Leadership

Do your job. If you are losing members to the new guy, keep telling yourself (and your leaders who may be panicking at the empty pews and low offerings), “This is not about us, but about the Lord Jesus. And if they’re doing a better job over there, then let’s pray for them and encourage them.”

The greatest challenge for church leaders is to tell the story of mission in a way that is beautiful and life-giving to a generation that sees the world through a lens of anxiousness and division.

So, pastor, you found the going to be tough, some of the leaders resistant, and a few members to be criminal in their behavior? You grew tired of fighting them and fed up with the way they treated you?

When we put our pride aside and truly value those around us and who we work with, we are able to then respect what each person brings to our team.

Hope is a beautiful byproduct of faithful practice in the present.

Partly because they are more outgoing, I believe extroverted pastors will get the benefit of the doubt—more so than introverted pastors. Many have tackled the subject of how introverts can overcome weaknesses, but I haven’t noticed as much written about extroverted pastors.

While complaining over sermon length seems to have accelerated in the last few decades, the truth is, the conflict has been going on since the Reformation. Back in those days, it wasn’t unusual for a sermon to last up to 3 hours.

Wherever two or more are gathered in Christ’s name, there’s bound to be conflict. Sometimes it’s a clash of personalities. Other times it’s unholy tension cloaked as competitiveness. But often it’s theological differences.