The leader of the past was a person who told, the leader of the future will be a person who asks—Peter Drucker In Mentor-Coaching in a Supervisory Relationship we saw that coaching is where the expertise lies within the person being coached, and the role of the coach is to help the coachee, in partnership with the Holy Spirit, discover... Continue Reading
In my experience the twin approach of coaching – facilitating discovery in you – and mentoring – filling in the knowledge that you don’t have – can be a powerful tool for the supervisor to use to catapult learning and initiate synergistic change in those they supervise. In mentoring the expertise lies in the mentor and is transferred to the... Continue Reading
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.” – Henry Ford “I am not what I think I am; and I am not what you think I am; but I am what I think you think I am.” – Unknown “If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as... Continue Reading
Dualistic thinking, or the ego operating system, as Cynthia Bourgeault calls it, is our way of reading reality from the position of my private ego. “What’s in it for me?” “How will I look if I do this?” This is the preferred way of seeing reality for most of us. Richard Rohr calls it either/or thinking. It knows reality by... Continue Reading
When making hiring decisions most churches involve a Personnel or a Search Committee to drive or advise the search process. Anyone who has chaired or led such a committee knows the challenge of facilitating agreement once two or more candidates have been identified for consideration. The following four surveys are helpful tools in leading a committee or team to clarity... Continue Reading
The foundation principle of compensation design in the free enterprise system is that contribution will be equated to compensation. This principle should guide the salary and benefits philosophy and design of churches if they want to be fair and competitive with their staff compensation. To better understand the meaning of the philosophy and application of “contribution equals compensation” let’s look at two... Continue Reading
Each week churches disseminate a wide variety of information through announcements, slides, web sites, bulletins, brochures, posters, videos, email and social media. A continual challenge is to communicate in a way that the reader or listener both understands and retains the information. Immediately upon receiving incoming information the brain starts to categorize it, therefore, it makes sense to order communication... Continue Reading
Every church leader exercises power, or the ability to influence others to take action. When we misuse that power we hurt people and create organizational dysfunction. Virtually every church I know bears scars of hurt due to a failure of leaders to wisely steward power. Regretfully, I am no exception. Because for too long I failed to understand two important... Continue Reading
A rushing river is fed by many smaller streams of various sizes. And, so it is with personal and church conflict. Rarely is there a singular event or issue that can be pointed to as the source of a conflict. In most church conflicts there are many contributing factors, some more impactful and challenging than others. The RIVERS acronym is a... Continue Reading
Many churches and ministries struggle because they fail to fully understand the implications of inputs and outputs. Simply, outputs are the results produced by the church or ministry. Inputs are the resources the church or ministry uses to produce those results. The responsibility of the church staff is to use the church’s resources (inputs), for maximum productivity (outputs) toward accomplishing... Continue Reading
The moral failure of a minister is one of the most devastating events that can happen in the life of a minister and a church. Every time a minister falls, we all suffer with that minister and his family. And, our collective witness to the world suffers as well. Yet, surprisingly, most staff interviews skirt the issue entirely. For Jesus’ sake,... Continue Reading
Screening Ministerial Staff for soft skills is one of the most challenging aspects of the interview process. Fortunately, attribute based interview questions are a proven way to reveal a candidate’s abilities in a number of job-essential soft skills. You can better discern how they would perform in your church culture by looking at a candidate’s past behavior in 9 essential areas:... Continue Reading
Jim is a Church Organizational Leadership and Management Coach, Consultant and Trainer. Throughout his career Jim has demonstrated a passion for showing Pastors and Ministers how to use organizational tools for church and personal growth and health.
More About Jim“For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.” Colossians 2:5