Leadership
7 Ways to Recover As a Leader After You’ve Messed Up
The dreams of most leaders of small and even mid-sized organizations often go unrealized. Why? We all make mistakes. Almost daily. Okay, daily. We’re human. Some mistakes go unnoticed. So you take notes and hope not to repeat. But what…
5 Stubborn Leadership Myths You Should Abandon Immediately
How do you know you haven’t fallen for a leadership myth that simply isn’t true? Answer: sometimes you don’t. Too many leaders hold a few damaging core beliefs that simply aren’t true. Myths are everywhere in our culture. It’s not that…
5 Things Every Small To Mid-Sized Church Struggles With
Of all the subjects I deal with on this blog, church size generates a LOT of reaction and emotion. This post on why most churches never break the 200 attendance mark struck a deep nerve. As I outline in my course, Church Growth Masterclass,…
Why So Many Church Leaders Struggle With Their Faith
There’s a secret many leaders won’t readily tell you. One of the most difficult aspects of Christian leadership is keeping your relationship with God fresh and alive. It’s amazing to me that a frequent casualty of Christian leadership is a…
The Post-Modern Church Leader’s Survival Checklist
Question: What does it take to survive in today’s church leadership environment as culture moves away from Christianity and into a more pluralistic, post-modern environment? Answer: More than it used to, and likely more than you think. The good news is…
5 Reasons You Should Stop Taking Leadership SO Personally
One of the problems I struggled with for years in leadership was taking every leadership triumph or set back so personally. I let the dynamics of leadership go to my head and heart too often. My spirits soared when things…
5 Signs Your Passion Level in Ministry is White Hot
If there’s one characteristic I see in successful leaders, it’s passion. The more church leaders I connect with, the more I see this trend: leaders of growing churches (and growing organizations) have a white hot passion for their mission. You…
7 Practical Leadership Insights From Our Move Into Our New Building
Whether you’re doing a building project or not, building projects can be an opportunity to learn some leadership insights. You learn a lot about yourself, your church or organization and even the culture during something as tangible and intensive as…
12 Often Overlooked Practices Great Leaders Develop That Poor Leaders Don’t
Ever wonder what separates great leaders from poor leaders? Ever wonder whether you’re developing the practices and qualities of great leadership? I’ve met more than a few ineffective leaders who have great intentions, but just haven’t developed the skills and attitudes that…
The Evangelism Crisis: How Evangelism is Changing
Almost every Christian leader I talk to has a passion for reaching people who don’t know Christ. But as we’ve seen before, our culture and church attendance patterns are changing so rapidly that many of the methods we’ve used to tell…
11 Secrets Most Church Leaders Won’t Tell You
Leadership is a journey…a journey that’s probably different (and full of more secrets) than you thought it would be before you stepped into leadership. When I was young, I always thought leaders had it all figured out. That the uncertainty…
25 Pieces of Advice for Young Leaders
If you’re a younger reader (which most of you are), I have some great news. Now over 50, I have as much or more energy than I did a decade or two ago, a much better sense of who God…