Top 8 Areas of Ministry to Improve
Ever wondered what it takes to move your church to the next level — how to cause your ministry to improve — to make it better and more effective to mission? It happens only when you are willing to take the specific steps necessary to examine all ministries of the church and set your mind…
How to Equip Church Board Members
Church board members are one of the greatest gifts given to a pastor and a local church. These wonderful servants of the Lord lift the arms of the pastor and help advance the vision and mission of the church. The wise and discerning pastor is always intent on fulfilling the charge in Ephesians 4, to…
Why Invest in the Church Board?
Members of the church board are some of the finest people to ever walk alongside the lead pastor. They help carry the vision and mission of the church forward to reach spiritually lost people with the Gospel. The best Church Board members are truly the result of pastors taking seriously the charge in Ephesians 4…
The 7 Essential Purposes of the Church Board
One of the things I’ve seen for years, in working with pastors and church boards, is the frequent lack of understanding of the real purpose of the board. Why does it even exist? For the wise and discerning pastor and church board, I am excited about the journey the Lord has you on, as you…
How Self-Policing Can Help a Negative Church Board Member Become Positive
What in the world do you do with a church board member who goes sideways in a meeting? How can you help that negative church board member become positive? Here’s an idea. How about the church board self-police? Ever heard of that? Self-policing can help a negative church board member become positive. This is not…
Top 3 Responsibilities of Every Church Board
Board members I’ve known over the years are wonderful men and women who desire nothing more than to serve their pastor and their church. They love Jesus and give of themselves to serve. Here, we are talking about church board responsibilities. Because I’ve been around the block a day or two, gray hair to prove…
How to Set the Pastor’s Salary and Benefits
Today, we’re going to dissect the issue of a pastor’s salary and benefits; how to set it and establish the best possible compensation for the pastor. I can tell you one thing for sure; it is almost universal that this is an uncomfortable subject for pastors. It shouldn’t be, but it is. In this post…
Church Board Members Disagreeing without Drawing Blood
The Church board disagreeing is never fun. Strong lead pastors and strong board members CAN get along. And they CAN disagree without drawing blood and still get along. I remember back in the day, I served a great church in Des Moines, Iowa. This was a church of 2000 average weekend attendance during most of…
Church Government: Democracy vs Theocracy?
How much thought have you given Not sure how it is in other parts of the world, but here in the U.S. we now live in a 24/7/365 election cycle. This election cycle is what keeps the wheels turning just west of the Atlantic Ocean. Some bemoan it. Others celebrate it! In this post we’ll…
How to Create a Culture of Church Improvement
Chances are you were not taught how to create and build church culture in Bible school or seminary… Or if you were, you really weren’t paying much attention as someone in their late-teens or early 20’s. I mean, what in the world is church culture and what does it have to do with anything? In…
How to Build Systems Even When You’re Not Systems-Oriented
Some reading this blog are like my son, Jonathan. The guy is more organized than an Amazon Fulfillment Center. He dots more i’s and crosses more t’s than anyone I know. Then there are guys like me. I’m fairly organized but nowhere near Jonathan. I mean, its much easier for me to “wing it” than…
How to Create Systems To Do The Thinking For You
There are some reading this blog today that live for systems. They eat, sleep and breath the whole world of order, a place for everything and everything in its place, and do “a” first, “b” second and “c” third … then you’ll get results. I’m suggesting you put in place systems to do the thinking…
Setting the Stage for Successful Change in the Church
If I’ve heard it asked once I’ve heard it 1000 times. “Dick, how in the world do I navigate change in the church?” Wow! That’s a big one. Change to some people comes very natural. To others it’s like the plague. “I’ll do anything to avoid that!” But let’s think about this. In the church…
7 Questions to Ask When Striving to Improve Ministry
I talked to a pastor not too long ago and this guy really has it all together. He’s strong administratively and organizationally, he can preach and he can lead. In fact, he’s a very good leader. He knows he has a good number of healthy ministries and certainly knows he has some that need some…
How “Chick-fil-A Thinking” Will Improve Your Church
It’s amazing what companies all around the world do to enhance their positions with their customer bases. Each company views their mission as important enough to make what and how they do business high priority. National and international companies like Chick-fil-A are constantly examining their relationships with their customers and how those customers feel about…
10 Steps to Navigating Change with Your Church Board
How do you lead change? Don’t you love it when you suggest change to people and you get the, “I’m really not sure I want to do this” look in their eyes? This can be particularly challenging when you are working with a group of good people serving on the church board. So how is…
6 Steps to Determine Which Ministries to Stop
When a pastor or church leader surveys the landscape of the church, they normally see a plethora of wonderful ministries that are truly effective in fulfilling the mission of the church. That last thing they are thinking about is to stop ministry. However, there are times when that same leader suspects that an effective ministry…