Articles for tag: Leadership Journal

May 20, 2016

Michael C. Mack

Three Options to Save an Endangered Church from Extinction

By Michael C. Mack A cultural and economic storm threatens many small and midsize churches. “Unless we respond to this coming tsunami,” says Karl Vaters, pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California, “churches like mine will soon be as rare as printed newspapers, landline phones, and brick-and-mortar bookstores.” Especially churches in large metropolitan areas with a mortgage and a pastor”™s salary to pay, will start to disappear over the next couple of decades, says Vaters in the fall 2015 issue of Leadership Journal. Cornerstone has experienced a turnaround in attendance, number of volunteers, and ministry over the past

November 29, 2015

Christian Standard

Moving On

By Bob Mink I had the privilege of planting Discovery Christian Church (originally Moreno Valley Christian Church) in 1984 in a small but rapidly growing distant suburb of Los Angeles. I was 33 years old at the time, and our family moved from the Greater Philadelphia area. On our 30th anniversary in 2014, I stepped down as senior pastor. Looking back, I now realize the transition began in 2011, when one of our associate pastors left our church to become campus minister at his alma mater. I was fully supportive of the move, but after almost 27 years, I was worn down and

October 27, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Nothing More Valuable

By Mark A. Taylor Maybe most wouldn”t suspect that loneliness, discouragement, temptation, and insecurity are companions of the person leading their church””especially growing, dynamic ministries like those led by the four guests in our most recent Beyond the Standard podcast. But each of them””Ben Cachiaras, Tim Harlow, Eddie Lowen, and Greg Nettle””admitted to at least one of these problems. And all four credited their association with each other as a key to rising above barriers to emotional and spiritual health. They”ve created a group where they”ve found the freedom to confess sins, share doubts, discuss problems and possibilities, and discern

October 18, 2014

Christian Standard

The Need to Read Widely

By Bert Crabbe I love books, especially old ones. I love my Kindle too, but ultimately, I”m an ink and paper guy. The great benefit of being able to travel light and still have an abundance of reading material with me keeps me tethered to my tablet when I”m away or in the air. But at home? There”s nothing quite like the feel of a book in my hands. However you”re taking in your media, “Pastors need to read” seems a widely accepted (and fairly self-evident) maxim, and for more reasons than one. If you”re a preacher, that means you”re

September 1, 2014

Christian Standard

The Formula for Busting Ministry Burnout

By Michael C. Mack Leadership Journal asked its readers, “Have you experienced burnout in ministry?” (Winter 2014). While the results show a high degree of leader burnout, the good news is that more than half of the respondents are either enduring the challenges of burnout or have dealt successfully with it. Here is how readers responded: Christian counselor, author, and speaker John Townsend has provided a cure for leadership burnout using the following mathematical structure: In an ideal world, he says, a leader should have resources that equal, or exceed, responsibilities. But a large number of responsibilities with very few

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

October 19, 2012

Christian Standard

My Two-Pronged Strategy: Resources for Bible Teaching (Part 2)

By Bert Crabbe It”s a widely held maxim among students of church growth that churches tend to rise and fall on their preaching. While it”s not the only important thing, it seems evident a church can get a lot of things wrong and still thrive if the preaching is good. Conversely, a church can do everything else right and still fail if the preaching is bad. So how do preachers keep coming up with great ideas? Assuming the preacher is already spending regular time in God”s Word, I think a two-pronged strategy works best. First, read WIDELY. Begin with periodicals.

July 14, 2012

Christian Standard

Meeting Needs & Saving Souls

By Randall R. Childress A recent movement among churches is “Don”t go to church””Be the church.” The idea is that instead of gathering for worship, the church should be out in the community doing good in the name of Christ. But sometimes well-meaning Christians focus on “doing good” and forget the “in the name of Christ.” The church is not a humanitarian society so much as an evangelistic one. I thought about the church meeting needs and saving souls when I read a comment by Drew Dyck, managing editor of Leadership Journal, in the Winter 2012 issue. “My church is big

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