Archive for Conflict – Page 2

Church Leadership & Difficult People – When Being Nice is Not Enough

by Grady King – Charles Schultz is on one my favorite theologians. What he communicated through Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy reached millions of peopl  “There’s nothing you need more than Christ.”  “Keep looking up…that’s the secret of life.” “Whatever is worrying you right now, forget about it.  Take a deep breath and trust in God.” For […]

When a Leader Falls into Sexual Sin

by Grady King –   I am sad, concerned and humbled. In recent months, five ministers I know have succumbed to some form of sexual sin. The sin is often a symptom of long lived and deep rooted issues.  From what I know, all but one has sought counsel and reconciliation with their spouse. They […]

The Indispensables of Courageous Leadership

by Grady King  –  Getting stuck as a church leader or as a leader group is frustrating and exhausting.  And no matter what we say to the church, they know we are stuck. They feel it, experience it and yearn for things to be different. Over time, a stuck leadership will drain the energy of a […]

Digging in the Dirt with Leaders & Churches Part III – Followship in a Consumer Culture

by Grady King People want leadership. People don’t want leadership.  As long as leaders are doing what I think they ought to do, I will follow. If not, I will be present to some degree, but not necessarily support or follow.[1] It’s certainly not God’s idea of leading or following. Churches are in need of […]

Digging in the Dirt with Leaders & Churches Part II – Healthy, Mature Leaders & Churches

By Grady King –  When a child throws a temper tantrum it’s obvious. When a parent chooses to appease the child to control the tantrum, the child is in charge. If the parent reacts, expresses anger, the child will push the button again. And the cycle continues. Without guidance, teaching and modeling of what is […]

Digging in the Dirt with Leaders & Churches

by Grady King –   It’s my life to be helpful to leaders and churches. It’s both blessing and burden.  Prayerful, humble listening, observing, and analyzing goes with the territory. So does “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4.15)—passage about relationships, character, maturity—of growing up in Christ. It’s not always comfortable and there is plenty of […]

Word Problems

by Amanda Box –  Traditionally, in math class, the word problems are tougher to solve. I’d say that holds true everywhere, not just in math class. On Sunday mornings this summer I’m co-teaching a class called Difficult Conversations. We are using James 3 as our anchor passage. Last Sunday someone in class asked, “If I […]

From Quick Fix to Healthly Assessment (part 4: Managing Assessment – continued)

by Evertt Huffard – In the last article, we discussed four interacting factors that every healthy church needs: spirituality, mission, organization, and relationships. Figure 2 expands the model. The wisdom of the spirit gives the spiritual basis for mission while good works flow through organization and relationships. This system approach also illustrates the responsibility of elders to […]

From Quick Fix to Healthy Assessment (part 3: Elements of a Healthy Assessment)

by Evertt Huffard – In the last article in this series, we talked about how when leaders have the ability to walk by faith in tough times, the potential for a healthy assessment of the crisis will be more likely. Today we will discuss the elements of a healthy assessment. Elements of a Healthy Assessment When invited […]

From Quick Fix to Healthy Assessment (part 2: Managing Self)

by Evertt Huffard – Managing Self In the last article, we discussed three principles that have served me well in approaching a church crisis. These three principles have something in common–the need for leaders to manage their own fears and emotions in a crisis. Stress, personal attacks, threats, pain, anxiety and a host of fears can make it […]

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