by Tim Woodroof The conversion of Saul drained much of the energy from the persecution that had scattered the Jerusalem church. The arrests and seizures dwindled. So long as Christians kept their heads down, the Jerusalem authorities decided to leave them more-or-less alone. When word of that spread, believers began to drift back to the […]
by Grady King Some people think they can just say anything to a minister–respectful or not and it’s okay. It’s not. When it comes to how to treat a minister, the Golden Rule still applies–“do to others as you would have them do to you” (Mt 7.12). Or, does it? Four decades of ministry. […]
Authors : Grady King
Tags : Healthy Church
by Grady King It’s over. The long awaited day when the minister would say his last parting words to a church has come and gone. Whether choosing to leave on good terms, follow a new call, or being terminated, there is grief. The emotions run the gamut from deep sadness and grief to relief. Some church […]
Authors : Grady King
Tags : Transitions
by Jim Martin How do you stay sane when there is so much craziness that surrounds ministry? Good question. Craziness is everywhere! It seems to be a constant in this broken, unredeemed world. Everyone has to deal with the brokenness of the world. Sometimes others’ brokenness can be sharp and jagged, cutting bystanders like broken […]
Authors : Jim Martin
Tags : Leadership Encouragement
By Jim Martin Do you listen well? One of the most important tasks for any church leader is listening. Listening can be incredibly difficult. In fact, most of us have had far more training in speaking than in listening. A few suggestions: Listen intently. This means eye contact. This means paying attention to body language. […]
Authors : Jim Martin
Tags : Leadership Coaching
by Jim Martin This morning, I’m thinking about you — a church leader. You may be a minister in some role in a congregation. Maybe you preach each Sunday. So much of what you do takes place away from public view. I suspect you are busy. You’ve glanced at this post to see if it […]
Authors : Jim Martin
Tags : Leadership Encouragement
by Jim Martin I wrote this as I marked the 20th year I’ve served the Crestview Church of Christ in Waco. Since I started preaching there, I have learned a lot. This post will list some of the lessons learned about congregational ministry while serving this church in this city. 1. Ministry is much like marriage. […]
Authors : Jim Martin
Tags : Healthy Church
This post is a continuation of our posts on a TED Talk. (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4) In a 2009 presentation, Simon Sinek spoke on the subject of “How great leaders inspire action.” His talk focused on characteristics of inspiring leaders and organizations and asserted “all the great and inspiring leaders and […]
Authors : General
Tags : Church Renewal, Healthy Church
This is a continuation of our posts about a TED Talk. (part 1, part 2, part 3) In my experience, this Bell Curve describes what we experience when dealing with change in the church. We can anticipate that half of our members will be open (to some degree) to changes in thinking or action. They […]
Authors : General
Tags : Church Renewal, Healthy Church
This post is a continuation of our previous posts about a TED talk. (part 1, part 2) Simon Sinek, having addressed the idea that “people don’t buy what you do; they buy what you believe,” moves on in his TED talk about inspiring leadership to teach me something else about church. He speaks to the […]
Authors : General
Tags : Church Renewal, Healthy Church
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