Church Leadership

Church Leadership equips pastors, elders, ministry staff, and volunteer leaders to lead with biblical conviction, humility, and wisdom. Explore practical, Scripture-shaped guidance on leading teams, developing leaders, casting vision, making decisions, and building a healthy ministry culture. You’ll also find help for navigating conflict, communication, accountability, and the spiritual formation of leaders—so leadership flows from character, not just competence. Whether you’re stepping into leadership for the first time or carrying long-term responsibility, these resources aim to strengthen your leadership for the good of the church and the mission of Jesus.

January 13, 2017

Christian Standard

Making Longer-term Connections

By Jennifer Johnson Although internships are invaluable for helping college students determine their vocational path””and although many Christian colleges and universities now require them for students across a variety of disciplines””ministry internships can be difficult for both students and churches. “The shorter internships, especially, are challenging,” says Tim Dunn, minister at LifeSpring Christian Church in Cincinnati, OH. “With just a few hours a week, you don”t have time to really influence or invest in the students, especially when they are also participating in mission trips or camps. It”s hard to really include them in the life of the church.” Cincinnati

January 13, 2017

Christian Standard

Helping Ministry Leaders Develop Skills, Relationships

By Jennifer Johnson This month, more than a dozen pastors in the Greater Los Angeles area will begin a journey of learning, leadership, and change as Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA) kicks off its second Communitas cohort. The program, which began as part of the Lilly Endowment, is designed to connect senior leaders who have served in ministry for 5 to 10 years and help them develop greater leadership skills; grow in their understanding of significant issues facing their communities; build networks with civic, business, and political leaders throughout the city; and develop strong relationships with each other. “Lilly discovered there

January 1, 2017

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (18)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Rick Chromey Rick Chromey has served as a youth minister, professor of youth and family, church consultant and, most recently, “edu-trainer.” Rick also writes extensively and teaches online graduate courses for Hope International University, Fullerton, California. He currently serves as director of leadership for KidZ at Heart International and travels widely equipping teachers and leaders. Rick and his wife, Linda, live in Meridian, Idaho, near their four children. His website is www.rickchromey.com. Rick”s Best Sermon: The best sermon

December 22, 2016

Christian Standard

The Wrong Kind of Strong

By Eddie Lowen Three attributes we should seek when we say we want a strong leader. In Disney”s animated film Beauty and the Beast, a strapping young man named Gaston cannot fathom why Belle (the Beauty, herself) is so disinterested in him. After all, Gaston is Mr. Everything. As the song sung by Gaston”s sidekick exclaims, he”s the slickest and quickest, and his neck is the thickest! No one can “hit” or “match wits” like Gaston. And for the record, no one can spit like him, either! With a bio like that, what young French maiden could resist? Answer: Belle. She

December 15, 2016

Christian Standard

Many Gifts, Much Service: A Profile of Eleanor Daniel

By Bruce Parmenter I call Eleanor Daniel “The Queen of the Deans” because, to my knowledge, she is the only woman, aside from Dr. Dinelle Frankland and Karen Diefendorf, to serve as academic dean in seminaries of the more “traditional” side of the Stone-Campbell fellowship. Daniel has been dean at not one, but three seminaries. She is also a missionary, and a missionary to missionaries, a scholar par excellence (summa cum laude graduate of Lincoln Christian College, master”s degree and PhD from the University of Illinois), and an extraordinary teacher and preacher. Tucked in among the plethora of her gifts,

December 15, 2016

Christian Standard

Training the Next Generation of Women in Ministry: An Interview with Anne Menear

By T.R. Robertson The back of Anne Menear”s office door is covered with dozens of photographs of smiling young people, mostly women. “Those are all my kids,” she says, with a proud smile. “The ones over there,” she adds, pointing to more photographs arranged on a world map, “are all in missions. They”re all the girls that I”ve had contact with that are working in places like Germany, Japan, and Mexico. “It was great to have seen them graduate and now they”re grown-up adults, and to see them as such””it”s cool.” As director of the Christian Education department and dean

December 13, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

What Women Can Do

By Mark A. Taylor While opinions differ about what women should or should not do in a Christian church, no one can deny that God is working through women today. And, as Matt Proctor, Jennifer Johnson, and Chad Ragsdale remind us this month, women have always been at the center of God”s work on earth: “¢ Several significant and surprising women are included in the genealogy of Jesus. “¢ Mary, the mother of Jesus, demonstrated strength, character, and obedience to equal that of any male Bible hero . “¢ And in this virgin”s submission, God showed the divinity of her

November 29, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

We Can Do Better

By Mark A. Taylor Bob Russell spoke, as he has before, about his love for our “tribe,” the Christian churches in the Restoration Movement. He was speaking at the November 18 launch of the Center for Church Leadership during the International Conference on Missions, and he told how his commitment to the Restoration Movement grew and deepened during the years of his ministry at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. It was an apt challenge, because the Cincinnati-based Center has embarked on an ambitious, multifaceted program to develop leaders and strengthen Christian churches. I appreciated the testimony, but it was

November 26, 2016

Christian Standard

Over Your Skis

By Tim Harlow When we get ahead of God, we”re getting ready to fall. Like you, I cringe every time a pastor flames out. For one thing, I know that there, but for the grace of God, go I. I also know my job just got harder. I know that people look at the fallen pastor, and then look at me and wonder what I”m really like. The apostle James warned us of this reality (James 3:1), but it doesn”t make it any easier when another teacher doesn”t make it. Somewhere, deep inside, we all love hearing stories about someone

October 31, 2016

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I’ve Ever Heard (17)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Barry Cameron  Barry L. Cameron has been senior pastor of Crossroads in Grand Prairie, Texas, since 1992 when the church was averaging 188 in morning worship. Today, more than 7,500 people call Crossroads their church home. Cameron is a second-generation pastor. He and his wife, Janis, have three children: Katie, Matt, and Kelli, and a daughter-in-law, Lindley. They also have two grandsons, Will and Levi. He”s the author of the bestseller, The ABCs of Financial Freedom. He also

October 30, 2016

Christian Standard

God Spoke through the Sermons

What I learned from a year”s break from preaching By Dustin Fulton A few years ago, after a difficult season of ministry, my wife and I sensed a definite call to plant a church. Since we were weary, we were advised to take a sabbatical, as well as quit our jobs, sell our house, move out of town, and wait to see where God was leading us. Of the many aspects of the sabbatical, one that really excited me was getting to refresh my preaching skills by hearing from as many preachers as possible during my year”s break from the

October 24, 2016

Christian Standard

The Sisterhood

By Jennifer Johnson A few years ago I planned a special event for women in ministry, open to any lady on staff at a church or parachurch organization. A few guys I know found it hard to understand. “So it”s a women”s ministry event?” “Not exactly. It”s for women who are in ministry.” “Oh, you mean like women married to pastors?” No. I don”t have anything against celebrating women or pastor”s wives (I happen to be both) but that”s not the audience I”m most interested in. Those groups enjoy plenty of conferences, blogs, and books developed especially for them. However,

October 23, 2016

Christian Standard

Helping Women Live Well, Lead Well

By Jennifer Johnson Blessing Ranch (New Port Richey, FL) is well known for its intensive counseling services and spiritual formation work with pastors and their families. Facilitating personal transformation is at the core of what they do, and now with “Beyond Her Story” they”re hoping to multiply that work among women across the country. “Over the last year or two I started feeling like God was leading us to make more efforts to reach women in ministry,” says Dr. Charity Walker-Byers, executive director of clinical services at Blessing Ranch. “We”ve worked with women in leadership here in the United States

October 9, 2016

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (16)

By Arron Chambers Two preachers and their preacher sons tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Scott Eynon Scott Eynon has been pastor at Community Christian Church of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for 22 years. Community Christian celebrates its international diversity with attendees from 85 nations! Scott loves to say, “We get to be part of a church that looks like Heaven, with people from all over the world worshipping together.” Scott has been married to his wife, Lori, for 33 years and they have two sons, Chris and Steven. Scott”s Best Sermon: The best sermon

October 2, 2016

Christian Standard

Be the Lead Servant

By Eddie Lowen A question for church leaders: Do you make time to worry about whether or not people think you”re inclined to serve? I met the world”s best restaurant server. From the moment he approached our table, he was the personification of service. He flawlessly memorized orders. He was fast without seeming hurried, informative without being verbose. He was genuinely friendly. He succinctly offered great recommendations, anticipated all we needed, and even kept the table from becoming cluttered. But what registered with me strongest was that he enjoyed taking care of us. His final words were, “I”m glad I

September 29, 2016

Christian Standard

To Kill or to Keep an Intriguing Idea?

By LeRoy Lawson This Idea Must Die: Scientific Theories That Are Blocking Progress John Brockman, editor New York: Harper Perennial, 2015 The Hunt for Vulcan: . . . And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe Thomas Levenson New York: Random House, 2015 The Cross and the Lynching Tree James H. Cone Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2013 (reprint) So you are running into resistance to change in your church, are you? So you believe religion alone is the great resister of new ideas, do you? So you”ve been thinking science, on the contrary, is always based on objective, bias-free research and

September 28, 2016

Christian Standard

Beware of Spiritual Riptides

By Jim Tune Paul (not his real name) had seen pastors attacked. He pledged he would always do what he could to protect his pastor. A few years later, that pastor agreed with a decision to close a program that Paul”s wife led. Paul stepped down from leadership and stewed against the pastor. He began to entertain gossip and went through a spiritually dry period. Years later, he rejoined leadership and was part of the decision to end the pastor”s tenure. He still nurses a grudge today. Paul had good intentions but found himself swept away. He ended up feeling

September 25, 2016

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I”ve Ever Heard (15)

By Arron Chambers Christian leaders, some of them preachers themselves, tell us about a sermon they can”t forget””and maybe you won”t either. Chuck Sackett Chuck Sackett grew up outside the church and became a Christian during high school. His parents owned a bar and restaurant in a small town in Idaho. He came to Jesus through the friendship of someone willing to “cross the tracks” into his world. He currently preaches at Madison Park Christian Church (Quincy, Illinois) and teaches at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University and for TCM International Institute. He is husband of Gail and they have three married

September 24, 2016

Christian Standard

Partnering to Teach the Bible

By Jennifer Johnson Southland Christian Church (Lexington, KY) has created a way to engage people who are interested in deeper study of the Bible, maintain their interest and involvement, and even train current leaders and discover future staff members: Southland University. “We”re trying to meet the needs of many different groups,” says Derrick Purvis, formation pastor at Southland. “Weekends are “˜bottom shelf” and designed to be as accessible as possible. Programs that go a bit deeper are the next step. “But we also knew a number of people wanted more challenge and more growth. The problem is it takes a

September 23, 2016

Christian Standard

“˜There”s Not a Jar Left” . . . the Epitaph of Many Churches

By Tim Harlow Erwin McManus says turning a church around is really just a matter of killing one church and opening a new one, and I”d have to agree. “Because of your faith, it will happen” (Matthew 9:29, New Living Translation). When I came to this 40-year-old church, it really took us 7 to 10 years to transition it to the place where we could start doing what we knew God wanted us to do. The upside was we had some people and some money and a building. But the downside was many of the people had a different vision

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