries, the absolute must difficult job of all is effectively leading a church’s transformation. That’s a glamourless, thankless, painful, heart-wrenching, aggravating, and too often career-ending task. In fact, the only ones who intentionally consider engaging in this kind of ministry are either narcissistic, arrogant, savior-complexed martyrs or else the God-called […]
No matter the size, your women’s ministry is a community of sisters in Christ who gather to learn and worship. Whether you aim to instill leadership qualities into your church’s youth or equip believers to minister to others, the culture of your ministry’s community dictates how you’ll put your faith into practice.
The Christian church […]
One of the key elements of most discipleship pipelines I’ve seen is what I call “transformational small groups.” The problem is, when most people hear “small groups,” they think of Bible studies, which is far from what is meant by a transformational small group. Let’s look at the difference.
Most ineffective small groups are primarily […]
Too many church leaders put up with nonsense from poorly behaved people in their churches. I’m not talking about non-believers who haven’t yet found their way into the kingdom. And I don’t mean new-born Christians who have just taken their few steps as followers of Jesus. I’m talking about people who know better. People […]
I’m sure we would all agree that our world is changing faster than at any other time in our lifetime and most likely in all of history. And with such fast paced change we are watching many of the tried and true principles by which pastors have led and grown churches are no longer […]
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