Politics and the pulpit. For some church leaders they are oil and water- always separate. For others, it’s fire and gasoline- always setting off some conflagration. Whatever you say, some of your congregation will want you to be more political, others less. The Catholic Church officially never endorses politicians or parties, nor should it (though […]
Category: Leadership
When it comes to growing disciples, we’ve been led to think we must choose between quantity or quality. I’m not sure where that line of thinking began, but it needs to stop. God calls our churches to multi-dimensional growth; discipleship is about going both deeper and wider. We aim to make spiritually mature disciples. Mature […]
Anyone who works at a church knows the summer generally means less attendance, less offertory, and less “going on” in general. But that doesn’t mean the summer is time to check out until September rolls around. Beyond the obvious benefit of refreshment and renewal the summer vacation should provide (if you plan it properly), summertime is […]
This is the time of year for new leadership transitions. In the Catholic world, May to July is usually the season for ordinations and new church assignments. Some are becoming pastors for the first time- others are just moving on. You might be taking over the reins from a great leader, or someone who didn’t […]
I’m posting this week from California at Saddleback Church’s Global PEACE Conference. I’m here with Brian Crook, our Director of Missions at Nativity. It’s been an inspiring and thought-provoking experience. Pastor Rick Warren had the vision of bringing together pastors from countries around the world to share ideas and learn from one another how to […]
Our latest message series at Nativity for the Easter season, called “Groundbreaking,” has got me thinking a lot about what the Early Church did and looked like. This message, by the way, is all about how Jesus’ resurrection changed the face of history, and how deeply that resonated with the Apostles and the first Christ […]
This week Nativity’s Strategic Leadership Team (there are 6 of us) took a day for an off-site retreat to reflect on and assess how things are and where they are going. Our retreat was not prompted by any major issue or particular problem, but by the consistent, ongoing evaluation that characterizes any healthy, growing organization. […]
Right now our Lenten message series at Nativity, called “Attitude Adjustment,” is all about the virtue of humility. Of course, the more you think you have it, the less you really do. Even blogging about it is a little awkward. I’ve heard it quoted that humility isn’t thinking less of yourself; humility is thinking of […]
Leadership is more art than science. That means it grows through practice and willingness to learn from your mistakes. Your effectiveness and success as a leader gets compromised when you fall into unhealthy “traps” of thinking and acting. Here are just five traps I’ve seen and experienced time and time again. If any of these […]
There’s one difference between God and the Church: God doesn’t need to change. But, the most effective and successful churches are constantly changing. The message and the mission never change- that’s a God thing- but the methods and techniques we use to communicate that mission/message are in constant need of re-shaping to reach the ever-changing […]
