Leadership

Numerical growth is often on the mind of pastors and church leadership.

Living in the Post-Modern era offers a lot of temptation specifically as it relates to the advancement of technology.  It seems right away when kids are born they are handed a smartphone or tablet and begin interacting in the digital world.

As we continue to venture further into the year, whether you made resolutions or not, one thing that is always wise to renew your effort with is personal growth.

Hiring new staff members to your team can be an exciting and yet challenging task. Knowing people are flawed and therefore can’t have every single character trait you are looking for, you have to decide on a few that are essential for the position you are looking to fill.

Our culture continues to change at a rapid rate. The minute we think we have understood a cultural shift and adjusted our approach we recognize it has changed yet again.  The effectiveness of your church is influenced greatly by your understanding of the culture which God has placed your church in.

For many churches the natural path seems to be to add new ministries and initiatives each year with little consideration on the impact on the church as a whole. We need to stop and ask ourselves some questions before adding new programs, such as "How will these new ministries managed?" and "Will the leaders of our church have enough energy for the new ministries to be successful?"

One trend I have seen a lot of churches falling into is the “cool trap.”  They are the kind of churches with pastors who are attempting to be celebrities, to bring about their fame and for people to get to know their name.

The holiday season can be a blessing and a curse for those in church ministry.  On the one hand it’s a time of incredible opportunity: attendance is up, people come with expectation of experiencing God and it fairly easy to come up with sermon and event ideas.

Life is full of conflict. Good vs. Evil. Right vs. Wrong. Michigan vs. Ohio State. Conflict is a normal part of life that can't be avoided. Given that reality, you have a choice to make: What conflicts am I going to embrace, and what conflicts am I going to avoid?

Are there projects, choices and decisions that prevent you from focusing on what's really important in your life and ministry? We've got some ideas on how to reduce the mental clutter and focus on what's important.