Tag «Church Answers»

Embracing Collaborative Leadership: Moving Beyond the CEO Model

In recent years, churches and organizations have undergone significant shifts across various facets, spanning from attendance trends to resource allocation and volunteer recruitment. However, one prominent change stands out amidst this evolution: a transition towards collaborative leadership. Gone are the days when leadership simply meant dictating a vision for others to follow. With younger generations…

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7 Reasons Why Pastoral Leadership is So Critical to Producing an Evangelistic Church

If you’ve read much of what I write, you’ve heard me say at some point, “I’ve never seen a strongly evangelistic church without a strongly evangelistic pastor leading them.” I stand by that statement after more than 25 years of evaluating churches. Here’s why I think pastoral leadership is so critical in this task: A…

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A Simple Formula to Determine If Your Church Members Are Too Old

I know. I wrote a provocative title for this article. I changed it several times, but I eventually came back to it. The obvious question is: are the members too old for what? My response is another question, but it could still lack clarity. Are they too old for the church to continue on a…

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Evangelicalism Is Not Dying Among Younger Generations (The Future May Not Be So Grim)

I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church in the 1990s. I was about as evangelical as I could be without knowing what that term meant. I had a closet full of Christian t-shirts, a shelf full of books that I had purchased from Daystar Christian Books in…

How Pastors Get Compassion Fatigue (Plus Ways to Overcome It)

You’ve likely heard of decision fatigue, when someone makes several decisions in a short amount of time and then struggles to make additional decisions. However, compassion fatigue among pastors may be more prevalent. Compassion fatigue is an excessive weariness due to the cumulative effect of caring for, listening to, and helping people with emotional and…

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An Easy Formula to Evaluate Your Church’s Growth (or Decline)

I get it. Numbers are not everything. Indeed, numbers are not the most important thing. But a balanced use of numbers can be helpful. For example, I am frequently asked if churches are growing or declining in the United States since the 2020 pandemic. Church leaders have also asked me how they can evaluate their…

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A Challenge to Pastors and Church Leaders to Consider Further Training

I am a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary who also works with the Church Answers team. My life is wrapped around training church leaders. I love what I do, especially when I get to interact with pastors. Church Answers, of course, offers several options for further training for church leaders, whether you are a…

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The One Unexpected Question That Reveals the Heart of Your Church

At Church Answers, we receive a lot of questions about churches. There are hundreds of daily interactions in our membership forum, Church Answers Central. I also ask many questions when I’m consulting and coaching. Over two decades, I’ve refined the types of questions I ask and the way I ask questions. Some questions don’t elicit…

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Distracted Energy: The Big Three Time Wasters for Pastors (And How to Get Rid of Them Forever)

The pace of ministry can switch from comfortable to chaotic with one phone call. The daily activities of a pastor are often fragmented. Church work often happens in short conversations and activities—10 minutes here, 15 minutes there. Quick, hopscot…

How to Manage a Constant Complainer in the Church

The grouchy grumbler. The negative naysayer. The gloomy pessimist. Complaining has many forms. Not every complaint is toxic. Sometimes, a complaint is warranted and can help to identify problems. Additionally, everyone needs to vent from time to time. But many churches have at least one person who complains about everything. Constant complaining can easily control…

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