January 1, 2026
Succession and the Church
Few churches handle lead minister succession well, but there are four steps for an effective succession PLAN (Prepare, Look Ahead, Assess, Navigate).
Articles for tag: Retirement planning
Elders! Help Put the “Success” in Succession!
If succession is not done effectively, it may result in the loss of momentum, people, resources, and more. Fully engaged elders help put the “success” in succession.
January 1, 2026
Thriving: The Hit-By-A-Bus Principle
If you serve as an elder or staff member, it’s not just a theoretical question, it’s a vital one. Succession planning is one of the most important, but often most neglected, responsibilities of church leadership.
Leading Well in Ministry: Planning for a Lifetime of Service
You’ve spent your life serving others. You deserve someone who can serve your financial and retirement needs equally as well, so that you can continue to seek first the kingdom of God.
September 1, 2024
The Solomon Foundation Doesn’t Just Believe in this Movement, We Believe in You!
There is no doubt that we at The Solomon Foundation really believe in this movement and that we put our resources and energy to work every day to help the person in a hard and resistant urban environment, the ministry volunteer in a rural church virtually invisible to the world outside of its community, the preacher trying to figure out how to connect more effectively to the community while lifting up the name of Jesus, and the church leadership wanting to reach out to new communities through multi-site. We don’t just believe in this movement; we believe in you!
Beale Takes Helm of Christian Churches Pension Plan
W. Todd Beale succeeded Reggie Hundley as CEO/administrator of the Christian Churches Pension Plan (CCPP) on July 1, and he is continuing the effort to increase visibility of the plan among those who can benefit from it. . . .
July 15, 2020
7 Practical Guidelines When Hiring a Young Leader
The late Donald McGavran, respected missiologist and founding dean of the School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary, identified five kinds of leaders the church must have to thrive locally and have impact globally: 1. Volunteer leaders who focus inward: unpaid leaders who focus their gifts for service on the internal health and growth of the local church body. (Biblical examples: Priscilla and Aquila, Dorcas) 2. Volunteer leaders who focus outward: unpaid leaders who focus their evangelistic passion on the lost and unchurched in the larger unreached community. (Stephen, Philip) 3. Bivocational: leaders who are mostly or entirely self-supporting in order to launch or
January 10, 2018
When Personal Finances Strangle Ministry
By Tom Burbrink, Kim Robinette, and Karen Isaacs People of all stripes have difficulty with personal finances, but it can be even more challenging for ministers. A minister’s life is an open book; his salary might be public knowledge. When a minister struggles with personal finances, it impacts his effectiveness and can even cause him to leave the pulpit. Some of the best ministers are terrible at handling their personal finances. Contributing factors include: A lack of financial training in seminary Absence of teaching on how to keep simple records of ministry expenses An unavailability of people with whom to
February 27, 2017
How Ministers Can Respond to Financial Pressures
By Michael C. Mack CT Pastors recently reported, “Today, 90 percent of pastors feel financial stress in their family and church work, 76 percent of pastors know other pastors who left the ministry due to financial pressures, 31 percent of pastors work a second job to help make ends meet, and almost 60 percent of pastors do not receive health insurance or retirement funds from their church.” We asked pastors: What would help, or what would have helped you in responding well to these circumstances? Here are a few of the responses: “Some problems, not all by any means, could
