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Q. Our congregation recently called an energetic and talented young clergy leader. The congregation loves and respects her leadership. However, there are some problems brewing around work style. She continually disregards her scheduled office hours and doesn’t respond to telephone or email messages in a timely manner. I am head of staff. Is this something […]
Read MoreQ. Everyone knows that our governing board is too large for effective decision making, and yet every time we talk about reducing the size of our board people grow anxious. The conversation gets stuck when leaders assert that we must have a large board to insure good representation. How can we engage a productive conversation about board […]
Read MoreQ. Everyone knows that our governing board is too large for effective decision making, and yet every time we talk about reducing the size of our board people grow anxious. The conversation gets stuck when leaders assert that we must have a large board to insure good representation. How can we engage a productive conversation about board […]
Read MoreLast month, I was invited to be one of the keynote speakers at the United Methodist Quadrennial Training in Nashville. The topic was adaptive leadership. It was invigorating to hear the dialogue among United Methodist leaders about the adaptive challenges they face, and the barriers that stand in their way of addressing those challenges. Here […]
Read MoreRecently, I had the opportunity to listen to Frank Ostaseski speak about Being a Compassionate Companion while accompanying the dying. Frank is a leader/teacher in the Zen Hospice Project. As I listened to Frank speak, I was struck by how well his five precepts for walking with the dying apply to congregational life, when a congregation is in the midst of […]
Read MoreRecently, I had the opportunity to listen to Frank Ostaseski speak about Being a Compassionate Companion while accompanying the dying. Frank is a leader/teacher in the Zen Hospice Project. As I listened to Frank speak, I was struck by how well his five precepts for walking with the dying apply to congregational life, when a congregation is in the […]
Read MoreRecently, author Karen McClintock wrote The Challenge to Change in which she made this claim, “I believe congregations are in decline because they have become shame-bound.” I haven’t been able to get this provocative statement out of my mind. It certainly proves true in my consulting practice, particularly in any situation that involves imaging a […]
Read MoreFor many of us in ministry the use of persuasion and influence, outside of the pulpit, makes us uncomfortable. We don’t want to be seen as manipulative or unethical. So, when we need to convince someone to do something that they wouldn’t do of their own volition, we frame our invitation as a legitimate request (establishing our right as […]
Read MoreWhich Alban Weekly articles were the most read during 2012? The combination of a good title, compelling content, and, frequently, sharing on social media helped make these 10 articles the most popular among our readers. Thanks to all who shared these and other articles on their Facebook pages, wrote about them in their blogs, or […]
Read MoreWhat words would you use to describe the ideal staff team? I frequently pose this question to church leaders and the two words most frequently offered are collaborative and accountable. We want our staff teams to be cooperative, to demonstrate an ease and naturalness in working together that capitalizes on the strength and ingenuity of […]
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