We are in the third week of our Lenten message series asking the basic question “Why?” “Why am I doing this?” “What am I here for?” Sometimes it can happen at a party when we don’t know many people or feel out of place, especially if you are an introvert like me. Or we step […]
Category: Vision
We spent some time this week reflecting on our staff culture. Culture, as we write in Rebuilt, is the potent brew of what an organization believes, what it does, and how it operates. It encompasses traditions, values, norms, behaviors. Author and management consultant, Peter Drucker, writes simply: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” It affects everything. […]
Painting a clear and compelling vision is key to any renewal. If you get your vision right, you will empower and equip your advocates, educate your bystanders and disarm your critics. Vision helps you start, maintain and continuously expand the growth of your parish. It helps you overcome supposedly insurmountable obstacles and will get you […]
In any field of leadership, people will second-guess and criticize you. Criticism is just part of leadership and according to Aristotle, the only way to avoid criticism is “say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.” So, while you cannot avoid criticism, you can minimize it by leading thoughtfully and even use it to your own benefit. […]
It doesn’t matter what the circumstance or work environment – gossip is a challenge we all face at one time or another. As a Pastor or staff leader, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is managing and mentoring your staff. You’ll often be involved in things that will take you out of your comfort […]
When it comes to some of the great big problems many parishes face these days, sometimes the simplest answers are the most helpful. And often the cheapest. Off the top of my head I can think of dozens of things our parish does that makes us more attractive to the unchurched. And they cost us […]
Although Canon Law dictates that each parish is placed under the leadership of a pastor, appointed and installed by the bishop, there are dozens of different types of church leadership structures. There are pastors who are “one man shows” and hold the reigns tight when it comes to decision making. There are “absentee landlords” who […]
Your parish relies on many forms of communication to get the word out about what you want your parishioners to know and what you want them to do. These include your bulletin, bulletin boards, signage, web site and, increasingly, social media. But, consider the oldest, old school communication you use: the announcements at Mass. We […]
When our parish was founded 50 years ago, there was an established way in which a parish was a parish. Just follow the playbook and all will be well. Looking back, it was probably that very year of 1968 that served as a threshold to cataclysmic cultural and social changes that have changed everything, including […]
Most church leaders I know would love to see their church grow. As a pastor or pastoral leader it is very gratifying to experience growth. At the same time, there is often criticism and complaint directed toward churches that are actually growing. A pastor I know recently commented on a growing “mega-church” in his region […]
