March 17, 2020

3 Spiritual Phrases Christian Leaders Should Stop Saying

I often hear from people who say “We don’t any need more ideas/strategies/conferences/skills…all we need to do is ________,” and then they fill in the blank with something that sounds spiritual. Maybe you have people like that at your church, or someone like that on your team. It’s amazing how common this perspective is. You know the drill.  Every time you suggest “Why don’t we try reformatting our services/changing our kids ministry/reaching out into the community” they shoot back with “what we really need to do is just pray” (or “what we really need to do is get back to the Bible…”) as though […]
March 12, 2020
Kevin Halloran shares the importance of vulnerability and transparency on a ministry team in order to grow in integrity.

Establishing Transparent Ministry Teams

This is the final part of the transcript of a conversation on Preventing Disqualifying Sins in Ministry between Kevin Halloran and John Eichholz. Reshared with kind permission from Leadership Resources Intl. Listen to the audio interview here: It’s important for us as individuals to think about, how we can we best prevent sin in our ministries, sin that could derail our ministry. How might we encourage a leadership team in a church or an organization to seek to protect one another? JH: I want to bring out our organization, Leadership Resources, as a good model. I find this mission organization a […]
March 10, 2020
Kevin Halloran interviews the field director of Leadership Resources Intl. about preventing sins in ministry.

Preventing Disqualifying Sins in Ministry: A Conversation

reshared with kind permission from the Leadership Resources The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16 to “watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (NIV). Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long to think of ministers who haven’t watched their lives or doctrine closely. Within the last couple of years, two high-profile pastors in the Chicago area have had their sin exposed publicly, even covered by news outlets like the Chicago Tribune. Major sin by Christian leaders leads to great pain, not only in the ministers’ lives […]
February 28, 2020

Latin America Spotlight: Interview with Honduran Trainers of Pastors

Do you ever feel overwhelmed in ministry? As though what you are doing does not really count for much? A young couple from Honduras has encouragement for you. We encourage you to watch the below video interview and then for your further encouragement enjoy the written article further below.      Pastors Kathy and Peter Hearne started ministry together 17 years ago (she specifically asked God that she would marry a pastor!). Today, in their region of Latin America, they are seeing more church planting than ever and more people saying “Yes” to God. They also see a tremendous need […]
February 20, 2020
Our perspective is everything as we choose how to adapt to change

Times of Change: Navigating Messy Transitions With Honest and Grace

Excerpted from “Making Peace with Change” by Gina Brenna Butz  Change is hard on our hearts. It requires heart energy to adjust to new and different ways of living. Starting new relationships, finding your way around a new place, learning the new job, adjusting to another culture, carving out new routines—these all take an emotional toll. So how do we navigate change well? How do we experience it as a gift with the potential to transform us?  It begins with honesty about what we’re experiencing, so we can find the grace we need to receive the lessons God has for us in […]
February 18, 2020
DTS podcast discusses what makes a good elder board

What Makes a Good Elder Board

What Makes a Good Elder Board? 00:15 Brandenburg’s background in pastoral ministry 02:17 What is an elder-led church? 10:19 What are the qualifications of an elder? 19:15 Is there an age requirement for elders? 24:00 Developing young leaders in the local church 27:04 Utilizing giftedness in the local church 34:48 Creating healthy relationships between pastors and elders 40:57 Building culture in the local church Bill Hendricks: Hi, my name is Bill Hendricks. I’m the Executive Director for Christian Leadership at the Hendricks Center, and I wanna welcome you to The Table Podcast, where we deal with issues of God and […]
February 13, 2020
The question of Bible readers versus simply being quoted

Have Bible Quoters Replaced Bible Readers?

Merely quoting verses is not “staying on the line” if you miss the intention of the author in the passage. After all, even Satan quoted Scripture when he tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13). In a recent article called, “Have Bible Quoters Replaced Bible Readers?“, Russell Moore explains why only quoting Scripture (as opposed to reading it well) is dangerous. Moore shares the following explanation from David Niehuis of how the issue often manifests itself: “Some of my students attend popular non-denominational churches led by entrepreneurial leaders who claim to be ‘Bible believing’ and strive to offer sermons that are ‘relevant’ […]
February 11, 2020
Pastor Aaron Buer shares how key being encouraging is to those that work in ministry.

How to Be a Chief Encouraging Officer At Your Church

My senior pastor often talks about the word “encourage” and how it contains the word “courage.” The word comes from Old French, “to make strong.” Have you noticed that ministry takes courage? Walking with a family as they grieve the loss of a loved one—that takes courage. Sharing the message of the cross with people who are far from God—that takes courage. Confronting each other’s sinful behavior—that takes courage. Asking the people of your church to serve and give—that takes courage. Sharing constructive feedback with church employees—that takes courage. Pouring out your heart from the stage as you teach or […]
February 6, 2020
Pastor Josh talks about the true cost of ministry which goes beyond financial resources.

The True Cost of Ministry

reshared with kind permission from Josh Reich. Picture this, your church just pulled off a big event, and you are sitting in a room evaluating it and deciding if it was a success. The answers are often dependent on how excited you were before the event and during it — the number of people who attended, people who became Christians, or how you experienced the event. Then someone asks, “Do we do this again next year?” Now, if you are smart, you would stop the conversation at this point. Churches are notorious for throwing money after things they’ve done before […]
February 4, 2020
Pastor Carey Nieuwhof shares about the tensions facing pastors of small and mid-sized churches.

5 Real Tensions Every Small to Mid-Sized Church Leader Feels

This article on the tensions that face small and mid-sized churches is reshared with kind permission from Pastor Carey Nieuwhof If you lead a small to mid-sized church, you face struggles leaders of large churches don’t. I can totally relate to the dynamics of leading a smaller church. When I began in ministry, I spent about 3 years leading a small congregation (under 100) that grew into a mid-sized church (under 500) and then grew into a larger church of 1500 I’m part of today. You learn a LOT about leadership (and yourself) at every stage. I remember the emotions […]