October 6, 2025
Ozark Christian College Receives $1 Million Lilly Grant
Ozark Christian College has been awarded a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to fund Lincoln Seminary's Lifelong Leaders Initiative.
Articles for tag: Pastoral Leadership
How Should We Respond to the Never-Ending News Cycle?
In a culture filled with bad news, may God give us wisdom to lead graciously and share boldly the good news of Christ.
Is There a Vision?
People need to experience purpose in their relationship with Christ and effective leaders must set goals that reflect their vision for the church in creating that purpose.
July 1, 2024
Fences, Freedom, and Fellowship
In my study of our Restoration Movement heritage, it seemed leaders were more concerned with eradicating fences than erecting them. That value has been overlooked by some. . . .
November 1, 2022
You Don’t Have What It Takes!
A Fresh Look at the Gifts of the Spirit
October 4, 2022
Emmanuel Partners with Local Churches to Launch Ministry Fellows Program
Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan has created a pathway for students to gain paid ministry experience by partnering with churches in the Johnson City, Tenn., area.
November 1, 2021
Ministry Mistakes
By Don Wilson In more than 50 years of ministry, I’m not sure I have ever gone to a conference where speakers shared their greatest leadership failures and mistakes. I have, however, been to many conferences where pastors and leaders shared their greatest ministry success stories. If we are not careful, we unknowingly can discourage pastors who feel like failures because they don’t experience similar successes. I want to share four of my mistakes in ministry—and what I have learned from them—in the hope it will encourage others. Mistake No. 1: Believing All Church Leaders Want Their Church to Grow
March 30, 2021
‘An Antidote to Loneliness’ for Pastors
Loneliness is a perpetual problem among pastors, and it only has intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to two experts who specialize in care for pastors—Dr. Wes Beavis and Alan Ahlgrim. “There’s not a pastor out there who does not need authentic friendships,” Beavis said.
February 2, 2019
Can Creatives Be Effective Lead Pastors?
By Ryan Rasmussen When I was a kid, I had a notepad that traveled most places with me. Hidden inside were doodles of, well, a little bit of everything. Floor plans of my dream house were wedged between drawings of my favorite comic book characters and sketches of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I know it seems odd to think of a 13-year-old boy drawing princesses, but my dream at the time was to become an artist for Disney and I was trying to sharpen my craft. Don’t judge me. Eventually my notepad and I grew apart and I found
January 2, 2018
The Tyranny of Numbers
By Jerry Harris I live every day with the tyranny of numbers. It’s everywhere I look, around every corner, in every closet, reminding me of the truth, the oftentimes painful truth. When I get up in the morning, the tyranny of numbers is waiting on the bathroom scale display. It’s in my Weight Watchers app on my phone, in my budget, my bills, and my bank balance. As a pastor, I face the tyranny of numbers when I see last week’s attendance, the offering number, and the number of baptisms. I live with the tyranny of numbers when I look
May 23, 2016
The Weight of Leadership
By Tim Harlow There is always a great deal of chatter among my peers about succession planning and the right time to step away from leadership of the local church. I have been at my post for 26 years and would like to make it another 14. But I am only one year away from the senior discount at IHOP. If that weren”t bad enough, it also means that next year I qualify for the 55+ Ministers and Wives Conference. Ben Merold spoke this year! How can I be in the same category as Ben Merold? I interned under him,
August 29, 2015
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence
By Michael C. Mack “Pete, I”m leaving the church.” “I sat still, too stunned to respond,” says Pete Scazzero, founder of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, New York, and author of several books, including The Emotionally Healthy Church. “When a church member says, “˜I”m leaving the church,”” Scazzero continues, “most pastors don”t feel very good. But when your wife of nine years says it, your world is turned upside down.” Scazzero says while he was a successful senior minister by external measures, he was emotionally immature, “a workaholic for God and failing at home as a husband and father.”
December 29, 2014
Church/Christian College Joint Ventures
By Jennifer Johnson Although this NACC workshop was designed to find new ways for churches and colleges to work together, some are already leading the way with innovative programs and creative solutions. “¢ Hope International University, Fullerton, California, created its School of Advanced Leadership Training, or SALT, program several years ago after its president, Dr. John Derry, observed the increasing number of churches creating their own leadership training programs. Derry and his team created a flexible curriculum to offer practical and biblical material to church members and staff at a range of commitment levels. “Participants may audit the courses for
December 20, 2014
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
September 4, 2014
Thinking Big
By Jennifer Johnson I looked forward to speaking with Robert Bess because of the similarities between his church and ours. (See Related Article.) Â Like Robert”s church in Tennessee, Levittown (PA) Christian Church, where my husband, Matt, serves as pastor, has grown from just a few families to about 100 people. And like Robert, Matt is not content for LCC to stay so small when so many thousands in our community still need Jesus. He spent much of this summer meeting with other local pastors, casting vision with the influencers and leaders in our own congregation, and reading widely to see
January 7, 2013
How Do You Define Your Leadership? Tom Plank
By Tom Plank Fifty years ago, when I began my ministry, no one was talking about leadership, so everything I have learned has been by trial and error. One thing I have learned is that leadership begins at the top with the minister. People will not follow what you say so much as what you do. Set the example. All too often I have been around ministers who expected to be first in line for a carry-in dinner and the first to receive a compliment. These are the ministers who lose their effectiveness because they leave the impression it is
May 19, 2012
What Every Leader Needs
By Kent E. Fillinger A national study1 of pastoral leaders by Austin Presbyterian Seminary asked the questions: “Does participation in a pastoral leader peer group make a difference? And does participation in a pastoral leader peer group make a difference in congregations?” The APS study found that in the last five years, 72 percent of the pastoral leaders polled participated regularly in a small group of peers for continuing education and support. Christian Standard”s survey showed that 76 percent of the 232 senior ministers surveyed participated regularly in a peer group last year. The APS study found that leaders in
August 9, 2011
Show Me the Glory
By Tim Harlow “Show me the glory” sounds like a rip-off of a famous movie line””but it”s quite a bit older. Moses was charged with the greatest (and hardest) leadership position in human history. How do you lead people who don”t want to be led? How do you lead people God doesn”t even like anymore? After the golden calf incident, Moses pleaded with God to spare the lives of the members of his “church.” And God did, but he”d had enough of them and decided to send an angel to lead them because he was DONE. (I believe God was
May 23, 2010
Leading People Toward Redemption and Restoration (Part 2)
By Ken Swatman Read part 1 of this 3-part series “He that falls into sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint; that boasteth of it, is a devil.” “”Thomas Fuller, The Holy State and the Profane State On the Day of Pentecost, Peter stood before the thousands who had gathered and confronted them about two great truths: that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and that they had sinned against Jesus. When the people heard Peter”s confrontational words, they were “cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “˜Brothers, what shall we
May 16, 2010
Leading People Toward Redemption and Restoration (Part 1)
By Ken Swatman As ministers and church leaders, we see sin every day in our communities, congregations, families, and in ourselves. We are called by God to recognize sin, confront it, and bring it into the light of Jesus. We are no more on the front line of sin”s personal battle than anyone else, but as servant-leaders in Christ”s body, we often must assume the roles of confrontational authority and navigator of the deep waters of redemption, repentance, and restoration. In this three-part series, I will look at some practical issues we face as we lead people down this path.
