Articles for tag: Leadership Development

September 7, 2008

Christian Standard

Golf Scores & Dashboards: Keeping Track of How the Church Is Doing

By Dave Ferguson Golfer 1: “What was your score?” Golfer 2: “Seventy-two.” Golfer 1: “That”s not too bad at all!” Golfer 2: “Thanks! I hope I”ll do better on the second hole.” When a golfer steps up to a tee, he knows how to keep score. It”s simple: Every time he hits the ball it counts as a stroke. At the end of 18 holes, he tallies up how many strokes he took, and that is his score. WHAT”S THE SCORE AT YOUR CHURCH? So, how does your church keep score? Usually churches keep score by counting the attendance and

July 20, 2008

Christian Standard

ONLINE EXTRA: Making Disciples–An Interview with Ethan Magness

By Darrel Rowland His title alone””spiritual formation pastor””is enough to tell you that Ethan Magness of Mountain Christian Church near Baltimore, Maryland, does not hold a typical ministerial position. He is a leader in Mountain”s wide-ranging effort to make disciples and the primary author of The Walk, a 226-page book to help Christians grow. Here he talks about some of the barriers and opportunities to making disciples in the 21st-century church, including the contention of some critics that too many churches are entertaining attendees instead of teaching them to follow Jesus. Is the “entertaining rather than teaching” problem new? I

May 4, 2008

Christian Standard

Making an Impact

By Michael Brown Externally focused churches ask, “If our church were not here, would we be missed in the community?” I”ve taken this to a personal level and asked myself, “If I were to leave the community today, would anyone notice?” The question helps me realize how many actual relationships I do or do not have outside of the church. It”s easy for ministers and other church leaders to get caught up in lesson writing, counseling, strategic planning, and other “church work,” only to miss what is going on in the lives of people around us. Three key elements have

April 20, 2008

Christian Standard

Leading Men

By Jennifer Taylor You know the statistics: fewer men are going to church. And although the most urgent concern is helping those men meet Jesus, churches also face a second problem: if men aren’t attending church, they’re definitely not leading the church. Even men who do attend may remain spiritually immature; many lack role models, biblical knowledge, and awareness of leadership expectations. Three churches are creating and adapting programs to reverse these trends and build groups of men equipped for service as husbands, fathers, teachers, and even elders. From ornery middle school boys to retired business executives, these congregations disciple,

December 2, 2007

Christian Standard

How Emmanuel School of Religion Is Training Second-Career Ministers

By Robert F. Hull Jr. Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee (www.esr.edu) Like most seminaries, Emmanuel annually welcomes older students transitioning into vocational ministry from other careers. Most of these students are interested in traditional degree programs, including three who entered in the fall. ESR is also eager to serve those who can come to campus for only short periods of time or can benefit from the educational opportunities the school exports to churches. Campus-based programs will increasingly be centered in three new institutes that have already begun to sponsor some programs ideal for second-career ministry staff: The Institute

October 7, 2007

Christian Standard

Cultivating Church Leadership Through Internships

By Kevin Stone As Christ”s Church of the Valley”s executive pastor, I receive e-mails like this all the time from church leaders around the country: “I”m looking to release a new employee manual, do you have anything I can use?” “We”re revising our bylaws; can I get a copy of yours to read for input?” “We”re about to begin a capital campaign, what consultant do you recommend?” By far, though, the queries I receive most are from pastors with key leadership positions to fill. Good people are hard to find and lack of leadership people can and will hamper a

July 29, 2007

Christian Standard

Testimony of a Coach

By Bob Harrington This spring I led a group of 16 lead pastors from megachurches through a two-day “Group Coaching Seminar.” Roughly half the participants were senior leaders of churches with more than 3,000 in weekend attendance (the largest one being more than 12,000). The other half were senior leaders (usually younger) of churches averaging about 1,000. It was a profound experience, an emotional and intense two days. I”m sure I learned more than anyone else in the room. This article is my attempt to pass on my top 10 insights so that other leaders can learn with me. I

March 5, 2006

John Faust

church elders

Our Acorn-to-Oak Story

John Faust reflects on four early elders at Southeast Christian Church and the leadership qualities that helped lay a lasting foundation—quality, trust, unity, and availability—for the church’s growth in Louisville.

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