At a recent conference on congregational leadership I was again struck by how the level of energy (anxiety?) in the room increased when the topic focused on change. This is natural, of course, since one of the critical functions of the leader in any system is bring about positive change on several levels. In fact, it is likely that the new leader in any system will enter with a mandate to make changes in the system–notwithstanding that any attempts of consequence to do so on the part of the leader will likely meet with resistence if not outright sabotage.

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A student in my online class asked a great question:

< <... How do I encourage members to reflect and think theologically?.... I'm having a hard time coming up with an example of what that would even look like in a church setting. I know it's important, and I use the practice myself at times, but I can't figure out how to transfer it to a congregation or group setting. Could anyone offer me some insight?....>>

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The Winter 2010 issue of the Leadership in Ministry Workshops newsletter.

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The new book, Perspectives on Congregational Leadership: Applying systems thinking for effective leadership has just been released. In sociology the term “positive deviance” identifies the behaviors that bring about effectiveness and success in those situations where something that should not work, does. At heart positive deviance answers the question, all things being equal, why do some congregational leaders succeed, when others do not?

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A few weeks ago Cindy responded on a blog entry with an intriguing question. Her question had to do with identifying evidence of spiritual or personal growth. I’ve been thinking about it since. Here’s her question: “I am wondering …. what exactly might a person “see” as evidence that a pastor is working on his/her personal growth?”

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We continue the “Ten Best Ways to Ruin Your Church Staff” to avoid for those pastoral leaders who want to keep and develop quality staff ministry colleagues, (For those pastors who want to get rid of troubling church staff, then this is the way to do it!). Today, no. 10: Do not invest in your staff’s professional development.

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We continue the “Ten Best Ways to Ruin Your Church Staff” to avoid for those pastoral leaders who want to keep and develop quality staff ministry colleagues, (For those pastors who want to get rid of troubling church staff, then this is the way to do it!). Today, no. 9: Neglect your own spiritual and personal growth.

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We continue the “Ten Best Ways to Ruin Your Church Staff” to avoid for those pastoral leaders who want to keep and develop quality staff ministry colleagues, (For those pastors who want to get rid of troubling church staff, then this is the way to do it!). Today, no. 8: Lower your expectations and your standards.

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We continue the “Ten Best Ways to Ruin Your Church Staff” to avoid for those pastoral leaders who want to keep and develop quality staff ministry colleagues, (For those pastors who want to get rid of troubling church staff, then this is the way to do it!). Today, no. 5: Do not do worship planning together.

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We continue the “Ten Best Ways to Ruin Your Church Staff” to avoid for those pastoral leaders who want to keep and develop quality staff ministry colleagues, (For those pastors who want to get rid of troubling church staff, then this is the way to do it!). Today, no. 4: Neglect a Theology of Calling.

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