Blog
This past week I led a leadership retreat for a group of denominational executive leaders. We used the theme of narratives to explore the shape of leadership they are providing in this difficult chapter of Church life. I loved hearing them share their stories of call and vocation. On the opening night of the retreat many […]
Read MoreThe personnel committee has the potential to be one of the most helpful or most dysfunctional committees at work in the life of the congregation. The personnel committee serves the governing board of the church in an advisory capacity on issues related to personnel administration. It does not exist to manage the interface between staff […]
Read MoreSeveral colleagues have asked for my response to an interview that took place on NPR last week titled, “Annual Job Review is Total Baloney”. I imagine that many of you heard or read the interview as well. The interviewee was UCLA business professor Samuel Culbert who claims that annual performance evaluation is dishonest and fraudulent, and […]
Read MoreThe role of membership director is one of the most confused roles that I encounter in large congregations. Is it an administrative role or a programmatic one? Is it mostly about tracking people, their giving and their whereabouts, or is it about developing programs of assimilation and membership? And how is the role related to […]
Read MoreGreetings Readers! I’m sorry to have been so silent these past few weeks. It’s the end of the program year and that’s a very busy time in the life of an Alban consultant. Every client needs us onsite in late May and early June to get in one last piece of work before the summer hiatus begins. […]
Read MoreLearn more about staffing and supervision.
Read MoreAt some point in time every large church asks the question, “Are we utilizing volunteers the way that we should?” The question usually emerges in the midst of a budgeting or financial planning meeting as leaders grapple with an ever expanding staff budget, or yet another request for an addition to staff. It seems that […]
Read MoreOne of the hardest things for staff teams to figure out is how to handle complaints brought to them about other members of the staff team. Sometimes the complaints are brought by members of the congregation and sometimes they are brought by other team members. We call this process triangulation. Person A has a strained […]
Read MoreThis week I engaged two separate congregations in conversations that initially appeared very different. One congregation contacted me about working with them on strategic planning. The other congregation was interested in talking about creating a multi-site regional ministry, bringing together a thriving large church with several nearby smaller congregations that appear to be failing. Central to both conversations […]
Read MorePastors are symbols of their congregations. The person who occupies the office of pastor must, on some level, embody the culture and mission of the congregation. This phenomenon becomes more pronounced the larger a congregation becomes. In the very large church people who listen to the pastor teach on Sunday morning rarely encounter the pastor […]
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