Hiring and Firing Staff

Today, I had a conversation with one of the church planters I’m coaching. During the coaching call he asked me, “What are some ways to help staff be more productive?” I made several suggestions and then I told him that his question is not the most important question on this subject. The more important […]

Firing a Person for Incompetence

The more I work with lead pastors the more I realize how hard it is for them to fire a staff person who isn’t performing or isn’t a team player or is just downright disruptive. Too many pastors put up with so much crap from one or two on their staff that they shoot […]

Setting Clear Expectations

I was talking with a pastor the other day who was having trouble getting what he needed out of his staff. I asked him if he had set clear expectations for them as to what he was expecting. He said, “Sure, I told them I wanted their area of ministry to grow.”

Well, folks, that’s […]

Response to Yesterday’s Brain Twister on Facebook

Thanks to the dozens of you who attempted to answer the brain twister posted on Facebook. Although no one got all of the elements correct, many of you got at least part of it right. So let me share with you what I would want to tell this church. I’ll summarize it for our use […]

Staffing Made Simple

One of the main bugaboos of many pastors is learning how to staff a church.  In reality, knowing how to staff is simple if you just use your noggin.

The following is based on any size church. If the church has under 500 in worship, some of the following staff should be volunteer or one paid staff […]

Staff Management

They didn’t teach me management skills in seminary.  But I wish they had, because as the leader of a church I needed them badly and it’s a shame I had to learn them on my own.  So I thought I would pass on some pointers.

Point Number One:  If you can’t measure it, it will […]

Tough Questions

I received a post from person on our advanced leadership forum inquiring what questions he should ask while at a search committee interview for a new church position as lead pastor. Here is what I said.

What is their vision for their church?
How many pastors have they had in the last 20 years?
Why did […]

An Eye-Opening Thought

Why is it that churches will borrow money to build buildings, but they shudder at the thought of borrowing money to hire staff?  After all, staff are more important to discipling people than buildings are. Yet when I recommend to churches that, if they can’t afford to hire the staff they need, they should […]

It’s Out! (And What People Are Saying)

Our new book, Effective Staffing for Vital Churches, is now on sale in print, for Kindle, and maybe for Nook on November 1. Many have pre-ordered and we thank you. We believe it is one of our best books to date.  Rick Warren thought so too, writing, “This book is a winner.”

 

We are getting […]