Articles for tag: Ministry: Specialized Leadership

March 28, 2015

Michael C. Mack

The Profit”s Five Steps to Team-Building

All great ideas””ideas that work””come from one ultimate source, regardless of who takes the credit. That may never be truer than in the case of The Profit, a reality TV show about saving small businesses featuring Marcus Lemonis, a businessman, investor, and philanthropist. Building a strong team, says Lemonis, comes down to a simple five-step process””a process we can apply to ministry: 1. Hire (or recruit) the right people. 2. Train them the minute they start. 3. Give them the right tools. 4. Hold them accountable for their performance. 5. Help them along the way. “”Michael C. Mack

March 27, 2015

Christian Standard

Using Evernote for Sermon Illustrations

By Ron Kastens I was told early in my ministry that good illustrations were like gold to a preacher. I kept a metal file cabinet with file folders arranged topically. Whenever I ran across a potential illustration, such as a newspaper story or quote from a magazine, I clipped it out and dropped it in a file folder labeled by topic. If I saw something interesting happening, I typed it up and dropped it in a folder. Then, when I worked on a sermon and needed an illustration about anger or patience or fathers, I could go to the appropriate

March 22, 2015

Christian Standard

Lessons from Lexington

By Sean Plank I”ve always enjoyed watching TV preachers. I know that sounds weird, because most people can”t stand them. To be clear, I”m not talking about the ministers who preach exclusively on TV (a lot of those guys are kind of shady). I”m talking about the pastors and ministers who broadcast their regular worship services on TV. Growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, I would sit in front of the TV on Sunday mornings and watch a couple of guys on the local ABC station, known to me only as “channel 36.” One of the guys I watched was an

March 16, 2015

Christian Standard

To My Brave, Upstanding Trees

By Daniel Schantz The sharp blade of my shovel slices into the soft dirt. I am planting an apple tree. I lift the heavy scoop of brown gold and fling it to the side, and the fragrance of fresh earth meets my nostrils. When the crater is about a foot deep and three feet wide, I stand my bare root apple stock in the middle and spread out the spidery roots. Then, I pack black loam over the roots until the cavity is filled, and stand back to admire my work. There”s not much to see. Just a “stick” about

March 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Balm in Gilead

By Jay Engelbrecht There is balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There”s power enough in heaven, To cure a sin-sick soul. The opening line of an old African-American spiritual answers Jeremiah”s rhetorical question, “Is there no balm in Gilead[?]” (Jeremiah 8:22, King James Version*). In Marilynne Robinson”s novel Gilead, I discovered balm for my soul. The novel”s narrator, a fictional Iowa preacher named John Ames, is dying. He uses his remaining days to write an account of his life for his young son. Three sentences in Gilead changed the way I view 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, which reads: Listen,

March 13, 2015

Christian Standard

The Dangers of Giving Your Life to Ministry

By Susan Lawrence The time and energy ministry takes can infect your family, friends, and, to be honest, just about every aspect of your life. You can burn out, get angry and resentful, and walk away from the faith that originally spurred you into ministry. Giving your life to ministry, whether it”s paid or unpaid, church or mission, home or overseas, is full of contradictions. You give your life to ministry and feel like you lose control. You agree to be set apart, then feel isolated. You”re overwhelmed, yet claim to trust a sovereign God. So, which is it? Are

January 24, 2015

Christian Standard

My Experience Working for a Verbally Abusive Pastor

By P.J. Bierma At first we couldn”t believe what we were hearing, and seeing. And then we struggled to decide how to cope with an ongoing pattern that threatened to undo us. A true story. All names and places have been changed. “Well, ladies, the big conference is next week.”Â  Trudy, head of the women”s ministry was talking to my wife, Annie, and another volunteer helping plan the annual women”s conference. “Since there will be a lot of women coming in from out of town,” Trudy continued, “it would be nice to have someone who could greet all the newcomers.

January 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Do You Have Eyes But Fail to See?

By Tim Harlow I will never forget getting glasses for the first time. I was in fifth grade and was evidently in worse shape than anyone realized, because I was blown away by the clarity I suddenly experienced. I distinctly remember telling my mom, “I can see the leaves on the trees!” Until then, I had no idea there were actual individual leaves on trees. I just thought it was a big green blob on top of a brown trunk. Clarity was amazing. I was reading in Scripture the other day about another blind man, and he had an experience

January 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Faithful and True

By Mark R. Laaser If you were Satan and wanted to bring down the church””all churches and all denominations””what would you do? Attack leadership, of course. Thanks to the Internet, Satan now has that technology, and he is using it. I call addiction to Internet pornography among pastors the tsunami that is threatening to engulf the church. I am an ordained pastor who struggled with sexual addiction, and by the grace of God, found freedom in March 1987 when I went to an inpatient treatment program. Thanks to the intervention of the Holy Spirit and the best clinical resources available at

December 26, 2014

Michael C. Mack

A Greeting Card Ministry with a Potentially Lifesaving Twist

By Michael C. Mack Imagine the feeling of receiving a handwritten envelope and greeting card in the mail for a significant event. Many churches have greeting card ministries that send cards for special occasions as a way of expressing the church”s care for people, acknowledging God”s love for them, and providing an opportunity to plant seeds of truth along with a personal message. Max Hickerson, who retired several years ago after more than 60 years of ministry, has added a simple yet effective ministry especially for church leaders: he sends wedding anniversary cards. “I have done it for many years

December 20, 2014

Christian Standard

Leading Young

By Will Thomas Young ministers can overcome the challenges that have faced them since Paul wrote Timothy. I understand Timothy”s predicament. “Don”t let anyone look down on you because you are young,” the apostle Paul encouraged (1 Timothy 4:12). Timothy was a preacher and in all likelihood younger than most of the people in his church. Been there, done that. I had just turned 19 when I began serving as a minister. I had preached a fair number of sermons as a teenager in my home church and had always been a motivated student of the Bible. But suddenly, a

October 28, 2014

Mark A. Taylor

How to Succeed at Influencing Culture

By Mark A. Taylor How do you measure the success of your ministry? Joe Boyd and Rich Gorman and I talked about that for almost an hour last week in Christian Standard”s monthly Beyond the Standard online interview program, all while trying to address our assigned topic, “Church and Culture.” “The hardest thing about vocational ministry,” Boyd said, “is you never really know if you”ve done a good job or not.” Boyd doesn”t believe numbers alone can tell the story. He spoke about the ministry of Jesus who preached to the thousands but soon had only a dozen followers. And

September 26, 2014

Christian Standard

When Ministry Isn”t Fun

By Susan Lawrence “I have to work hard enough at my job””and I get paid for that. Volunteering for ministry shouldn”t take that much effort. If it”s not going to be fun, I”m not going to waste my time. I have more important things I”d rather do.” It”s the new epidemic of faulty reasoning about serving in the local church. A previous generation often served sacrificially out of obligation or guilt, sometimes at the expense of joy. But too many today refuse to serve if the task doesn”t bring them excitement or at least pleasure. “No one can make me.

September 22, 2014

Christian Standard

Knowing When to Leave

By Mike Shannon One of our greatest problems in life is trying to make godly and wise decisions. We are so desperate to do the right thing that we often lapse into an almost superstitious view of trying to discern the will of God.  I don”t know about you, but I have often had to make decisions when I was not certain what God wanted me to do. Sometimes I thought I was certain, but later had to reconsider. Nowhere is this tension felt more acutely than when we are trying to decide whether or not to stay at a

September 20, 2014

Christian Standard

Advice for Volunteers and Those Who Recruit Them

By Susan Lawrence Change affects people differently. Some people thrive and others struggle. Change excites some and paralyzes others. But ministry and service are not about us or our comfort level. If we”re volunteering to serve and honor God, we need to yield to him. When we yield, we grow. When we grow, we change, and that change includes our service.  But when should we change, and how can we change in healthy ways? What questions do we need to ask?   WHY ARE YOU SERVING? Ask yourself . . . “¢ What is the purpose of the ministry I”m

September 20, 2014

Christian Standard

Quitting Time

By Linda Ahlgrim Ever wonder if it”s quitting time? Every church volunteer has probably faced a time when they felt that way. More often than not, these frustrations arise from interpersonal conflict and should be seen as opportunities to practice humility and become more like Christ, not as reasons to quit.  But sometimes we do need to step away from our ministry. Sometimes quitting is the most unselfish choice we can make.  IT MAY BE QUITTING TIME IF . . .  You need to say “no” to a serving opportunity to make room for God”s bigger “yes” in your life.

August 6, 2014

Christian Standard

Racehorses, Plodders, and Mules

By Jim Tune The words of James Denney ring true to me: “No man can give at once the impression that he himself is clever, and that Christ is mighty to save.” You can impress people with your cleverness or you can impress them with Jesus, but you can”t do both. It”s a common practice in church planting circles to search for a particular “type” of church planter. Competence, calling, giftedness””these characteristics matter when it comes to selecting a lead planter. The organization I lead uses a thorough assessment process to screen candidates for attributes that are useful in predicting

June 22, 2014

Christian Standard

Confessions of a Mission Statement Cynic

By Eddie Lowen I would not trade””for anything””the experience of seeing what happened with our team when we united around the words of our vision and mission. For a long time, I was a skeptic and contrarian regarding church mission statements. To my eye, nearly all were synonymous, so why bother? Besides, isn”t the church”s mission already expressed in Scripture? Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost. He commissioned his followers to preach the good news to everyone. His words are clear and compelling. Best of all, using the words of Jesus does not require several days

May 19, 2014

Christian Standard

Just Hold On

By Tim Harlow I tried to teach my friend how to water-ski. As with most sports, a novice needs to understand some basic things if he is to stand any chance of early success. For example, I”ve been golfing for more than 40 years and I still sometimes forget to keep my head down. There is just no way to hit a golf ball well if you”re trying to watch where it”s going while you”re swinging the club””just no way. With water-skiing there are two mistakes a novice typically makes: (1) trying to pull himself up as he is coming

April 25, 2014

Christian Standard

Ministry Confidential

By Eddie Lowen “Can I speak to you, confidentially?” A church leader is asked some form of this question at least several times a year. Normally it comes from within the church, but it can also be voiced by nonattendees. For relationally gifted leaders with a pastoral bent, requests for confidential conversations are more frequent. The most important response to a request for confidentiality is the initial one. Many church leaders feel an ethical or pastoral obligation to grant the request without qualification. With no clue about what will be reported or confessed, many church leaders indiscriminately reply by saying,

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