Tags: Dan Reiland, smart, new position, create, pressure, overwork, grumbling, staff members, atypical projects, temporary workload increases, volunteer, momentum
Feeling under pressure? Overworked? Are you and your team working hard but can’t seem to keep up, let alone get ahead? You are not alone. This is a very common church staff scenario. What you do about ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Ron Edmondson, pastors, exciting, Christ, baptism, believer, child, church, note takers, sacrificial givers, visitors, servant hearts, new people
Pastors get to see the best and worst of life it seems, but there are many positives. Obviously, seeing someone become a follower of Christ or baptism of a believer, has to rank as a highlight of the pastor’s ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Ron Edmondson, frustration, quit, pastor, leader, depression, work environment, prayer, memories, burdens, rest, heart, journal
I was talking to a staff member of a church recently who is ready to quit. But he can’t. What he’s experiencing is not depression, in my opinion. It could turn into that at some point, if he’s not careful, ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Artie Davis, growing influence, leaders, Saul, king, anointed, prophet, God, people, Luke
Saul was made king three times! But only after proving himself was he truly embraced as Israel's leader. Here are three things that happened to Saul that helped him grow in influence and be embraced as ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Kim Martinez, bi-vocational pastors, Elijah, honesty, sleep, eat right, exercise
After work, we changed clothes in the restroom and then ran through Taco Bell on our way to the church. Life as a bi-vocational pastor is a bit hectic. If you aren’t careful, you could find yourself with ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Dan Reiland, future, church, local, going green, partnerships, theology, missional, global perspective, diversity
Last year, I attended the Velocity 2012 conference hosted by lead pastor Shawn Lovejoy at Mountain Lake Church in Cumming, Ga. For the last seven years, Shawn and his team have invested in the lives of ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Kim Martinez, bi-vocational ministry, challenge, calling, congruity, time management, options, thankfulness, retreat, time off
Pastor John puts away his tools for the day. His shift at the construction site ends in 10 minutes. Already, he has begun switching gears and thinking through the evening ahead. Tonight is the board meeting, ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Dan Cummins, preachers, politicians, waters, Moses, Martin Luther King Jr., American Revolution, Black Robe Regiment, American Clergy, American Statesman
From Moses to Martin, preachers have parted political waters and led the oppressed to the Promised Land. Either by summons to a pharaoh to “Let my people go,” parting the Red Sea with an outstretched ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Artie Davis, plans, multiplying, leaders, small-town, simple-minded, find, feed, free, steps
“We have a leadership deficit.” Those are words many of us have spoken and all of us have heard from others. We know how vital it is for every church to have and fill a solid leadership pipeline. ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Artie Davis, church, afford, financial, costs, complaining, culture, investment, kids, young leaders, keep score, cracks
All of us who lead in a church understand the cost of doing ministry—the financial cost, that is. We know our budgets and the limits of what we can afford or not afford. However, many pastors and leaders ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Bishop Joseph Mattera, public scandal, God, space, heart, self-aware, honesty, temptations, healthy relationship, spouse
Every week it seems there is another scandal breaking out with a high-profile person, whether in politics, sports, media or the church. A person could have done much good their whole life but with one ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Artie Davis, core values, church, Jehu, 2 Kings, unity, team, passion, Cornerstone Community Church
Core Values: The ideals and values we hold that are non-negotiable, that serve as filters for all of our efforts to accomplish our mission. (My working definition.)  The story of Jehu in 2 Kings ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Greg Surratt, Mother's Day, pastor, pulpit, ruined, heart, sensitivity, stress, gift, honoring
I’ve got to admit—Mother’s Day is one of the most fear eliciting, stress inducing weekends of the year for me. It’s not so much about my ineptness in selecting a gift or honoring the mother of my house—Debbie—although, ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Kim Martinez, The Voice, communicators, memory devices, alliteration, acronym, cadence, storytelling, analogies, authenticity
Do you remember going to chapel in Bible college? Every once in a while, one of “the greats” would show up. You knew you were listening to one of the great communicators when you heard two things: 1. "The ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Kim Martinez, fall, church, event, planning, calendar, goals, love languages, affirmation, quality time, service
... 1,200, you won’t connect with 10 new families—you probably know everyone but that new family on the corner—so your goal might look very different. If you don’t have the staff or volunteer base to produce ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Ron Phillips, heart surgery, alive, thankful, sleep apnea, bypass, cardiologist, widow maker, stress test
As I sit in my office contemplating the last year, I am overwhelmed by a profound sense of thanksgiving. At this time a year ago, I was lying in a hospital bed, recovering from open-heart surgery. As many ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Kim Martinez, compassion, overload, stress, plan, time, away, health, teen
In the last week alone, 57 people have died in four violent events as reported by major news outlets. Every week, people in your church lose a job or a loved one or have a health incident. Every month, ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Joey Bonifacio, aim, start, soccer, talk show hosts, giving, cone, ball
I was at the C3 Church’s Sunday service Sunday night at Oxford Falls, a suburb of Sydney, when Australian talk show host Jamie Malcolm exhorted the congregation. Jamie’s words were so unforgettable, I ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Kim Martinez, pastors, time off, Monday, Sabbath, paper, school
Pastor Jeff is at it again—this is his third week in a row without a break. Monday is his day off, and he takes it. But most weeks, it looks like this: 1. Get up early to “enjoy” time with the kids (who ... [ +++ ]

Tags: Kim Martinez, sanity, pastors, leader, Elijah, worn out, ministry
Every leader faces overwheming moments. Elijah had one of those moments after he faced and killed the entire squadron of Baal prophets while simultaneously calling the people of Israel back into right ... [ +++ ]