leadership
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The purpose of an Executive Pastor
This is probably the clearest I’ve got it so far, and I’ve been thinking about this for a while. The purpose of an Executive Pastor is to: Help the Team Leader ‘lead’. Support the Team as it ‘teams’. Keep gospel… Continue reading
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The love that sparks the task should fuel the task
When you start a project or task its easy to get motivated. New things are exciting and carry a sense of momentum. But we don’t just go and do new things… we do things that we believe in… we just… Continue reading
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Repost: Leading through anxiety
Once during my apprenticeship, I was responsible for the Sunday meeting (setup, order or service, etc). I’d make sure people knew they were “on”, I made sure people knew what they had to do. It was a little ants nest… Continue reading
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Repost: Try not to confuse your relationship ‘hats’
Some people you know on only one level; the local barista, a taxi driver, the policeman pulling you over for speeding. Its a pretty simple relationship, because you’re the driver and he’s the cop. But what if the cop who… Continue reading
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Four Leadership Styles
When it comes to leading people, it’s helpful to think about two aspects of every leadership conversation… First, there’s the (horizontal) aspect; who makes the decision at the end of this conversation? Is the final decision way over on your… Continue reading
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Repost: Please criticise after you…
1. Think of a better (realistic not idealistic) alternative. 2. Assume the person you’re about to criticise has already thought of that alternative. 3. Assume that the person has some really good reason (or info that you don’t have) to… Continue reading
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Don’t do things for the right reason… Instead, do them for the right…
Christians have an appropriate concern about their motives. We want to do things for the right motivations, and we want our church families to do things for the right motivations. That’s a good thing. However, we can get caught up… Continue reading
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It’s not just about making good decisions…
It’s about making sure good decisions get made. If you’re the leader, you’re probably making loads of decisions. But if you were to grow, you couldn’t sustain being the decision maker for all those things. There would be even more… Continue reading
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What would you define as a “competent” Growth Group leader?
Richard Sweatman and I have recorded a series of PodCasts about the elements of a competent Growth Group leader. Together I think these five aspects set a really good foundation for church leaders who appoint Growth Group leaders, as well… Continue reading
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If their “attitude” is poor, should you tell them to just stop serving?
Well yes, it really depends on what you mean by having a “poor attitude”. But extremes aside, if someone’s attitude is just “off” or “a bit grumpy” about being part of a ministry… what should you do? Tell them to… Continue reading
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Reblog – Are you assigning or delegating?
This is one of the helpful distinctions that the Manager-Tools guys make… And it suits volunteer organisations like churches pretty well. When you talk to someone about taking on a task or a project, work out whether you are assigning… Continue reading
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You’ll never nail it, you just operate between tolerances
A thermostat never keeps the temperature exactly right, it just has a “too hot” and “too cold” number, and tries to keep the temperature between those. And that’s like much of how we do ministry. Preaching that tends to focus… Continue reading
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Keep your team from “silo-ing”… except when they need to silo
A silo is a big container that keeps things separate. And you don’t want your team to do that. The welcoming guy should really care about what the mission guy is doing, the mag guy should be anxious about what’s… Continue reading
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Never appoint two people to lead something, instead…
Always make one person the leader. Always make it clear that, in the case of a disagreement, one of them gets to make the call; one of them bears the responsibility. If you don’t appoint a clear “leader” the two… Continue reading
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The leadership skill you don’t want to learn #oxygen14
Sitting here at Oxygen14 in Paul Tripp’s session on leadership in a room of about 200 (mainly guys, mainly pastors). I’d imagine most of these guys were hoping for tips and tricks on ministry skills (much like what I write… Continue reading
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Reblog: Do you understand what you’re asking?
Those of us “in ministry” often talk about moving people from spectators to playing on the field. We want people to move from simply attending, to being part of church; involved, giving, committed. But have you realised what your asking… Continue reading
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Reblog: Intentions, no matter how good and determined, are not enough
Do you notice how God the Father responds to the Son’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane? Jesus makes clear that he intends to drink the cup of God’s wrath. He agrees to do it. The decision is made in… Continue reading
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Reblog: Who do they love?
Ministry is a hard game. We’re building relationships with people, as we help them build a relationship with Jesus. Its a big volunteer game too; we invite them to devote themselves to projects and events… But there’s a wonderful question… Continue reading
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Reblog: You can’t be a leader unless you…
make decisions. In the end, that’s the basic things leaders need to do… They might do it with their team, or without their team – but that’s one of the decisions they make. Heck, they might even decide to ask… Continue reading
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Did you miss your expected outcomes, or miss-communicate your expected outcomes?
This is a really important question to consider as a leader. When something doesn’t go to plan, after you’ve planned it, and delegated it… what’s the problem? Where do you go for answers about what went wrong? The only question… Continue reading
MINISTRY PRINCIPLES & PRAGMATICS 