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.
December 14, 2022
Tom Harper, who serves as founder and publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and as an elder at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., has released his newest book, "Inner Threat: Combatting Christian Leadership's Natural Enemy." Also, briefs from RENEW.org, GLCC, First Christian Church (Columbus, Ind.), and more.
December 5, 2022
e2:effective elders has created a four-part resource designed to empower elders to preach. "The Preaching Elder: Refilling the Preaching Pipeline" was created especially with elders in mind—to offer training through a book and other resources to help with a need that has developed because of a diminishing preaching pipeline.
November 1, 2022
The Testimony of the First-Known Somali Gospel Preacher
November 1, 2022
The Eternal Power of the Tried-and-True Public Invitation
November 1, 2022
By David Roadcup The sons of Issachar are widely noted in church leadership circles for having the ability to read their circumstances and respond in wisdom: “Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command” (1 Chronicles 12:32). This text comes at a time when Israel had divided into Israel and Judah. The nation needed to reunite under the leadership of David. The sons of Issachar knew it was time for this to happen for the sake of
November 1, 2022
By Tyler McKenzie I grew up a preacher’s kid in the rural outskirts of a small city. Every time we walked into a restaurant, my dad visited at least two tables to check-in on people we knew from church. Often, someone would pick up our check. The community honored him. Back then, people looked to clergy for care and accepted their moral exhortation. Gone are those days! Barna president David Kinnaman reported on the clergy credibility crisis in his 2017 book Good Faith. “The public’s respect for pastors, priests, and other faith leaders has significantly declined,” Kinnaman wrote. “Today only
October 11, 2022
Three years ago, Southeast Christian Church in Kentucky added more structure to its efforts to ordain people into ministry. Since then, it has ordained 90 people.
Southeast Christian Church's 215 Residency program—which gives residents firsthand ministry experience along with a deep dive into biblical study and spiritual formation—has recovered and grown since COVID-19.
September 1, 2022
By Megan Rawlings When I was a child, probably around the age of 10, I perceived a few natural phenomena as threats to me on my journey to adulthood. For example, I spent hours researching and watching videos on how to escape quicksand and run away from volcanic lava. I didn’t realize, though, that neither of those was a threat to me in my southern Ohio hometown! I have prepared for one natural disaster my whole life, knowing that living in southern Ohio it was possible (notice I did not say “probable”). I could experience a tornado. I knew that
September 1, 2022
By Emily Richardson You’re not that great. I apologize if that’s a blunt way to start, but I think it needs to be said. If it makes you feel any better, I’m not that great either. If you know Jesus, it shouldn’t hurt to hear the brutal truth that you’re not that great. It should make you laugh, because much of Scripture highlights human sin and depravity and mess. Yet somehow, we still often buy into the lie that who we are and what people think about us is of utmost importance, that our identity is constantly on the line.
Carroll Kakac, 93, has been preaching for more than seven decades. His hearing isn’t great, he said, and neither is his eyesight. But it’s good enough. “As long as my health will permit me to do it, I’m going to do it,” said Kakac, who serves as minister of McLeansboro (Ill.) Christian Church. . . .
July 1, 2022
By Ken Idleman In 2011, New York Times best-selling author Tina Rosenberg published Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World. The question she addressed in her secular book was, How do you get people to change for the better? How do you get them to live healthier lives . . . to diet, exercise, and not drink excessively? In short, how do you get individuals to grow in a positive direction? She concluded that the masses don’t change simply because they desire to change or by getting more information. Virtually everyone who smokes knows smoking is bad
July 1, 2022
By Wes Beavis Healthy church leaders do not spiritually abuse their church staff. Abuse of staff happens all too often, and it must stop. I’ll share an example. Recently, a senior pastor called the family life pastor into a meeting. The executive pastor also attended. It was a two-against-one coalition. The family pastor felt vulnerable. This vulnerability escalated when the senior pastor relieved the family life pastor of his ministry position. This was not a response to moral failure or professional misconduct. It was simply a case of, “We don’t feel like you are the right person for this position.”
By Chris Philbeck When my wife and I had been married for about 20 years, she took a part-time job to help pay for our children’s college. Fortunately for her, an opportunity came along to do something that fit with her artistic talent and interests, and she went to work for a small company that manufactured custom-made windows using a process called Stained Glass Overlay. Unlike traditional stained glass, she would use multiple materials like glass, multilayered polyester film, bevels, jewels, etc. to form a solid piece of decorative art glass. She absolutely loved her job and came home each
e2: effective elders is marking 10 years as a nonprofit parachurch ministry. During that time, e2 has trained more than 9,600 elders and church leaders. Also briefs about the Church of Christ on Lewis Street (in Little Rock), Tony Darling, Jack Cottrell, and more.
A New Collaboration with NationsUniversity to Develop Leaders Where They Are Already Planted and Working
By Jerry Harris I’m tired of several culturally popular words. The term “new normal,” which I’ve written about previously, is one of them; it seems to carry a connotation of something “less than before” that we must reluctantly accept. I’m also tired of the overuse of the word “season”—it causes me to have “friends are friends forever” flashbacks! But the one I’m seeing more and more lately is the word “transition.” That hits close to home, as I have just “transitioned” from being senior pastor of The Crossing—a position I’d held for the last 24 years—to teaching pastor; the person
Kentucky pastor Mark Messmore has written a new book, "Simple Preaching Prep," aimed at helping equip both aspiring preachers and seasoned lay leaders for the task of preaching sermons to their congregations.
March 1, 2022
By Billy Strother A great deal of discussion and training on the subject of “authentic leadership” has occurred since Bill George published a book by that title in 2003. Authenticity is the quality of being genuine or real. Authentic Christian leaders are those who are perceived as genuine in their walk with the Lord and in their loving investment in the congregants they serve. There remains no agreed-upon definition for authentic leadership theory among those who discuss it. Generally, however, an authentic leader is a person who possesses the characteristics of self-awareness, empathy, relational transparency, consistency, and ethical focus. Authentic
By Chris Philbeck My wife and I recently attended a pastors and wives retreat just outside of Phoenix. It was a great experience for both of us. While we’ve been married for almost 40 years, it’s always good to get away from the busyness of life to reconnect. The retreat also included some times when the pastors and wives split to focus on separate topics. One session for the pastors began with the question: What do you think is the most important thing in good preaching? Hearing the various answers—such as connection, engagement, relevance, vulnerability, etc.—was interesting. At one point
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June 10, 2026
Dr. Amanda Porter
June 9, 2026
Rick Cherok
June 9, 2026
David Faust