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.

March 1, 2023

Christian Standard

An Example Worth Following: A Tribute to Ben Merold

An Example Worth Following: A Tribute to Ben Merold

Ben Merold, 96, a beloved minister in Christian churches and churches of Christ for almost three-quarters of a century, died November 16, 2022.  _ _ _ By Doyle Roth Ben Merold lived his life fully committed to Jesus. He served God by serving many churches over his ministry career and touching the lives of millions of people. Ben truly was a man of God.   Don Sanders, leadership development pastor at Harvester Christian Church and director of The Merold Institute, said this about Ben when he introduced him at a graduation ceremony not long ago:   Ben is a church consultant, a

January 1, 2023

Christian Standard

The Power in Preaching

By Chris Philbeck  In 2001, when I came to my current church, I had to adjust to having a Saturday night service. I had been a pastor for over 20 years, but the weekend service had always been exclusive to Sunday morning, and it took a while to feel comfortable preaching on Saturday night for various reasons. We didn’t have a particularly large crowd, and the people would be pretty spread out in a worship center that could seat around 1,400. The energy level was different on Saturday night, and the service just felt different.   More often than I like

December 5, 2022

Christian Standard

The Preaching Elder

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

David Roadcup

The Sons of Issachar, the Church at Sardis, and Our Leadership Teams

The Sons of Issachar, the Church at Sardis, and Our Leadership Teams

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

Tyler McKenzie

Crucial Questions for Church Leaders

Crucial Questions for Church Leaders

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

September 1, 2022

Megan Rawlings

Megan Rawlings

Are Church Leaders Prepared for Quicksand and Lava?

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

Christian Standard

The Ministry of Being Misunderstood

The Ministry of Being Misunderstood

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.

July 1, 2022

Ken Idleman

Healthy Churches Are Built on Trustworthy Leaders

Healthy Churches Are Built on Trustworthy Leaders

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

Wes Beavis

Healthy Church Leaders Never Do This!

Healthy Church Leaders Never Do This!

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.”

July 1, 2022

Chris Philbeck

Pour Yourself into Your Preaching

Pour Yourself into Your Preaching

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

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