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.

June 18, 2011

Christian Standard

Mighty Big Shoes to Fill

By Cheryl A. Moen My father”s shoes were big””huge in fact. My dad, Burdett Wakeman, wore size 15AAA shoes””a size so large and unique that every pair of shoes he purchased had to be specially ordered. And even then, they were known to arrive in two separate boxes! Dad was a preacher, and I am certain no other minister was ever introduced by Romans 10:15 more than he was. “And how can they preach unless they are sent? . . . “˜How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”” But Dad was a great sport and just

February 20, 2011

Christian Standard

Keeping Christ at the Center of Our Sermons

By Matt Proctor “This is a great sermon,” said my friend as he handed me the CD. “You”ll enjoy it.” My friend knows me well: I”m a sermon junkie. I love to listen to great preaching. I immediately recognized the preacher”s name on the CD, a well-known minister within our movement who leads a strong, evangelistic church. On my next car ride, I popped in the CD””a message from the Song of Songs. The sermon was clearly tied to the text and packed with great illustrations, appropriate humor, and practical advice for a marriage relationship. When the CD was over

February 11, 2011

Christian Standard

Don”t Make Me Lay Hands on You!

By Tim Harlow “If you do this again, I will lay hands on you” (Nehemiah 13:21). Nehemiah wasn”t offering a healing service. This was not a potential ordination. Instead, read Nehemiah”s words this way, “If you do it again, I”ll be on you like a spider monkey!” Nehemiah was mad, and we know he meant it because later in the same chapter he “called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair” (Nehemiah 13:25). As I wrestle with the legitimacy of Nehemiah”s “hands-on” leadership, I notice one thing that looks familiar. “I was

February 7, 2011

Christian Standard

Improvisation Is Hard Work

By Kyle Baker A jazz musician and a church leader walk into a bar. No wait, the jazz musician walks into a bar, the church leader walks into a church. The jazz musician walks into a room with a band of misfits who will improvise on standard material. The church leader walks into a room with a team of experts who will play parts they”ve honed for years. No wait, the church leader has the band of improvising misfits; it”s the jazz musician who has the team of experts. I had the good fortune to study jazz trombone with Delfeayo

January 31, 2011

Christian Standard

The Leadership Institute Offers College-level Courses

By Jennifer Taylor The Leadership Institute at Christ”s Church of the Valley (Peoria, Arizona) offers college-level courses from Hope International University (Fullerton, California) plus an internship program. Interns work with CCV staff pastors, attend weekly training sessions, and receive one-on-one mentoring. Participants may choose a one- or two-year internship; the two-year program allows students to earn their master”s degree from HIU. www.ccvonline.com www.hiu.edu ________________ Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors and bloggers, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Do you know of a church breaking new ground or leading innovative ministry? Contact bu**@*********ub.com.

January 15, 2011

Christian Standard

Whatever Happened to the Invitation?

By Mark Atteberry The elders at my church very graciously gave me seven weeks off, a kind of mini-sabbatical. It was during the summer and my wife and I had a trip planned anyway, so we laid out a plan to visit a different church every weekend. We chose a mixture of large and small churches, city and rural churches, and Restoration Movement and denominational churches from Florida to the mountain west. Overall, it was a positive experience. We heard some fine sermons, met some nice people, and picked up a few good ideas. There was, however, one big surprise

December 31, 2010

Christian Standard

The Lasting Influence of a Small Church

By Gordon R. Clymer Recently six Timothys of Indiana”s Black Oak Church of Christ returned to say thank-you to the church where each was baptized. Located between Hammond and Gary, the community has become more inner-city than metropolitan. Fewer than 100 people now meet to worship with this congregation. In years past it was never a large church, but it had a vision of outreach. These six men sent out to preach the gospel include James North, professor of church history at Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian University; Ziden Nutt, executive director of Good News Productions, International (Joplin, Missouri); Gordon Clymer, professor

December 28, 2010

Christian Standard

A Ministry Based on Proverbs

By Javan Rowe It”s hard to find any part of our lives not affected by the state of our nation”s economy. Unemployment is up, businesses are folding, and individuals are paying much closer attention to personal finances. The church is not exempt from such challenges. How can our ministries survive today”s hard times? There”s no sure answer. As the Bible says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1*). But the book of Proverbs does offer wisdom to help our ministries succeed. Three principles in particular can help. Prayer Proverbs

December 6, 2010

Christian Standard

Leading Beyond Your Ability

By Rick Grover I recently told our staff, “We are now at a place where I have never been. I have no experience in leading beyond where we currently are. We have surpassed where I believe my education, skills, abilities, and experience can take us. So where do we go from here? How are we going to get to the next level in our ministry and go where God wants us to go?” I paused, not for dramatic effect, but because I wasn”t sure what to say next! So much for leaders having all the right words to say at

November 13, 2010

Christian Standard

My Journey to Journey

By Darin Brown I can still remember taking notes from a breakout session at the Eastern Christian Convention more than 10 years ago. Gene Appel was describing the transformation that had occurred at the church he was leading in Las Vegas and was presenting a simple yet profound formula for change. I wrote down “Dissatisfaction + Vision + Next Steps = Change.” As I listened to Appel explain these concepts, I had no idea my life and ministry would be heading down the same path. It should not have happened so quickly. I was the senior minister of a new

November 8, 2010

Christian Standard

Teams Function Like Teams

By Stephen Bond I played water polo in high school. Water polo is a team sport. Each player in the pool has a distinct role, and each one depends on the other if the team is to be successful. On my high school team we had Mike Moore, a scoring machine, “in the hole” on the offensive end of the pool and Guy Antley on the defensive end as our goalie. Both men received All-American awards but both played very different roles on our team. We needed both Mike and Guy (and several more of us non-All-American players) to win. The

October 23, 2010

Christian Standard

A Challenge for All of Us

By Mark A. Taylor I”m grateful for a preacher who did what Bob Russell didn”t. In his interview this week, Bob says he wishes he”d started a “Preacher Boys Club” as a part of his local-church ministry. When I was in junior high and high school, the minister did exactly that. Actually two ministers led our group at the Christian church in Waukegan, Illinois. It was started by Robert Sheets and continued by Steve Willis who followed him in ministry there. We met before Sunday-evening youth group and learned about different kinds of sermons and how to deliver them. We

October 16, 2010

Christian Standard

The Best Pizza I Ever Had

By George Ross I grew up playing the trumpet, loving baseball, and eating too much. My heroes as a kid were Herb Alpert, Willie Mays, and Chef Boyardee (not necessarily in that order). Unfortunately the Chef and his “pizza in a box” was an all-to-frequent experience for me on lazy Saturday afternoons. In fact, I became quite a connoisseur of pizza at an early age, which prepared me for college life. After sensing God”s calling on my life during high school, I went to Bible college in Lincoln, Illinois, in the early 1970s. That big city of 17,000 (compared to

October 7, 2010

Christian Standard

Checking References of Ministerial Candidates

By Brent Storms In my local church ministry, and now in my position as president of a church planting organization, I have considered more than 1,000 candidates for open positions in ministry. I have screened and interviewed hundreds, and have hired more than 30 people for ministry positions. As I look back on the hiring process, I understand there are few elements more important than checking references and previous employers. Let me share three examples. Not long ago I met a candidate for the position of lead planter for a new church to be started in one of our northeastern

October 6, 2010

Christian Standard

How to Get Started Selecting a New Minister

By Thomas F. Jones Jr. Selection of a minister by a local church is an extremely important task and should not be taken lightly. We”re talking about the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the people of God. This is not like choosing a Little League baseball coach, a hired hand, or a repairman to fix a leaky faucet. Strong and gifted leaders guide successful organizations. The church is no exception. High-quality leadership is needed to fulfill the mission of the church. This is serious business. Few decisions are equally crucial to the church, and none is more

September 26, 2010

Christian Standard

2010 NACC: The Why Behind Our Ministry Mistakes

By Vince Antonucci Why do we make the mistakes we make? Why does the senior minister have an affair with his secretary? Why won”t the youth pastor confront the student struggling with the not-so-secret sin? Why won”t the elder agree to the change that obviously needs to be made? Why does the preacher spend all his time counseling until the fatigue becomes too much and he leaves the ministry? Obviously, every situation is different, but in almost every case, most of the mistakes we make in ministry result from a lack of self-awareness. What do I mean by self-awareness? Well,

September 23, 2010

Christian Standard

2010 NACC: An Uncommon Leader

By Brad Dupray As a guest at this year”s North American Christian Convention, Tony Dungy shared principles that lead to success in football””and all of life. When the Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, the victory affirmed Tony Dungy as one of the all-time great coaches in the National Football League. That season marked the ninth consecutive year a Dungy-coached team made the playoffs, tying him with legendary coach Tom Landry”s all-time record. The next season, Dungy”s Colts reached the playoffs again. Speaking for about 20 minutes at the “Uncommon Leadership” luncheon and then in a one-on-one

September 1, 2010

Christian Standard

Answering the Challenge for Bible Materials in Spanish

By Jennifer Taylor Good Books When Jon and Kathy Underwood visited Colombian Christian Mission in 2005, missionary Dale Meade asked the couple to outline a course of study for general and graduate-level Bible training. Jon created a sequence including Bible surveys, history, and theology””and received another request from Dale. “The team really wanted more challenging materials and asked us to consider translating and publishing books into Spanish,” Kathy says. “We were concerned about a conflict of interest, since Jon works at Standard Publishing. But we explained the project and received their blessing to move forward.” In 2006 the Underwoods created

August 25, 2010

Christian Standard

Why Some Corporate Practices Should Have a Home in the Church

By J. Andrew Keith (with Chris Keith) Several years ago, popular Christian writer John Piper warned ministers about the dangers of professionalism1. On the first page of Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, Piper sounds a clarion call: “We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry.”2 Some of his final words in the opening chapter are a prayer that reads: “Banish professionalism

August 25, 2010

Christian Standard

Eight Ways to Be a More Positive Leader

By Victor M. Parachin While serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, Terence T. Griffiths”s assignment was battalion level retention. Part of his work involved visiting companies in his battalion to determine why soldiers were not reenlisting. He visited one company that had greater losses than others. During his visit, the company commander, a captain, was giving a briefing on an upcoming joint military exercise involving the Navy, Air Force, and Marines. At the briefing, the company commander stressed the importance of the upcoming operation. He told troops that, effective immediately, there would be no leaves granted and all preapproved leaves

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