Recently in Church Leadership Category

Passion is contagious. Passion will have more of an impact than personality. There is something compelling about leaders who love what they do and do what they love. A leader like this has the power to ignite enthusiasm and dedication in scores of others with whom he has contact. Life is too short to be boring or mediocre. I am one who has always respected, admired, and looked up to leaders with contagious and infectious passion.

Some traditions use set prayers. Others rely on extemporaneous prayers. Both have their place. But I believe what our congregations need most are studied prayers, well prepared, well expressed. These prayers may or may not be read, but will be thought through ahead of time. Publicly leading a church in prayer deserves thoughtful preparation.

Something's wrong. We pastors are the stewards, the spokespeople, the advocates of a message of hope, life, and peace. And yet so few of us seem to be experiencing these qualities in our own lives. Something's wrong. In a world saturated with fear, insecurity, and stress, we are to show a different way. And yet those at the center of the church are burning out and leaving ministry at a rate of 1,500 per month. If that's what's occurring at the heart of the church, why would anyone on the fringe want to move in closer?

"Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all the people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel." (Joshua 1:2)  

When Joshua succeeded to leadership in Israel, there was no doubt in his or anyone else's mind what his commission involved. The charge to him was threefold: lead Israel across the Jordan; engage the pagan nations of Canaan until every last one of them had been expelled from the land which they had so hideously polluted by their idolatry and immorality; and settle the people in their promised districts, according the Word of the Lord.

I remember the first church member who came to me and criticized my preaching. My first reaction was to become defensive. I wasn't sure if the complaint was entirely fair. I also wasn't sure if this complaint was a symptom of a larger problem within the congregation--namely, a desire for control over what I said in the pulpit. I was new to this congregation. It was a small church with a complicated history.