Category Archives: leadership

Thoughts on leadership

The five ‘must do’ things for ministry staff success

Posted on April 22, 2008 by igalindo

Previously we shared some thoughts from Lynn Turner, Associate Pastor of Youth, Career, and Discipleship at the First Baptist Church of Richmond, VA. We asked Lynn to share her thoughts about how to success in ministry with seminarians in my … Continue reading →

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Five hazards for second chair leaders

Posted on April 16, 2008 by igalindo

Previously we shared some thoughts from Lynn Turner, Associate Pastor of Youth, Career, and Discipleship at the First Baptist Church of Richmond, VA. We asked Lynn to share her thoughts about ministry to seminarians in my course on “Thriving and … Continue reading →

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What pastors want staff to know

Posted on April 14, 2008 by igalindo

I’m teaching a new course titled “How to Thrive and Succeed as a Congregational Ministry Associate.” The course features a narrative component that consists of visits from “practitioners.” These are ministry associates, “second chair” leaders, currently in congregations. The visitors … Continue reading →

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Are humans a “pack animal”?

Posted on April 8, 2008 by igalindo

I finally got around to doing a presentation on “Leadership Lessons from the Dog Whisperer.” It was a fun presentation and seemed well-received. As often happens in plenary presentations participants will focus on the immediate concepts as a frame of … Continue reading →

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Book review: Becoming a Healthy Church, by Macchia

Posted on April 3, 2008 by igalindo

What are the two greatest gifts given to us? According to Stephen A. Macchia in Becoming a Healthy Church: 10 Traits of a Vital Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books 2003) the Word of God and prayer are the two … Continue reading →

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Roles vs. Function in BFST

Posted on April 2, 2008 by igalindo

I recently received an e-mail from a Leadership in Ministry Workshops participant asking about the distinction between role and function often made in Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). This distinction is often difficult for folks to make, but I think … Continue reading →

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Book review: The Apathetic and Bored Church Member by Savage

Posted on March 19, 2008 by igalindo

Just about every year one of our doctoral students approaches me wanting to do a study on why church members leave their congregation. About half the time it’s clear about what’s behind the motivation for the study: anxiety from church … Continue reading →

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Book review: Upside Down, by Rinehart

Posted on March 11, 2008 by igalindo

Stacy T. Rinehart’s small volume Upside Down: The Paradox of Servant Leadership (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1998. 170 pages) focuses on the leadership model that Jesus gave the church. The author details briefly the transformation of his own leadership philosophy from … Continue reading →

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Process vs. procedure

Posted on February 28, 2008 by igalindo

Some years ago one of my boys worked for hours on a work of art on a computer graphics program. When he tried to print out his masterpiece, however, the color printer spewed out a monochrome facsimile of his creation, … Continue reading →

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