by Bob Clark “The soul-wreckage among those who work with souls is appalling.” Eugene Peterson All church leaders need a spiritual root system to provide the nourishment needed to lead the church faithfully and effectively, to live a lifestyle consistent with their profession of faith, and to love God and people as they lead. While […]
By Jimmy Adcox Develop an Intentional, Ongoing Plan for Your Unique Ministry Setting Spiritual growth is not a linear, step-by-step process, but it does require intentionality and focus. Programs and events may contribute to environments for growth, but for maximum impact, spiritual-growth practices must be embedded in the fabric of the church culture. Spiritual […]
Authors : Jimmy Adcox
Tags : Church Assessment, Church Renewal
By Jimmy Adcox Initiate Congregational Assessment and Education While assessments are certainly not essential to helping churches become environments for spiritual formation, congregational assessments can help you be more aware and more intentional. They can also provide a benchmark for future progress. We have found the REVEAL Survey (developed by the Willow Creek […]
Authors : Jimmy Adcox
Tags : Church Assessment, Church Renewal
by Jimmy Adcox Spiritual formation has been a hot topic in many circles over the last several years. Ancient practices have gained popular attention again. When Richard Foster wrote his Celebration of Discipline in 1978, it was a rare book and a “voice in the wilderness.” Now, hundreds of books have been published on […]
Authors : Jimmy Adcox
Tags : Church Renewal, Healthy Church
by Lynn Anderson 1. Learn shepherding skills Before attempting to shift structures, the leaders must actually be shepherding people. As one friend put it, “I am not going to let anyone make an elder out of me unless I already have a flock.” Begin to learn shepherding and equipping skills. 2. Delegate management to the […]
Authors : Lynn Anderson
Tags : Shepherds/Elders
by Lynn Anderson It was a Kodak moment. Bill’s silver hair and frail figure evidenced his nearly 80 years, but his face glowed with obvious affection for Mike. Mike, 20-something, tough, athletic—and months into a recovery program— stood beside Bill in the baptistery. As Bill spoke soft, clear words, Mike nod- ded slightly. The whole congregation […]
Authors : Lynn Anderson
Tags : Shepherds/Elders
by Chris Goldman A Story: A youth minister called. He was at the end of his rope! His church was falling apart. The preacher had been fired, the elders were fighting, members were fleeing and he felt a responsibility to “put Humpty Dumpty back together again.” The counselor inside me wanted to put […]
Authors : Chris Goldman
Tags : Mentoring
by Doug Peters The New Testament uses a variety of terms to describe those that carry out roles and functions of leadership and ministry in the earliest church. Many read the various texts with an eye toward an “Organizational Chart” often found in business, government or the military, and emphasize authority and position. Viewed purely through […]
Authors : Doug Peters
by Doug Peters The premise of this series suggests that leadership groups of elders and ministers do well to proactively establish some Useful Understandings for their ministry together. The interim season is an excellent opportunity to ask some important questions in several categories and develop some “ground rules” for leadership teams. It should be noted that all […]
Authors : Doug Peters
by Doug Peters How will your church leadership lead? Will their ministry of leadership be Proactive or Reactive? Intentional or Indiscriminate? Consistent or Chaotic? And what can you do to increase the likelihood of preferred outcomes? Church leadership teams, such as elder/minister groups, greatly benefit from the discipline of asking good questions about how they will serve together. These Useful Understandings bring several practical, systemic and […]
Authors : Doug Peters
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