Articles for tag: church leadership

August 22, 2013

Christian Standard

The Extended Family in America

By Gregory K. Moffatt The phrase extended family largely meant the same thing for generations. These were families living under a single roof, a household that commonly included grandparents, adult children, and other relatives or close family friends. But our evolving culture has changed the meaning of extended family. This change has come about due to economic difficulties, the advent of our digital and mobile culture, and today”s ever-changing multicultural environment. The once distinct lines defining our past concept of family blend into today”s complex cultural melting pot. These changes present critical implications to the Christian church as we attempt

July 26, 2013

Christian Standard

We Carry a Heavy Load

Healthy, active churches need healthy, active leaders. Only a balanced life equips a person to handle the burdens of leadership. By Aaron Wymer “I don”t think so, Elzie. It”s just easier to be a Christian when I”m not an elder.” With these words, or words very much like them, Wayne told my father he wasn”t willing to become an elder at my home church. My dad”s eyes twinkled a little when he told me what Wayne said, but the rest of his face frowned. I could tell dad agreed with him, but couldn”t bring himself to refuse his call to be

July 25, 2013

Christian Standard

Titles or Testimonies?

By Tim Harlow In his book Who Switched the Price Tags? Tony Campolo tells of an African-American pastor who was preaching to some students who were about to graduate. He said, “Children, you are going to die! One of these days the hearse is going to take you to the cemetery, drop you in a hole and everyone”s going back to the church to eat potato salad. When you were born, you were crying and everyone else was happy. Here is the question, “˜When you die, will you be the only happy one with everyone else crying?” The answer depends

July 7, 2013

Christian Standard

40 Under 40: Melissa Hofmeister

MELISSA HOFMEISTER Assistant director of networks and recruiting, Stadia Melissa Hofmeister has emerged as a leader within the church, while keeping her roles as Christ follower, wife, and mom as priorities. In the coming years, her influence on the Christian church will reach far and wide as she connects high-capacity, world-changing leaders to more than 45 Stadia church plants in the United States and Latin America. She”ll influence Muskego, Wisconsin, as God uses Melissa and her husband to transform lives through the new church they just planted. And most importantly, she will influence the mission field of the three boys

July 2, 2013

Christian Standard

40 Under 40: Aaron Brockett

AARON BROCKETT Lead pastor,  Traders Point Christian Church,  Indianapolis, Indiana “Masterful” was the only word in the e-mail I sent to Aaron on a Monday morning to comment on his sermon of the day before. It was the best word I could think of to express appreciation and to convey encouragement. Actually, there are many Monday mornings that this procedure could be repeated without becoming trite or overused. Aaron”s teaching is relevant while firmly grounded in Jesus and his story . . . lengthy but highly engaging . . . delivered without notes yet extremely well-prepared. He is straightforward but

July 2, 2013

Christian Standard

40 for Today and Tomorrow

By Mark A. Taylor We liked the sound of “40 Leaders Under 40″ when we first started playing with the idea late last year. But could we even find 40 parachurch or local church leaders making an influence outside their own community or constituency? We immediately thought of a few men and women all of us should be watching. They”re setting trends, living as examples, blazing new paths, and at the same time lifting up the ancient gospel with fresh images to attract a new generation. But 40 of them? We didn”t think so. And then we started asking. We

July 1, 2013

Christian Standard

Students Need Practical Skills Along with Big Ideas

By Jennifer Johnson Higher education is not known for its pragmatism. For every course in biology basics there”s another in “The Science of Superheroes” (University of California, Irvine). For every Spanish 101 there”s “Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond” (University of Texas at Austin). For every fundamentals of accounting, there”s “Street-Fighting Mathematics” (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). And that”s OK. As the cliché goes, part of being educated is “learning how to learn.” There”s value in interacting with ideas simply for the sake of enrichment, even without any immediate vocational payoff. But Dave Miller at Nebraska Christian College also makes a good

June 29, 2013

Michael C. Mack

Five Ways to Make July the Best Month Ever for Your Small Group

By Michael C. Mack July is the most important month of the year for the health and development of your small group. You may think I”ve spent too much time in the sun: Some groups are not even meeting through the summer; attendance is down in other groups; weekly meetings have been bumped by trips to the beach and baseball games. I”m not as crazy as you might think, however. Over the years, I”ve noticed groups that are growing and making an impact are involved in at least five vital practices during July.   Pray Research has shown the most

June 17, 2013

Christian Standard

Keepers

By Eddie Lowen   When staff members demonstrate these qualities, hang on to them. “Would you hire him again?” The question was asked by the lead pastor of a faraway church who was deep into the process of hiring away one of our ministers. After I answered, there was an awkward pause, and then he asked, “Are you serious?” Hiring staff is an intimidating responsibility for senior leaders of churches. While there aren”t many horrible people in ministry, there are plenty you don”t want. They survive by knowing how to talk a good game. So, be afraid””be very afraid””afraid enough, at

May 30, 2013

Christian Standard

Moving Beyond Average

By Phil Scott   Of the more than 350,000 churches in America, 85 percent are stagnant or declining in membership. This means that “average” churches are actually unhealthy. Healthy growth comes to churches that rise above being typically average. The need of the day is unaverage churches. Average congregations are led by a small number of key older men and some women, paid and volunteer, who replaced previous older leaders. The strong influence of the charter members, founding fathers and mothers, or the founding pastor may be unknown or gone. The first generation is made up of the founding mothers

May 24, 2013

Christian Standard

“˜Do Unto Others”

By Barney Wells After four decades of church leadership as a minister, elder, and lately as a church consultant, I have come to see the importance of a simple rule that is too often overlooked. But if it were followed, it would make life for elders, church staff, and congregations more harmonious. And very likely it would lead the watching world to take a higher view of the church. That rule is twice mentioned in Scripture (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31), children memorize it in Sunday school, and it is stamped on pencils and cross-stitched on samplers. We call it

May 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Do You Measure What Matters?

Some churches and church leaders avoid measuring ministries in the church out of fear or from a desire not to be held accountable. Are you afraid of discovering something you don”t want to know? By Kent E. Fillinger “The church is in a difficult time. But the church doesn”t understand it”s in a difficult time because it doesn”t know the truth about itself,”* said Dave Peterson, senior pastor of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas. “Rich Stearns [president of World Vision] observes that a segment within the Christian culture seems to say, “˜We”re good people doing good things, and

April 27, 2013

Christian Standard

Changing Church Culture

By Jim Powell Recently, several leaders from a local church asked to meet with me to discuss their congregation”s decline. They wanted advice on how to turn things around. When I sat down to visit with them, I noticed all of their questions were exclusively programmatic in nature. What kind of music do you play? What do you wear on Sundays? How do you present announcements? Do you serve coffee and doughnuts? There is value in asking such questions because we need to contextualize the gospel, and having relevant methods can make a difference. Yet I was concerned that they

April 14, 2013

Christian Standard

The Chemistry Quotient

By Carl Kuhl Have you heard about The Three Ingredient Cookbook? True to its name, every recipe has only three ingredients. One of my friends got it as a wedding present when she was inexperienced in the kitchen, the idea being that even she would be capable of these recipes. But here”s the thing about The Three Ingredient Cookbook: if you leave out one of the ingredients, it doesn”t work! Some more complicated recipes call for a dozen or more ingredients, and if you are out of one particular spice, you usually can omit it with no problem. But when

April 12, 2013

Christian Standard

It”s Hard to E-mail Your Way Through Matthew 18

By Jim Dalrymple It has been said, “Wherever two or more are gathered, there will be conflict.” In today”s digital world, conflict speaks a new language. Yet text tapped out on a screen comes with limitations and liabilities. Let”s face it””e-mails do not convey vocal inflection, and text messages do not allow for body language. It is too easy to fire off e-mails like cannonballs from a ship. All too often such exchanges between two people also bring others into the battle. In my experience with conflict, it is hard to e-mail your way through Matthew 18. In Matthew 18:15-20,

April 11, 2013

Christian Standard

How to Handle Criticism

By Ryan Connor Criticism cuts deep. It cuts marriages apart. It cuts friendships to shreds. For those in church leadership, criticism cuts the legs out from under their ministries. Criticism cuts us down. But it can also cut us open and show us what we might not otherwise see. Criticism may present opportunities for important and needed change. In short, criticism cuts both ways. Criticism is an insult attached to a complaint. The problem is blamed on a defect in the other person”s character, typically with global terms like always and never. For example, a spouse may complain to her

April 7, 2013

Christian Standard

When Conflict Comes Home

By Tom Lawson So, how do you keep church conflict from impacting your home life? The short answer is you can”t. If you”re in church leadership, serious church conflict will, in various ways, impact your family life. Church leaders, however, are not alone in this. Nearly all employed adults in America experience tensions and conflicts in their workplace that, at times, spill over to impact their home life. Church conflicts have characteristics of both workplace conflicts and family feuds. They can be conflicts over power, programs, strategic direction, allocation of resources, and dysfunctional patterns of corporate communication. And some church

April 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Embracing Conflict, Spreading the Gospel

By Mark A. Taylor As much as we might like to avoid the subject of conflict at church, the fact is we can”t. In fact, if your church is not experiencing conflict now, it”s safe to say it probably has. Or it will. Our best strategy is not to pretend conflict doesn”t exist or to assume all conflict is wrong. Instead, we”ll do well to anticipate conflict and find godly ways to handle it. The first step may be to embrace the potential of conflict. It”s OK to disagree with each other. Too many Christians harbor the notion that unity

March 2, 2013

Christian Standard

Wanted: Titus 2 Women

By Sheila S. Hudson When I was a rookie minister”s wife, a gentle lady named Merle took me under her wing. Merle was a retired schoolteacher “clothed with strength and dignity” who could “laugh at the days to come” (Proverbs 31:25). Her wisdom earned respect communitywide, while her “never-grow-up attitude” endeared her to believers and nonbelievers alike. Her husband was an extraordinary elder whose wisdom earned esteem in all arenas. Miss Merle modeled Titus 2:3, “Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what

March 1, 2013

Christian Standard

Christian Colleges on the Move!

Read these reports from Christian colleges around the world to discover their progress, plans, and creative initiatives to educate Christian leaders for tomorrow.   Boise Bible College Boise Bible College develops well-equipped servant leaders with integrity and a biblical worldview for the global church. Classroom instruction, campus events, and practical ministry opportunities help BBC students grow in knowledge and faith. The college begins the year with a rafting trip and an all-school retreat that allows staff, returning students, and new students to get to know each other while growing spiritually. Students are involved in off-campus service events like “Rake-up Boise”

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