Your church staff structure can hinder or help, be a cap or a corridor, a chain or a conduit, or a lid or a lane to your church’s growth and effectiveness. Most churches that are stuck or in decline have failed to significantly and consistently restructure their staff. Churches that continue to grow in numbers and effectiveness restructure strategically and... Continue Reading
2018 has seen three religious institutions rocked by clergy sexual abuse allegations and cover up scandals – the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church, and Shambhala Buddhism. Recently the Catholic Church was sent reeling with yet another report of sexual abuse and cover-up, this time by over 300 priests in Pennsylvania. Willow Creek Community Church has spent the better part of... Continue Reading
The causes for a church staff member to underperform and fail to meet expectations are often complex, varied, and difficult to discern. The temptation is to jump to an obvious single cause and effect conclusion when most likely there are many contributing factors. This frequently leads to a “management” approach to the problem, such as transfer or termination, or where... Continue Reading
In a company, business, or church, the chain of command refers to levels of authority from the top position, such as CEO, owner, or pastor down to upper and mid-level supervisors and then to front line workers. Hierarchal organizations institute a chain of command structure to improve communication, supervision, problem solving, efficiency and effectiveness at all levels. In fact, rank... Continue Reading
Before every commercial airplane takes off a flight attendant reviews various safety reminders. One of those is how to use the oxygen masks should the cabin depressurize. Passengers are reminded to always put their own masks on first before attempting to help others. The rationale is obvious, if you don’t first ensure your own safety you won’t be able to... Continue Reading
With change permeating the church, evolving work environments, and the needs of next generation employees, maximizing the performance of staff is more important than ever – for both employee satisfaction and church effectiveness. Unfortunately, Gallup Surveys indicate just one in five employees strongly agree their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to perform outstanding work. Further, millennial... Continue Reading
The primary purpose of conducting an exit interview is to identify opportunities for improvement within the church and staff culture. A well designed exit interview will allow you to see patterns in feedback from departing staff, understand the reasons people are leaving, and identify actions that can be taken to avoid future loss of valuable employees. Unfortunately, most churches miss... Continue Reading
Pre-employment screening is a vital component of a comprehensive church staff hiring process. Pre-employment screening can make the difference between a successful and an unfortunate hire. A thorough pre-employment screening process includes both reference and background checks. What is Included in a Reference Check? A reference check is when an employer contacts a job applicants previous employers, friends, associates, schools,... Continue Reading
When a staff member has difficulty assimilating into a new church culture, we often reference the dissonance as a “fit” issue. And, increasingly we see more emphasis being placed on “fit” during the hiring process. I have found it helpful though to further differentiate into “fit” and “fit in” factors. For purposes of this discussion, “fit” related factors are more... Continue Reading
The breadth of responsibilities for the typical Executive Pastor makes it difficult to briefly describe the position’s job duties. The pithiest description I’ve heard is “the Executive Pastor does everything the Pastor can’t do, won’t do, and shouldn’t do, and if did do, we’d be in big do.” Aside from witty maxims, analogies can be most helpful. The analogy of... Continue Reading
Following World War II, English historian, C. Northcote Parkinson wrote a well-known book, Parkinson’s Law: The Pursuit of Progress, where he ridiculed the excesses of government bureaucracy. Parkinson cited as an example the 5,000 employees supporting 5,000 English Navy vessels during the war and the same number of employees supporting only 500 vessels following the war. Parkinson’s “Laws,” though satirical,... Continue Reading
The staffing structures of many Southern Baptist Churches has been influenced by the philosophy of W.A. Criswell, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas (1944-1991). Dr. Criswell was known to employee numerous Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary students and graduates to oversee very narrow and specific age demographics. Criswell was said to have set recruitment goals for church staff based upon... 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