In the article, All I Need to Know About Being an Executive Pastor I Learned on West Wing,all we looked at the similarities of the relationships of the President and his Chief of Staff and the Pastor and his Executive Pastor. In this article we continue with that analogy by sharing insights from Chris Whipple’s book, “The Gatekeepers: How the... Continue Reading
In this second of three articles on the recent Gallup study on employee burnout, we explore the role church leaders and supervisors play in reducing and preventing staff burnout. Gallup’s research shows that a crucial element in whether or not workers experience burnout on the job is how supervisors treat their employees. Supervisors are responsible for fostering positive employee experiences... Continue Reading
In this final of three articles on church employee burnout, we explore the environmental factors church leaders should focus on to prevent staff burnout. There is little doubt that minister burnout is a symptom of an increasingly fast-paced, complex, and demanding church environment. Add to that the reality that mobile technology has created 24 hour accessibility and blurred the lines... Continue Reading
According to a recent Gallup study, organizations are facing an employee burnout crisis. 23% of full-time employees reported feeling burned out at work very often or always, and an additional 44% reported feeling burned out sometimes. That means about two-thirds of full-time workers experience burnout on the job. My educated guess is that those percentages hold for church staff’s as... Continue Reading
In the posts, What Church Leaders Should Know About Highly Sensitive Persons and Why The Church Needs Highly Sensitive People we delved into why and how the church should engage highly sensitive persons. In this article we talk about how those who work and live with HSP’s can take full advantage of all that a highly sensitive person has to... Continue Reading
What Is a Highly Sensitive Person? The definition of a highly sensitive person is someone who experiences acute physical, mental, or emotional responses to stimuli. This can include external stimuli, like sounds, surroundings, and people, or internal stimuli, like thoughts, emotions and realizations. While everyone feels sensitive at times, and everyone reacts to stimuli to some degree, a highly sensitive... Continue Reading
We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to know we are honorable – 2 Corinthians 8:21 (NLT) And now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful – 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV) Time and again we hear of pastors who feel they are above accountability, and/or... Continue Reading
It’s been said that to be an effective leader requires a strong ego. Even a cursory examination of today’s movie stars, professional athletes, business leaders, politicians, and to a degree, pastors, seems to support this supposition. Possibly this is because you need a strong ego to survive the scrutiny and criticism that comes with being in the public eye, and... Continue Reading
Career advancement is not a term frequently used in church staff circles. Why? Usually there is not a definable ladder of success in ministry as there is in the business world. Career paths in ministry are notoriously unpredictable. Moving upward in the chain of command in a church is not always desirable as many staff feel called to a specific... Continue Reading
I gained a new understanding of “feedback” when I considered the two words that comprise the word. It is appropriate the word begins with “feed,” as in “feed me.” Appropriate because feedback is a fuel we all need to grow. Management guru, Ken Blanchard, put it best when he said, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” The second half of... Continue Reading
In Mark 12:28-31 Jesus tells a scribe that the greatest and first commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” How to love God with all of my strength is perplexing to me. What exactly does it mean? Does it mean loving God with all of my effort, intensity, fervor, or energy?... Continue Reading
One of the common challenges I see in churches and organizations is that of ministry or department silos. Silos occur when there are multiple independent ministries or departments working under the same roof. Patrick Lencioni, best-selling author and management consultant, describes silos as “nothing more than the barriers that exist between departments within an organization, causing people who are supposed... 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