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At our wedding, we played Louis Armstrong’s famous song, What a Wonderful World. That song would later become pretty problematic for me because of some poorly formed theology, some of which you may be familiar with. The world is bad and evil, as are al…
This isn’t a private message, but it is a deeply personal one. This morning, I opened my Bible to Isaiah 50:4-9, one of the passages assigned for this coming weekend in The Revised Common Lectionary. And God met me there. The first few lines of the pas…
What do Pentecostal women ministers want? Opportunities to lead, two Church of God scholars say. MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2014 Women in Pentecostal ministry overwhelmingly believe that they should be able to serve at all levels of church leadership, said James Bowers and Kim Alexander, two Church of God scholars. “And they don’t just believe it; …
Jason Moore says churches should stop beginning their worship with boring announcements and instead give worshipers an overview of what’s coming and why it matters to them. Announcements can be reframed as action steps flowing from the theme of the sermon and presented at the end of the service. One common way we start worship […]
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Trust is fragile, says Bonnie Ives Marden. And finances, if not handled correctly, can be a source of worry rather than security. She outlines seven policies for institutional trust and financial integrity that reduce confusion and conflict while at the same time encouraging generosity to support your mission. To celebrate the Lewis Center’s anniversary, we […]
The post 7 Policies Every Church Needs for Trust and Transparency appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.
No one looks forward to dealing with difficult issues, but confronting problems is an essential part of being an effective leader. Chris Sonksen outlines four wrong approaches and six more constructive ways to handle difficult conversations if division, dissention, mission drift, or other difficulties plague your leadership teams or staff. You know in your heart […]
The post 10 Dos and Don’ts for Handling Difficult Conversations appeared first on Lewis Center for Church Leadership.
The word ‘leadership’ is about an act of guidance and providing direction to others. Church leadership isn’t any different; but along with providing guidance, it’s also about how the leader behaves, communicates, and manages. Seeing church leaders as servants has not always been the case, but when Paul spoke to Timothy about his role as …
When you think of the best people to fill church leadership roles and responsibilities, you don’t consider the faint-hearted. A church leader needs to be a Godly leader, a role model, and a guidance giver – not only for your church members but for everyone else in the community too. They mentor and encourage people, …
At BELAY, we’ve been helping busy leaders for over a decade, and we’ve learned, no matter what organization you lead, finances are paramount to your success – and church finances aren’t any different. Poorly managed church finances can hurt a pastor’s ability to lead church members and reach the local community. After all, very little…
The post How To Avoid These Costly Financial Mistakes Your Church Could Be Making appeared first on Church Answers.
Can you lead a church without proper authority? Yes, but it is more challenging and complex. I’m assuming most church leaders would rather not step into a situation where they have the responsibility to shepherd without the corresponding authority. But there are churches with misaligned power structures in desperate need of good pastors. What if…
The post Leading a Church When the Wrong People Hold Power appeared first on Church Answers.