Entries from Off the Agenda tagged with: leadership
December 8, 2009
Consultant Kurt Andre's "Top 5 Books on Leadership"
Among the crowded field of books on leadership, some stand out.
Recently I talked with a senior partner of TAG Consulting, Kurt Andre. Among his many talents, Kurt is a certified Executive Leadership Coach. So I asked him which books on leadership he finds the most helpful. Here are his top...
Tags used in this post:
books, leadership,
Is any task more important to leadership than storytelling? A recent opinion piece in the local paper reminded me of this point. The writer began his attack on North Carolina's current state government with an apt comparison. He started...
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leadership, vision,
A fellow minister told me recently that a Sunday School class had asked for his help. "I was excited when a group in my congregation wanted to grow!" he said. Unfortunately, he said, they seemed to want him to...
Tags used in this post:
identity, leadership, vision,
October 13, 2009
Nancy Ortberg on the Seduction & Myths of Influence
What to be careful of and what to strive for.
A delegation of Christianity Today International editors attended the Catalyst conference last week, including BCL editor Drew Dyck. In one of the conference sessions, Nancy Ortberg, founding partner of Teamworx2 and editorial advisor and contributor to Gifted for Leadership...
Tags used in this post:
influence, leadership,
Our theme this week is Making Members Stick. One way you can make your members stick is to give them responsibility. And when you help a new leader step up in the church, both that person and your congregation...
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leadership, newcomers,
How should a leader carry herself? I don't mean in terms of virtues. I would likely draw consent on this page that a leader should display humility, courage, and charity above all. I mean physically. What posture should a...
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leadership,
Our friends over at Leadership have teamed up with the folks behind the Catalyst conferences to start a new digital magazine for ministry leaders, Catalyst Leadership. The debut 31-page issue includes articles from respected voices like Francis Chan, Andy...
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leadership, pastors,
I recently spoke to a church staff member who had been working with youth full-time for 12 years. Yet in his dozen years of service, he had only attended one Youth Specialties conference—that was all the training he ever...
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budget, leadership, recession, training,
A couple weeks ago, we talked here about reasons you'll want to leave a ministry position but shouldn't. Today we're publishing a condensed version of an article, excerpted from When It's Time to Leave, that takes the opposite approach:...
Tags used in this post:
burnout, change, decision making, leadership, pastors,
April 24, 2009
5 Reasons You'll Want to Leave But Shouldn't
Is it really time for a ministry change?
Should I stay or should I go? At some point, every ministry leader asks the question, sometimes at weekly intervals. The answer isn't always clear. But whether you're asking it because of the Monday-morning blahs, the post-conference buzz, or...
Tags used in this post:
5 things, burnout, change, decision making, leadership,
March 23, 2009
Small Churches Need a Brand Revival
One answer to our question about how small churches are perceived.
After the presidential election, I read a lot about the Republican "brand." Nearly every living pundit was talking about how the Republicans needed to repair the damage the election had done to it. The word "brand," of course, is...
Tags used in this post:
church attendance, culture, leadership, small church, vision,
Our excerpt from a John Koessler interview on small churches really struck a chord with some of you this week. And that shouldn't surprise me, since I know a lot of our readers hail from smaller congregations. But for...
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church attendance, leadership, small church,
This week's featured resource, Strengthening Small Churches, includes an interview with John Koessler, who is chair and professor of pastoral studies at Moody Bible Institute. He previously spent nine years pastoring a small church in central Illinois. Below is...
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leadership, pastors, small church, vision,
March 11, 2009
Top 5 Ways Evangelical Leaders Care for Creation
The NAE president shares his survey results.
As president of the National Association of Evangelicals, I conduct a monthly survey of evangelical leaders on current topics. The question for March was "What do you personally do to take care of God's creation?" Almost every response demonstrated...
Tags used in this post:
5 things, creation care, leadership, stewardship,
January 23, 2009
J.I. Packer on Restricting Communion
The theologian gives his take on the Lord's Table and discipline.
Image courtesy of Monergism.com J.I. Packer sat down recently with a few of our editors to field questions on a variety of topics. Below is what he had to say about communion. Do you believe that access to the Lord's...
Tags used in this post:
communion, discipline, leadership,
I've never been a great runner. My high school has a storied cross country program, but I spent most of my high school career as the seventh (and final) runner on our varsity team. Even though seven runners compete in...
Tags used in this post:
encouragement, humility, last, leadership,
October 13, 2008
Leading Anxious People Through Change
When my daughter was getting ready to enter second grade, she was really anxious. Every time we asked her how she felt about it, she said she was scared and nervous and she didn't want to go to second grade...
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anxious, change, leadership, vision, worry,
September 9, 2008
Urban Exile: Following Jesus in the Face of Fear
Former suburbanite David Swanson reflects on ministry in the big city.
Pulling up to a busy intersection recently, my wife and I were startled to see a car with its rear windshield shattered. Out of the damaged car leaped a man with a baseball bat, yelling and chasing the two apparent...
Tags used in this post:
city, fear, leadership, moving, reconciliation, safety,
August 21, 2008
The Trench Versus the Stage
The most effective ministry doesn't always happen in the spotlight.
This week I attended a retreat as part of the Leadership Media Group of Christianity Today International. I was responsible for posing a warm-up question to the group before we tackled the day's itinerary. Since we are all in the...
Tags used in this post:
influence, leadership, mentoring, ministry, youth pastor,
Beware of any literature that starts with these words: "Jesus was the greatest leader of all time." The sentiment behind those words may be true, but the point they make is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if Jesus was the greatest...
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Bible study, leadership,
May 25, 2008
Closing the Curtains on a Ministry
A seasoned pastor explains how his church goes about shutting down a program.
Ministries close down. Programs come to an end earlier than expected. No one enjoys these events. Perhaps the people who have to pull the plug enjoy them least of all. It still happens, however, and ending a ministry can even...
Tags used in this post:
leadership, meditation, stewardship,
Matthew 4:2: "Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards, he was famished." It was then that "the tempter came." What an understatement. When you haven't eaten for almost six weeks, you're not just famished, you're dangerously weak. Your...
Tags used in this post:
leadership, meditation, quiet time,
My great-grandfather was born during the Civil War, and his parents named him Robert Lee Shelley. Want to guess which side of that conflict they were on? I didn't know this until recently, thanks to my dad's genealogical research, which...
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compromise, leadership, vision,
April 14, 2008
Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church
Every church can do more to encourage unity across ethnic and economic barriers.
I recently had the opportunity to return to my native Arkansas. I had forgotten that spring arrives in some parts of the country by March. But I was even more surprised to find, in Little Rock of all places, a...
Tags used in this post:
community, leadership, staff, vision,
April 7, 2008
Choosing the Moment to Lead
The best leaders don't understand only why and how, but when.
Timing is very significant in spiritual leadership. Indeed, timing played a major role in shaping Jesus' ministry and death. Not only would Jesus not go to the cross for the wrong reasons. He didn't go until it was the right...
Tags used in this post:
administration, leadership, risk, time management,
April 2, 2008
When Group Members Talk Too Much
Practical tips for managing a dominant personality in your small group.
Few barriers can subvert the depth and transforming power of a small-group discussion faster than one or more group members who dominate the conversation. Such members can monopolize entire gatherings with their problems and perspectives and can hinder the participation...
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difficult people, leadership, small groups,
Practices vary for church leaders seeking to hear God's call. The most radical method is "the lot," used by many Anabaptists since their early days in Europe. This method of discernment, taken from the example of the eleven disciples in...
Tags used in this post:
leadership, pastors, vision,
March 24, 2008
90 Minutes with Rich
Leadership insights from one of the world’s wealthiest businessmen (who is also a committed Christian).
Last year, I was at the Leadership Summit Debrief in Chicago. It's a gathering of all the lead pastors from different churches that serve as satellite sites for the Leadership Summit. This group gathers to review the Summit and be...
Tags used in this post:
administration, difficult people, leadership, money, tithing,
March 17, 2008
Colin Powell: 15 Tips on Leadership
A general's tips on leadership principles might be worth bearing in mind as church leaders.
I remembered the value of cleaning the office desk recently as I happened upon my notes from Willow Creek's 2007 Leadership Summit. During the conference, I made a specific point not to capture every single word possible, which I am...
Tags used in this post:
conflict, current events, difficult people, leadership, team,
Leaders operating from a sense of mission care not only about what they do, but how they do it. They pursue excellence, not for its own sake but for the sake of the mission that orders their lives. Pursuing excellence...
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leadership, missional, vision,
March 3, 2008
The Long Goodbye: Can Small Groups Break Up Well?
What should church leaders do when a group's on the decline, but no one is willing to pull the plug?
I recently joined the leadership team for my church's small-groups ministry. During a recent Saturday breakfast, one of the church's longtime small-groups leaders (we'll call him Tim for this post) shared an unusual, and uncomfortable, predicament. For several reasons I'll...
Tags used in this post:
conflict, difficult people, leadership, small groups,
February 28, 2008
Highlighting Our Differences
Should churches set themselves in contrast to other congregations?
As a show of solidarity with my seven-year-old daughter, I recently reread the classic Little House on the Prairie books and Anne of Green Gables. One phenomenon I noticed this time around (probably because I'm in the habit of thinking...
Tags used in this post:
community, leadership, pop culture, vision,
February 7, 2008
Reggie McNeal: Ask the Right Questions
Then listen to those around you—and to God himself
Good decision makers make sure they are working on answering the right question. They know that answering the wrong question, even precisely, doesn't accomplish anything; in fact, it keeps leaders and organizations tied up in counterproductive pursuits, with potentially disastrous...
Tags used in this post:
leadership, prayer, vision,
December 31, 2007
The End of the Year, The End for Two Longtime Churches
Two longtime Chicago-area churches call it quits
The close of 2007 brought the close of two eras Sunday in the Chicago area. Two churches with histories of more than 100 years each shuttered because of dwindling attendance. Today's Chicago Tribune spotlighted the sad tales in its Metro...
Tags used in this post:
leadership,
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