Articles for tag: church leadership

Creating Culture

By Jim Tune Pixar founder Ed Catmull had always dreamed of using computers to create a great animated movie. He achieved this with the release of Toy Story. “We”d been the first to make a movie with computers,” he wrote in his book Creativity, Inc., “and””even better””audiences were touched, and touched deeply by the story we told.” The problem? “Now that this goal had been reached, I had what I can only describe as a hollow, lost feeling.” Running a company didn”t seem to be enough. Catmull began to scratch beneath the surface, and realized things weren”t as healthy at

May 8, 2016

Church & Ministry Church Leadership Pastoral Transitions & Succession

First Look Inward (Part 1: The Person)

By Gary Johnson The interior world of the outgoing leader is a key factor to transitions that succeed. While each of us knows about different kinds of journeys, I”m exploring a journey that is unique. This journey involves Christians in a local church or parachurch organization, and it is called succession. It happens when the senior leader leaves and a new leader arrives in his place. Just as every person in the plane, on the train, or in the car travel together, this journey involves everyone in the particular church or parachurch organization. Succession involves more than one minister leaving

May 1, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Ministry Synergy

By Michael C. Mack Church ministries often find themselves working as silos, fixating on their own specific objectives and depending on their own resources. Imagine what could be achieved for God”s kingdom if different ministries learned to work together to make a difference in their towns, cities, and the world! For the body of Christ to work effectively to carry out Jesus” mission, ministry leaders must first learn to listen to the Head, that is, Christ, as well as to local church leaders who can coordinate teamwork. They must also see themselves as stewards of the ministry; they refer to

April 10, 2016

Mission & Evangelism

WHAT’S NEXT?: Every Nation, Tribe, People, and Language

We asked several Christian leaders,Â “What should churches served byÂ CHRISTIAN STANDARD strive to be orÂ do or look like in the next decades?” ____ By Cam Huxford During the Christmas holidays a dream came true for me. I had a conversation with a man who shared with me his son”s plan to attend Point University in the fall to begin his preparations for ministry. This young man is a great leader at school and in our student ministry. He is bright, gifted, articulate, likable, and passionate about his faith. He is also from a Hispanic family. As I visited with this father

March 30, 2016

Axioms for Leaders, Part 1

By Jim Tune I”ve thought through ten axioms that are helpful for me as I try to lead others and myself responsibly. Here are five for this week, with five more to follow in next week”s blog: 1. It”s okay to ask for help. There are good people ready and willing to help you. You can”t do this job alone so get all the help you can. Ask for support and then be easy to support. 2. Make mistakes. Mistakes are a great educator when one is honest enough to admit them and willing to learn from them. Gretchin Rubin

March 20, 2016

What Got You Here Won”t Get You There

By Tim Harlow There are some wonderful benefits to leading the same church for 26 years. It”s actually very difficult to make much headway into your community as a church leader without longevity. However, when people ask me for the hardest thing about longevity, this is my answer””what got us here doesn”t usually get us there. I don”t mind change. I don”t mind that I”ve preached through the years of overhead projectors to slide projectors to video to HD video. I don”t mind that I grew up in a church with a bus ministry and a puppet troupe, but I”m

March 1, 2016

Christian Living

Living in the Spotlight

By Mark A. Taylor They were experienced reporters with the Boston Globe, accustomed to encountering shocking facts. And yet they had trouble believing the breadth of the priest pedophile problem in their city. As Spotlight (which Sunday won the Oscar for best picture) tells the story, they came to the truth slowly. From a single incident they found connections to more, from one priest to 13. And by the time they broke the priest child-sex-abuse scandal, almost 90 clerics had been implicated. Since then many hundreds of victims have come forward in Boston alone. And abusing priests have been punished

February 23, 2016

Does Your Ministry Have a Right to Exist?

By Mark A. Taylor Tech expert Shelly Palmer, although sought-after about all things digital, would likely be lost at a church leadership conference. But he wrote something a couple of weeks ago to get any church leader thinking. He titled his blog post, “Does Yahoo Have a Right to Exist in 2016?” And then he proceeded, with two pages of well-researched facts and well-thought opinions, to support his hard answer: “No.” Whether you use the web portal Yahoo or not, his line of reasoning might get your attention. Should you ask his question about your own ministry, congregation, or parachurch?

February 11, 2016

Doctrinal Issues & Debates Theology & Bible

Thinking Theologically

By Mark A. Taylor Our theology affects all our actions and decisions“”how we live and serve and react and decide. But do most Christians and Christian leaders define their decisions by their theology? Can we do this? How? Why should we try? For answers we talked with four church leaders and Bible scholars: “¢ Ben Cachiaras, senior pastor with Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland “¢ Frank Dicken, assistant professor of New Testament at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University “¢ J. K. Jones, pastor of spiritual formation with Eastside Christian Church, Normal, Illinois “¢ Jon Weatherly, dean of the School of Bible

February 2, 2016

Christian Standard Updates News & Updates

Our Continuing Ministry

By Mark A. Taylor CHRISTIAN STANDARD’sÂ contributing editors are a diverse group of men and women from across the country who serve from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. They do not all see everything the same way, but all of them are leading significant ministry among the Christian churches and churches of Christ as they express a deep commitment to Jesus as Lord. Readers will regularly see most of them named as authors of articles and columns in the magazine. But that”s not the only way they contribute. Even more significant is the input they offer about writers and

January 9, 2016

Family & Relationships Parenting

Equipping Parents to Lead Their Family

By Brian Jennings Most scholars agree that Hannah brought Samuel, her son, to the temple around the age of 3 or 4. Even though Samuel was a boy, 1 Samuel 1:28 says, “He worshiped.” Even children can worship, but is the church equippingÂ parents to lead their children to worship? If you are a parent, the sacred responsibility of spiritually leading your children rests primarily on your shoulders. However, life wars against your ability to lead your family well. Busyness wars against you. Frustration wars against you. Stress wars against you. Self-doubt wars against you. Laziness wars against you. Past failure

October 20, 2015

When the Leader Fails

By Alan Ahlgrim Integrity failures comeÂ in all shapes and sizes, and usually at the most inconvenient times, in the most surprising ways, and from the most unexpected directions. Based on my experience and what I”ve learned from others, here”s my advice for a church coping with a leader”s failure. Over the course of my ministry, here”s just a sample of what I”ve been faced with and forced to lead through. “¢ Confronting the chairman of the elders with his adultery with another visible church member. “¢ Navigating the confession of molestation, as a highly respected leader simultaneously admitted his sin

October 12, 2015

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 10, 2015

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

September 17, 2015

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 . . .Â 1. I love serving. This is

September 15, 2015

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 1, 2015

Chasing after Integrity

By Mark A. Taylor The October issue of CHRISTIAN STANDARD is devoted to the theme of integrity. As we finish making final corrections before sending it to the printer this week, I know it contains some of the best material we”ve ever published. Surely the issue will prompt soul-searching in every reader. In a world characterized by concern for image management more than private goodness, even Christians too often fail to walk their talk. But a question has come to me in recent days that we do not consider in those pages. What do we do with integrity failures we

August 31, 2015

Back to the Present

By Eddie Lowen Over the last couple of years, I”ve heard several of my pastor heroes reveal what they would do differently (and the same) if they could start over in church leadership. Those talks have been rich with wisdom. Since I emulated them in multiple ways, I listened closely each time, wondering if they would express regret over something I mimicked. I carry notes from their leadership talks on my phone, an indication of the regard I have for the wisdom of these men. I reread and meditate on them. It seems wise to give weight to the reflections

August 14, 2015

Keeping New Leaders in the Game

By Dave Miller Ministry is hard. Who can help ministers jump the hurdles in their first few years of service? After 13 years of ministry, I was fortunate to jump on a start-up and fly all over the United States to consult in churches. I probably visited 400 churches over the five-plus years I was with that organization. I don”t want to exaggerate here, but I believe I heard some version of this phrase more than 200 times: “Please help us find a youth pastor or kids pastor or worship leader or executive or tech director, etc.” It didn”t matter

July 21, 2015