Notes For Pastors Who Lead
Honest, practical writing on pastoral health, building a team, and leading a church that grows without grinding you down — the same ground I walk with the pastors I coach.
What you celebrate determines what you reproduce.
I said that sentence twice in a teaching earlier this year, and I haven't been able to shake it since. It's one of those lines that sounds simple until you hold it up against your own church. Then it starts asking uncomfortable questions.
This is t...
If you keep running from that nagging frustration, you'll never push through it and get back to the fire that got you into ministry in the first place.
I know what it's like to live with that frustration. Most weeks I'm collecting more opportunities, more problems, and more things that need my atte...
The Lie I Kept Telling Myself
I used to tell myself a lie: I just need more help. I said it in my head on long weeks, and if I'm honest, I said it out loud to the people closest to me more than once.
Over the years God has confronted me with what was really going on. I had all the helpers I needed...
Most of us assume our teams are shaped by the big moments (the vision series, the strategic offsite, the all-hands meeting where we finally get everyone on the same page). But after years of leading, I've become convinced the truth is quieter than that. Teams are built, or broken, in a handful of or...
The Beach Moved
It's really easy to drift.
Picture yourself swimming in the ocean on a perfect day. The sun is out, the water's just right, and you're having the time of your life. Then you turn to look back at the shore — and the beach has moved. You didn't feel it happen. You weren't doing anyth...
One of the most daunting aspects of leadership is the continual challenge to keep the vision clear and hot.
If you’re a pastor, you know exactly what I mean. Every week you’re caring for people, preparing messages, solving problems, developing staff, overseeing budgets, and making hundreds of decis...
Why clarity should come before action
Leaders love momentum.
Give us an opportunity, open a door, and we’re ready to sprint. We don’t like waiting. We don’t like uncertainty. We want to make something happen.
I’ve done it more times than I can count.
The problem isn’t that we’re moving. The prob...
Recently I had one of those strange leadership days. For about eight hours, everything was clicking. Conversations were productive. Ministry was moving forward. I was energized. Then one difficult hour happened.
It wasn’t catastrophic. Nobody died. The church didn’t implode. But one frustrating int...
