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In this video Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, talks about why such a small percentage of women make it to the top of their professions. I believe that the lessons she shares are applicable to, and prophetic for the world of congregations. The pulpit in the large congregation, for better or worse, represents the top of the […]
Read MoreIn this video Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, talks about why such a small percentage of women make it to the top of their professions. I believe that the lessons she shares are applicable to, and prophetic for the world of congregations. The pulpit in the large congregation, for better or worse, represents the top of the […]
Read MoreIn the 1980’s, literature and workshops about assimilating new members were the rage in church circles. People were paying serious attention to declining attendance in the mainline church. The assimilation genre of literature was a massive response to the question, “Why are attendance and membership numbers showing such rapid decline?” It was before we were talking […]
Read MoreClergy leaders in the large church must come to terms with the idea that administration is a form of ministry. Those who cannot understand administration as ministry quickly burn out in the role, always frustrated as they try to get administration “out of the way” so that they can get back to the real tasks […]
Read MoreThe large church never met a program that it didn’t like. The leadership default position in the large congregation is to add programming every time someone wants to enhance impact or pursue excellence. Every new strategic planning process results in the layering on of new programs without winnowing out the old. The hint that any small […]
Read MoreMost congregations like to pin overall responsibility for growth on the senior clergy leader. Fundamentally, most of us still believe that outstanding preaching and worship is what draws people into the large congregation. These two areas of congregational life are under the direct oversight of the senior pastor; therefore, the senior pastor is the “one” […]
Read MoreCongregations love to advocate on behalf of youth ministry…at least in principle. At some point in every congregational planning process someone stands and issues the battle cry, “We need to be doing a better job with our youth. They are the future of our church. If we have a thriving youth program, the church will […]
Read MoreWho participates in strategic planning in the large congregation? We all know that the overall responsibility for creating a strategic plan resides with the governing board. The board is responsible for the strategic leadership of the congregation. But when it comes to actually formulating the plan, who is involved? Does the board as a whole […]
Read MoreThis post is for those of you who attended, “Stepping Up to Staffing and Supervision” last week in Atlanta. Here is my promised description, with examples, of an effective performance goal. (See what happens when you articulate your expectations, set measurable objectives and establish time frames? People actually step up to meet those expectations . […]
Read MoreCongregations that employ more than one pastor often grapple with the authority relationships between those two pastors, particularly in congregations that call their pastors and embrace a congregational form of polity. Increasingly, these congregations are inquiring about, or exploring, co-pastorate relationships. I’m using the terminology here to refer to a relationship in which there is […]
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