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.

October 19, 2015

Christian Standard

What Does Restoration Look Like?

An interview with John Walker By Alan Ahlgrim What would you like a struggling leader to know? First of all, they need to know they”re not alone. Everyone has struggled, is struggling, or will struggle with a life-limiting or ministry-threatening issue. Everyone. Sadly, too many not only struggle, but fail to the point of falling out. Is there a pattern to the failure situations you”ve seen in ministry? Not really, except to say that to some degree, sooner or later everyone messes up or gets stuck. We”re not about blame, shame, or punishment. We”re concerned about restoration and healing. That”s

October 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Gut Check

By Eddie Lowen Pixar”s movie Inside Out is clever. It”s about an 11-year-old girl whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. The genius of the film is its vivid and humorous portrayal of the memories, thoughts, and emotions that compete to control the girl”s behavior. If I had to select one word to capture all three of those elements””memory, thought, and emotion””I”d choose the word instinct. How good are your instincts? Let me guess: pretty good. As you read my question, you thought, I trust my gut. My instincts are above average. That”s the problem. Everyone thinks his or

October 12, 2015

Christian Standard

Quitting Solitaire

Four ministers. One concern: How to find a “band of brothers” for accountability, insight, and help to finish well. By Eddie Lowen I was set apart for ministry by the first church that employed me. I was only 19 when they hired me (and 20 when they ordained me), yet they took a chance. They took a chance that I would graduate a year after my ordination. They took a chance that I would mature in many ways. They also took a chance that I would find a wife! Seriously, at the time, an unmarried pastor was rare. Most of

October 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Integrity in Preaching

By Daniel Overdorf Stories abound of preachers and plagiarism. Some are funny: “When Chuck Swindoll starts preaching better sermons, so will I!” Or, “If I use one source, it”s plagiarism; if I use two sources, it”s research.” Other stories, though, are heartbreaking. Churches have fired ministers for preaching sermons downloaded from the Internet. Other preachers have kept their jobs but split their churches””half their members not wanting to serve with a leader they feel has broken a bond of trust. Plagiarism is using someone else”s material without giving credit. And it tempts even the most faithful of us. The temptation

October 10, 2015

Christian Standard

The Speed of Trust

By Jeff Faull Stephen M.R. Covey calls it “the one thing that changes everything.” When you have it, you can move forward quickly, confidently, and positively. When you don”t have it, your enterprise, organization, or endeavor is hindered and even paralyzed. According to Covey, trust is what changes everything. In fact his New York Times best seller on the subject is titled The Speed of Trust. Covey contends the commodity most overlooked and underrated in organizational health and efficiency is the trust factor. No, he isn”t longing for a return to the days of deals sealed with a simple handshake

October 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership

By Matt Proctor Why do some leaders fail? The answers often lie below the “waterline.” The Brooklyn Bridge is a New York City icon, but during its construction, controversy arose. It seemed to the watching public that no progress had been made for months on the New York tower””the Manhattan side of the river. While the Brooklyn tower rose 100 feet above the water, the New York tower was still 78 feet below the surface, unseen. Building Below the Waterline So in June 1872, the chief engineer of the project wrote: “To such of the general public as might imagine that

October 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Chasing after Integrity

Integrity is still respected. But is it expected?  Do we know integrity when we see it? Do we know how to achieve it when we find it lacking in ourselves?  In a testimony every Christian, and certainly every Christian leader, should read, this seasoned minister describes the steps he takes as he “desperately chases after God.” By Randy Gariss This afternoon my local sports-talk radio host was yelling again. In the midst of his apoplexy he kept shouting, “Where is integrity? Where is integrity? I tell you I am sick of this stuff!” It seems another high-profile, highly touted athlete

October 2, 2015

Christian Standard

Tour of Duties

By Jennifer Johnson Recently, two older ladies in our church began taking Communion to members in the hospital. While this is far from the 24-hour, professionally trained chaplaincy program organized by First Christian Church in Decatur (see related article), for Miss Marilyn and Miss Pat it was a Bigfoot-sized step out of their comfort zones. “I was scared to death,” Pat said the Sunday after her first hospital visit. But she did it, gathering up the portable Communion set and her car keys and setting out on a faith adventure. Now she and Marilyn are old pros, sometimes scheduling their

October 2, 2015

Christian Standard

A Backstage Pass to Volunteerism

By Jennifer Johnson Like many churches, Compass Christian Church in Colleyville, TX, has a new members class””theirs is called “Discover Compass”””to share information about the church, its mission, and its ministries. Unlike most churches, Compass follows this up with a behind-the-scenes tour to help each person find a way to serve. “We hold the Discover Compass class one week and invite people to come back the following week for Serve Tour,” says Rich Green, serve pastor at Compass. “We begin with a short overview of the importance of serving and why it”s part of the Christian life; then we walk through

September 29, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Annual Panic

By Mark A. Taylor Every August and September, I was gripped by panic. As part-time education minister with a smaller church (now it”s mega), I was responsible to recruit Sunday school workers for every age level and to staff a fully graded program on Wednesday nights. When kids choirs took a break on Sunday evenings (we had Sunday-night church back in those days), my job was to create and find workers for kids” classes then too. In a church of a few hundred, that was a lot of volunteers, and we never seemed to have quite enough. We encouraged people

September 28, 2015

Christian Standard

Hey, Stop Driving Out Those Demons!

By Tim Harlow “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:49, 50). When I was fresh out of college, I became a youth minister in Amarillo, Texas. Because of a gracious grant from a Christian foundation, I was able to get my master”s degree for free. This was well before the days of the Internet, so I actually had to go to the class. The only

September 25, 2015

Christian Standard

The Best Sermon I’ve Ever Heard (3)

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. Interestingly, this month”s submissions include two sermons delivered at the same church but by different speakers, and two sermons by fathers of the contributors. Enjoy! Jennifer Farber Jennifer is executive director of the KORE Foundation. She works with the Small Holder Poultry Project in Haiti and oversees stateside operations. Jennifer”s Best Sermon: The best sermon on reaching, serving, and helping people to live better lives by Dennis Bratton (Jennifer”s father). This sermon was delivered at Journey Christian Church

September 23, 2015

Christian Standard

Taming the Sermon

By Jim Tune When it comes to discussions about the teachings of Jesus, especially his “hard” teachings, I”ve grown tired of the tendency to tame any revolutionary teaching that seems just too radical or too naïve or idealistic. The conversation too often goes like this: “I know that”s what Jesus said, but what he really meant was. . . .” For example, when Jesus tells us not to store up riches on earth, we repurpose it to say, “Do not get too attached to the riches that you have, in fact, stored up on earth.” We read the Sermon on

September 21, 2015

Christian Standard

Rethinking What I”m Doing

By Jennifer Johnson I don”t know what it”s like to grow from boyhood to manhood or, for that matter, to spend four days wandering through Angeles National Forest. However, one part of my conversation with Dane Johnson about Christ”s Church of the Valley“s new Leadership USA program did resonate with me. (Read the related article.) “The guys explore whether they are a doer, a thinker, or a feeler,” he told me, “and they learn that each one is valuable. If you don”t fill your role, the team suffers.” I agree with the idea that each type is important, but after

September 21, 2015

Christian Standard

CCV Growing Boys into Leaders

By Jennifer Johnson For more than 30 years, a group in Australia has led a three-stage program to help teenage boys transition from boyhood to adulthood. Last year Christ”s Church of the Valley (San Dimas, CA) launched the program for its own young men. Leadership USA is designed in one-week stages spread out over three years, with boys starting stage one at age 15 and completing stage three at 17. “THIS IS NOT SUMMER CAMP” the church”s webpage explains; instead, it is an intense and challenging experience designed to help the participants grow spiritually, physically, mentally, and socially. “When I

September 18, 2015

Christian Standard

My Father, My Preacher

By Emerson Kennedy Have you ever wondered how much preachers actually do? Some people think ministers preach on Sunday mornings””and that”s all. Had my father not been a preacher, I might have been inclined to agree. However, as a preacher”s kid my entire life, I can say without any hesitation there is a lot more to a preacher”s service than what happens on Sunday mornings. I grew up in a small church of about 100 in western Maryland. And, like all churches, our congregation came with its own set of problems. I want to take you behind the scenes of

September 17, 2015

Christian Standard

What Are They Thinking?

By Susan Lawrence Volunteers are at the heart of ministry. We may serve as a volunteer, work alongside volunteers, or oversee volunteers. We may even do all three at the same time! Working with volunteers isn”t the same as working with paid employees. Use the following as a cheat sheet to help you understand what might be going on behind the faces of your volunteers. For example, here are two possibilities for what the volunteer who serves every week, without complaint, and without ever needing to be reminded, might be thinking . . .  1. I love serving. This is

September 15, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Volunteers: They”re Vital!

By Mark A. Taylor Not long after I left ministry in the local church to come to the nine-to-five office environment at Standard Publishing, I had an epiphany. I had taken for granted the volunteers who had helped me at the church. When I needed them to come to a meeting, they came. When I asked them to teach a class, they taught. When I recruited them to give up time to keep my latest notion from failing, they were there. Meanwhile, I counted everything I did for the church as part of the job they were paying me for.

September 14, 2015

Christian Standard

25 Ways to Show Volunteers They Matter

Tips, tactics, and testimonies by church leaders who know the value of a volunteer. Compiled by Jennifer Johnson ________ 1. Last fall, I wrote a note to each Bible study leader mentioning specific strengths I see in her. Then I read the notes aloud in our start-up leader meeting. The fun thing was they weren”t expecting this type of affirmation at the beginning of the year. “”Nancy Karpenske, women and spiritual transformation pastor, LifeBridge Christian Church, Longmont, Colorado 2. A couple of times a year we hold major serving events in our community. In our weekend services after each of these events,

September 12, 2015

Christian Standard

How to Lose Your Best People

By Melissa Sandel Without the proper attention, it”s easy to see volunteers drift away from your church”s ministries. Here are proven strategies to keep that from happening. At the center of a local park near my home stands a giant sandbox filled with dozens of well-used toys. From a nearby park bench, I recently observed an industrious toddler filling a plastic bucket with sand and lugging it to his construction site. Back and forth across the sandbox he traveled many times, hauling sand in his tattered bucket. Yet little progress was being made on his sand castle. Why? The kid

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