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.

August 22, 2012

Christian Standard

Mining for Diamonds

By Greg Swinney A few months ago, I found myself sitting at a roadside taco stand in Mexico. I could hardly believe where I was and what I was doing. A three and one-half hour church service had just ended and those who helped lead the service were hungry. They invited me to go “out to eat” with them. It was 10 p.m. and I was ready for some food, but I had no idea it meant sitting on white plastic stack chairs along the side of the dusty road and eating out of the back end of a brightly

August 17, 2012

Christian Standard

A Voice from Long Ago

By Jewell Johnson When my husband retired after 42 years as a minister, a time of adjustment followed. As LeRoy reflected on his years in ministry, he began to second-guess all the time he had spent working for God. Did I do any good? he asked himself. Is there any lasting fruit from those years? Did I help even one person? A few years after retirement, LeRoy and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. That”s when we received a special phone call. “Does a Pastor Johnson live at this number?” a hesitant voice asked. As LeRoy talked on the phone,

August 16, 2012

Christian Standard

Deployed

By Kavan Rogness Several months ago at University Christian Church in Manhattan, Kansas, we came up with an idea to get the church involved in the community. The bulk of the inspiration came from a staff member who attended the February 2011 Preaching and Teaching Conference at Ozark Christian College. There he heard about Vince Antonucci”s book Guerilla Lovers and the “guerilla” assignments Antonucci developed to encourage Christians to get outside their comfort zones and show God”s love through acts of kindness. We decided to challenge our congregation with the idea. The result was a military-themed sermon series called “Deployed” that not

August 9, 2012

Christian Standard

Producing the Next Generation of Elders

By John Ashenfelter How long do we want Christ”s churches to last? God built the church to last forever. But local congregations do not last unless Jesus is the cornerstone. To last, the leaders from generation to generation must be committed to and submissive to Jesus, his leadership, and his mission. Local congregations do not last without leaders who are submissive to the Word of God and to his Spirit. One characteristic of such leaders is their devotion to reproducing leaders with this commitment and submission. Churches are always just one generation away from disappearing. With the church”s future in

August 6, 2012

Christian Standard

Confronting Burnout in the Ministry (Part 2)

By Daniel Sherman Burnout is one of the fiercest foes of pastoral ministry. It robs a pastor of needed energy and creates an atmosphere characterized by cynicism and futility. But it”s neither inevitable nor permanent. Still, one must be on guard and have appropriate weapons to confront burnout. Last week we discussed the definition and the cause of burnout. We learned a minister is suffering burnout when he (1) feels exhausted; (2) becomes cynical, removed, emotionally distant from people and ministry; and (3) believes he is not making any difference””that all his work is in vain. A burned-out person will

August 6, 2012

Christian Standard

10 Ways to Encourage Your Minister

By Victor M. Parachin   So this is the pastorate? Is this the ministry? To be misunderstood, unappreciated, alone, and misquoted with no hope of correction? This is a painful, lonely business. That lament was a journal entry made by pastor David Fisher shortly after he began ministry. Fortunately, Fisher, author of The 21st Century Pastor, weathered that difficult time. Other ministers, however, are not as fortunate. Recent polls reveal high-level dissatisfaction and discouragement among those in the ministry: “¢ 1,700 ministers leave ministry every month, an annual exodus of more than 20,000 “¢ 50 percent of ministers quit within five years of

August 5, 2012

Christian Standard

It”s All About the Mission

By Mark A. Taylor Sometimes we discover truth from an unexpected source. Not long ago, I pondered the implications for the church in a Harvard Business Review blog post by a columnist for Time magazine. Joel Stein shared a conclusion he had reached as he did research for his new book, Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity. “I learned that my vision of what makes a good leader was all wrong,” he wrote.*   I spent hours working alongside fire chiefs, army captains, Boy Scout troop leaders, and others who guide teams. To my surprise, the best of them

August 5, 2012

Christian Standard

Surviving Ministry Means Knowing Ourselves

By Rob McCord I believe the pastoral ministry is one of the most exhilarating and rewarding ways one can spend a life. It is an honor and a thrill, an adventure and a delight, full of amazing highs and irreplaceable glimpses of God at work. However, upon entering ministry, I completely lacked understanding of the pain that would accompany it. Pastoral ministry carries with it the potential of psychological, emotional, and even spiritual trauma. It can be dangerous. The statistics regarding pastoral burnout and failure are staggering. The pain and anguish that so many pastors endure is heartbreaking. These servant

August 2, 2012

Christian Standard

What Do You Say about Church Music?

By Randy Gariss Within the American church, few topics have brought out more absurdity, immaturity, and blind passion than the discussion of “what shall the music in our worship services be like?” Of course, there are exceptions, but if one listens to the discussion in blogs, small groups, church hallways, and around Christian family dinner tables, let”s just say our finest behavior is seldom on display when we are discussing worship music. Why has the style of music in a worship service been such a lightning rod for disagreement? What has caused this issue to tower over the landscape of

August 1, 2012

Christian Standard

Learning to Trust

By Mike MacKenzie Jeff is not unlike many ministers we see. He has been in ministry for 25 years and has been reasonably successful. He accepted his current senior pastor position eight years ago knowing it was going to be a challenge. The congregation”s former senior pastor, who was also the founding pastor, had left under a cloud of suspicion. The church”s building program was hanging in limbo after a church split had seen half the members leave. And the finances were messy. But Jeff figured, with his experience, he had a responsibility to do what he could when he

July 31, 2012

Christian Standard

Even a Leader Needs a Friend

By Patti Cappa Very successful people, driven people, devoted people, parents, leaders of all kinds, and people in ministry leadership sometimes don”t have a best friend. We hear the excuses time and again from those who come to us at Marble Retreat (an interdenominational Christian counseling center primarily serving people in ministry): “It isn”t safe to have best friends,” they say. “I don”t have time for them.” “I am simply too busy with work and ministry to make such an investment.” “I really don”t need a best friend. That”s for children.” “I have God and/or my spouse and I don”t

July 30, 2012

Christian Standard

Confronting Burnout in the Ministry (Part 1)

By Daniel Sherman “I”m exhausted! I don”t think I can endure one more day.” You might be surprised at how many ministers feel this way. If you are a minister and you are worn-out, you are not alone. Church leaders need to be a constant source of support and encouragement for a minister so he doesn”t become a member of the “former ministers” group. But we need to be careful not to equate exhaustion with burnout. Exhaustion may be a symptom of burnout, but it isn”t burnout. Burnout is a gradual process of loss during which the mismatch between the needs of

July 30, 2012

Christian Standard

He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need

By Joe Bliffen Your initial reaction to hearing about a terrible sin someone has committed indicates immediately whether you are developing the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16*). “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). What was Jesus” attitude toward sinners as he walked among us? In Zacchaeus, Jesus saw a man who had really messed up his life and needed a friend. On the cross, Jesus saw two criminals and the Roman soldiers, people who mocked him and blasphemed God. Yet Jesus looked beyond their faults and saw their need; he died for

July 29, 2012

Christian Standard

The Wisdom in Meat Loaf

By Daniel Schantz Hunger is a great teacher. The lessons I learned as a lad in Sunday school were immediately reinforced by the potluck dinner that followed services. It was at the potluck dinner that I learned just how hard it is to master the virtues of patience, self-control, and acceptance.   Patience Church dinners always started late, and the bowl of corn flakes I had at sunrise would not sustain me till noon. During the morning sermon, the fragrance of coffee and hot rolls would drift up from the church basement, and my stomach would begin to ache. I

July 28, 2012

Michael C. Mack

Don”t Lead Alone!

By Michael C. Mack How many people can you effectively lead, shepherd, and disciple? Let me ask the question another way: If you want to see true transformation of people”s lives, into how many people can you invest your life? How about Jesus? How many people did he disciple? Three of his four disciples, Peter, James, and John, became Jesus” inner circle or what could be called his core team. Jesus poured his life into these three men, investing into them and modeling a life surrendered to the Father. He took these three away with him to pray and heal, as well

July 19, 2012

Christian Standard

Preaching, Prevailing, and Seeking

By LeRoy Lawson The Collected Sermons of Fred B. Craddock Fred B. Craddock Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2011 When You Come Home: The True Love Story of a Soldier”s Heroism and His Wife”s Sacrifice Nancy Cavin Pitts Kingsport: Christian Devotions Ministry, 2011 The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West . . . AGAIN (10th Anniversary Edition) George C. Hunter III Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010 I”ve known of Fred Craddock almost as long as I”ve been preaching, but I”ve never met him. When I was a guest preacher at the Christian Church in Newport, Tennessee, his ghost filled the church. He wasn”t dead,

July 10, 2012

Christian Standard

Externally Focused AND Evangelistic?

By Staff Most churches have heard about the “externally focused” emphasis that has prompted Christians everywhere to get out of their church buildings and into their communities to serve. Meanwhile, the attractional/missional debate has also prodded the push to be about going out instead of inviting people into the church. We talked about this trend at the annual CHRISTIAN STANDARD contributing editors retreat to explore the effect of this service emphasis on the church”s vision and mission. Can we effectively help and heal bodies AND save souls? CHRISTIAN STANDARD editors gathered the following leaders for this discussion: Ben Cachiaras, senior pastor

July 10, 2012

Christian Standard

Willing to Lead

By Mark A. Taylor   Several myths about leadership were exposed at the 2012 Leadercast sponsored by Chick-fil-A, May 4. About 125,000 viewers gathered for the satellite-uplinked daylong session in key sites across the United States, including several thousand who attended the event live in Atlanta. All of them could have found at least one take-away for the leadership roles they fill at home or on the job. One of the demolished myths is “I am not a leader.” Anyone listening to Tim Tebow might think of a hundred other professional athletes with no impact or only a negative example.

June 24, 2012

Christian Standard

What Would Bubba Do?

By Eddie Lowen I”m on the Bubba Bandwagon. This year”s Masters golf tournament concluded on Easter Sunday when a professional golfer named Bubba Watson hit an ultraremarkable winning shot from a grove of pine trees. “Bubba” is a surprising name for a Masters champion, but it”s better than being named “Boo.” Boo Weekley is a fellow pro who, ironically, hails from the same small Florida town as Bubba. Bubba and Boo””they sound like characters from the History Channel reality show Swamp People. But they have become to professional golf what the Blue Collar guys are to comedy. Trust me, their

June 21, 2012

Christian Standard

Strategies to De-stress Leadership

By Sheila S. Hudson “Put the big ones in first,” my father-in-law advises. Pop-Pop, as the great-grandchildren have dubbed him, is a very wise man. He has been an elder in the church as long as I can remember. I ponder his advice. Today Pop-Pop is in his element with his 14 great-grandchildren as his audience. He lets each of them try filling a jug with rocks, sand, and water. After putting sand, pebbles, and water in the jar, however, the children discover the larger rocks won”t fit. Then Pop-Pop shows them the secret: When you place the big rocks

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