Articles for tag: Shared Leadership

August 31, 2018

Jon Weatherly

Differences

E2: Effective Elders Blog Editor’s Note: Each Friday we will publish a new blog post from our partners in ministry, E2: Effective Elders. This is our third installment. We are publishing it here simultaneous to E2’s posting on their site. The leaders of E2 write an article for our print and online magazine every month as well. Those articles are full of wisdom and practical help for elders. Please check them out! _____ By Jon Weatherly When asked to be an elder, I knew only one thing about the job for sure: I didn’t know what I was doing. That might

March 31, 2017

Michael C. Mack

How to Work with ‘Knowledge Workers’ in Your Ministry

By Michael C. Mack In today”s rapidly changing world, the most effective leaders do three things well: ask, listen, and learn. Whether they lead a church with a large number of staff or work directly with key volunteers, church leaders today must work well with “knowledge workers,” those Peter Drucker defines as people who know more about their role than their boss does. In business talent-management circles, managing knowledge workers has become a hot topic of discussion, leading to increased training and coaching of managers in this area. “It is hard to tell people what to do and how to

September 12, 2016

Christian Standard

Mission, Calling, Gifts, and Roles: How the Church Gets Things Done

By Jon Weatherly Human beings are social animals. We don”t simply enjoy being together. We need to be together to survive, let alone thrive. For as long as we”ve existed, we”ve lived together””working, serving, sharing, and trading.  We have divided our labors for efficiency and followed leaders for effectiveness. Family, neighborhood, school, business, city, nation””all are humans in community, getting things done. “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Christ”s church is no less a human community. It is deliberately interactive and communal. It has always divided labor and followed leaders. It has surely succeeded

May 23, 2016

Christian Standard

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,

July 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Next Question

By Jennifer Johnson This past weekend Matt and I had the rare chance for a Friday night date and somehow, after cheesesteaks and The Imitation Game and overpriced desserts at a French bistro, our conversation turned to the future of the church in America. Yes, we are nerds. Yes, this is what happens when a blogger and a pastor get married. I predicted that many of the churches enjoying success today will no longer be recognizable in a few generations, since most communities go through cycles of growth and decline. I predicted that churches will continue to franchise, with large

July 5, 2015

Michael C. Mack

7 Lessons Your Team Can Learn from the Tour de France

By Michael C. Mack One of the most remarkable elements in the Tour de France this month is the peloton. Cyclists ride in tight packs to save energy by drafting””up to a 40 percent reduction in drag in a well-formed peloton””but there are many more advantages, including the encouragement from other riders and the teamwork involved. Here are seven principles for developing great teamwork that we can learn from cyclists: 1. Become a group. Before you can build teamwork, you need to know one another. A great cycling team, as in any sport, spends time together, getting to know one

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

August 24, 2013

Michael C. Mack

The Secret to Small Group Multiplication

This is the time of year to plan for the long-term health, growth, and continual expansion of your small group ministry. Here are some tips for making that happen. By Michael C. Mack One of the most “reproductive” leaders I”ve ever known is Laura. I lost count of how many times her group multiplied. Since she was an expert, I asked her to conduct a training session for other leaders on how to multiply a group. Her response offers a clue to the secret of multiplication: “I have no idea what to teach others about this,” she told me. “It

May 23, 2013

Michael C. Mack

Should Our Small Group Take a Summer Break?

By Michael C. Mack   QUESTION: Some members of our group want to keep meeting as usual through the summer, while others want to take a break. What do you think? ANSWER: Most groups do one of two things over the summer, stop meeting until September or keep going even if attendance is inconsistent. But perhaps these aren”t the only options! Before discussing various other possibilities, let”s look first at the pros and cons of meeting over the summer:   Pros A great small group is like family. A family does not stop being a family over the summer. I

July 28, 2012

Michael C. Mack

Don”t Lead Alone!

By Michael C. Mack How many people can you effectively lead, shepherd, and disciple? Let me ask the question another way: If you want to see true transformation of people”s lives, into how many people can you invest your life? How about Jesus? How many people did he disciple? Three of his four disciples, Peter, James, and John, became Jesus” inner circle or what could be called his core team. Jesus poured his life into these three men, investing into them and modeling a life surrendered to the Father. He took these three away with him to pray and heal, as well

April 6, 2012

Michael C. Mack

Breaking the Ice

By Michael C. Mack Every good small group leader knows a great first meeting starts with some introductions, usually using a fun icebreaker. One of my favorites is called “two truths and a lie.” See if you can identify which of these are factual and which is fictional: (1) I graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Cincinnati where I was a cheerleader. (2) I graduated from Cincinnati Christian University with an MA in church growth, and edited the school newspaper, The Purple & Gold. (3) I founded a ministry called SmallGroups.com and wrote a column called

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