by Matthew Soper In my thirty years as a preacher of four congregations and now in my work as an interim minister, I continue to stress the importance to church leaders of pursuing integrity and excellence in how finances are handled. This honors God, inspires confidence from the congregation, and contributes greatly to congregational health […]
by Matthew Soper I was baptized into Christ at age 21 and moved to Houston for my first job after college. My second job was 100% commission sales. I had already committed to first-fruits tithing but I was earnestly perplexed about how to do that with uncertain income. I approached an elder at my church […]
Authors : Matthew Soper
by Matthew Soper Most congregations have a budget process for formulating the next year’s planned income and expenses. At the least, they add an inflation percentage and essentially recreate the present budget. At the most, they “tear down to the studs” and do a zero-based budget, which involves critically examining all ministry spending. A general […]
Authors : Matthew Soper
by Scott Laird Robert J. Clinton researched and wrote a lot about leaders and leadership development. The theory connected to his work is “Leadership Emergence Theory” based on research of biblical characters and modern Christian leaders. By 2012 he had processed over 7,000 case studies.[1] His theory argues that God works in sovereign and providential ways […]
Authors : Scott Laird
Tags : Continual Learning, Finishing Well
by Rodney Plunket In exploring the biblical narrative of Exodus, we uncover a thought-provoking pattern of the Israelites’ wavering faith in their leaders, Moses and Aaron, as they journey through the desert. This pattern serves as a powerful example of the dynamics of leadership and followership within a church family. Through a careful examination of […]
Authors : Rodney Plunket
Tags : Continual Learning
by Steven Carrizal The pastoral role of church leaders is a calling that puts us on holy ground as we are invited into a space of vulnerability. It is also a role for which it is easy to continually feel ill-equipped no matter how much training or experience a leader has in such situations. From […]
Authors : Steven Carrizal
Tags : Continual Learning, Listening
by Greg Anderson I love to learn. This was not always the case. As a younger minister, I was naïve enough to think I had most of it figured out and did not really need a bunch of other perspectives to influence the surety of my insights. How very wrong I was, and how I […]
Authors : Greg Anderson
Tags : Continual Learning
by Shannon Rains The start of the school year typically brings a flurry of activity in our church’s education ministry. Leading education has many challenges, and recruiting is one of the most critical, yet dreaded, tasks. If I ask any team of ministers about the biggest struggle in their ministry, someone (probably the children’s […]
Authors : Shannon Rains
by Scott Laird If you have been reading the Christian Chronicle lately you have noticed the preacher shortage in our fellowship. Individual congregations can make a difference in this struggle. Since 2000 the Great Falls church of Christ in Great Falls, Montana, has worked with nine men and their families to prepare them for […]
Authors : Scott Laird
by Jordan McDonald I don’t know if I’m young or old anymore. I turn 30 today and in one sense feel as though life has passed me by, in another sense I feel like I’m just starting. I have been in formal leadership roles since I graduated from college. Even so, last year while […]
Authors : Jordan McDonald
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