Off the Agenda: Conversations for Building Church Leaders

This week I attended a retreat as part of the Leadership Media Group of Christianity Today International. I was responsible for posing a warm-up question to the group before we tackled the day’s itinerary. Since we are all in the business of equipping church leaders, I asked each person to name the Christian leader who had made the profoundest impact on his or her spiritual life.

The answers surprised me. I expected to hear about best-selling authors and big-time preachers. Instead, most members of our team cited virtual unknowns: youth pastors and teachers, parents and siblings. We have a bookish team, which includes editors and authors, so thinkers such as Henri Nouwen and G.K. Chesterton were also mentioned. But for the most part, my colleagues talked about ordinary people that influenced them during critical phases of their lives: a youth leader who took a special interest in a student, a college roommate whose habit of Bible-reading made a lasting impression, a father who challenged his son to be serious about his faith.

Continue reading "The Trench Versus the Stage"...

Something’s wrong. We pastors are the stewards, the spokespeople, the advocates of a message of hope, life, and peace. And yet so few of us seem to be experiencing these qualities in our own lives. Something’s wrong. In a world saturated with fear, insecurity, and stress, we are to show a different way. And yet those at the center of the church are burning out and leaving ministry at a rate of 1,500 per month. If that’s what’s occurring at the heart of the church, why would anyone on the fringe want to move in closer?

I’ve just read an article by two Christian counselors about the soul-killing impact of church ministry on leaders. (The statistic above comes from them.) They note that the pressure to grow the church is a significant factor leading to pastoral burn out. And some pastors “admitted they promoted growth models that were incongruent with their values because of a desperate need to validate their pastoral leadership.” It seems too many of us have our identities wrapped up in the measurable outcomes of our work rather than in the life-giving love of the Christ we proclaim. Something’s wrong.

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Today is day two of Willow Creek's annual "The Leadership Summit" conference. Yesterday, in his opening plenary address, Willow founding pastor Bill Hybels shared his insights into "The High Drama of Decision Making."

"So much of leadership is decision making," Hybels explained. Yet many church leaders fail to reflect on their decision-making processes. As a result, those leaders can feel totally unprepared to tackle a tough decision with confidence.

Continue reading "Leadership Axioms"...

On May 21, the Steven Curtis Chapman family suffered a horrible loss when their youngest daughter, Maria Sue, ran into the path of the family SUV and died at a Nashville hospital a few hours later. Her 17-year-old brother was behind the wheel.

Chapman, a 5-time Grammy award winner and advocate for adoption, resumed his touring schedule in mid-July. In a recent article for our sister site, Today'sChristian.com, Elizabeth Diffin reports on how Maria's death has impacted Chapman's music:

It's not often you leave a concert reflecting on the words of a song by a different artist. But as I exited the July 24 Steven Curtis Chapman event, the words of a Matt Redman worship song echoed through my head. Chapman opened the concert with "Blessed Be Your Name" just two months after the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Maria Sue, in a tragic accident at the family's home.

"Blessed Be Your Name" was also the first song Chapman sang May 21, the day of Maria's death, when he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to sing again. Inspired by the story of Job, at one point the lyrics repeat, "He gives and takes away."

"As I sang this song … it wasn't a song, it was a cry, a scream, a prayer," Chapman explained to the audience of nearly 5,000. "I found an amazing comfort and peace that surpasses all understanding."

Chapman also shared that after Maria's death, he'd reconsidered the words to all his songs and if he could still sing—and believe—them. Instead, losing his little girl brought the meaning of some of those songs into sharper focus. One example was "Yours," which addresses how everything in the world belongs to God.

"In this song, in particular, I had to come to a new realization," he said. "There's not an inch of creation that God doesn't look at and say 'all of that's mine.'"

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Hear what the Chapman family has to say about life after the accident.

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Budget season is around the corner for most churches, so it’s a natural time to evaluate compensation packages. Are staff members paid fairly? How does your church compare to others when it comes to qualifications, such as educational background and experience, or church factors, including size, geography, and denomination?

The 2009 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff, which surveyed 4,800 U.S. churches—representing about 11,000 employees—between January and March, provides answers to those questions and more. Among the annual report’s findings:

People, Pews, and Paychecks
Churches that draw 101 to 300 people for worship services each week typically pay their senior pastors $72,664 each year, including benefits, but that figure substantially grows to $88,502—or 22 percent more—when attendance averages between 301 and 500 people, and $102,623—or 41 percent more—when attendance averages between 501 and 750 people.

Continue reading "Paying for You"...