by Barry Voss Usually as pastors or church leaders we spend most our time trying to manage the people and resources of our ministry. We constantly think about how to lead others, train others, or develop them into leaders as well. Consequently, we often forget to manage the one person who also needs help – ourselves! God has given each of us one life to live. How we live that life is a measure of our love for God and what He has done for us through Jesus Christ. There is so much that God wants to do in and […]
“Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana (1863-1952) Church history reveals some lessons that Christians today would be wise to consider and reflect upon. The Christian Church has existed for 2,000 years, but it has changed and evolved significantly over that time. It is therefore important to look back and learn the lessons from the history of the Church that can help us chart a way forward today. A few years ago I read a wonderful book on the history of the Church written by Dr. Bruce Shelley entitled, “Church History in Plain […]
Choices: In this article by Barry Voss, originally posted via Faith Life Ministries, he highlights the extreme importance of our day to day decisions. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12 In life we all have many choices to make. We choose where to go to college, where to work, what career to pursue, where to live, who to marry, etc. Some choices we make can have a big impact on our lives, such as those mentioned above, while some are minor and only affect our day […]
(Leading and Managing People in the Church is taken from Chapter 6 in Barry Voss’ Management for Church Leaders™ Volume #1 Training Manual, ©2010.) “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31 The Golden Rule. It seems that we all know Luke 6:31 so well yet are unable to keep it most of the time. The church is a people business that is based upon relationships – with God and with each other. Jesus taught us this principle so we might live in harmony with each other, and with God, and to demonstrate to the world […]
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines” 1 Corinthians 12:7, 11 The Bible says that each Christian is given a spiritual gift(s) for use in building the Body of Christ. But what exactly are spiritual gifts? Are they the same as our skills and talents? How do we know what spiritual gift(s) we have? Why are they important? And how do we know when and how to use them? These […]
Someone once said that the only thing that never changes is change itself. It seems that everything is changing all the time. Just when you get into a routine, something changes that causes us to alter our plans and schedules. Change is inevitable. And the wise leader and manager anticipates change and adapts to it. Failure to adapt to change in our culture, our environment, or our ministries, will inevitably cause us to lose momentum. Staying the same while the world around us changes may give us peace and some level of comfort, but it will also leave us behind. […]
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34 Every year at this time people talk about wanting peace on earth. It’s common in Christmas carols and Christmas cards. It’s often a wish for the New Year. And after a very contentious election this year many Americans are asking “why can’t we all just get along?” But is peace on earth a realistic or even achievable goal? Peace can be defined as the absence of conflict. However, we live in a world of conflict. […]
In America today, many churches are struggling to effectively disciple and grow their churches. In fact, church attendance has been declining dramatically since the 1960’s (Tobin Grant, Religion News Service, January, 2014). One of the main reasons seems to be our changing culture in America. It used to be that virtually everyone went to church. It was part of our American culture. People went to church in many cases because it was what most Americans did on Sunday mornings. Pastors did not have to work that hard in getting people to come or remain in church. But that is not true […]
It’s often said that life is nothing more than a series of choices. We make decisions every day and every moment of our lives. Some are trivial but others can turn out to be quite significant. We are where we are today because of the choices we have made in the past. They may be choices about what college to go to, what career to pursue, what job to take, who to marry, or where to live. All of these decision have led us to the place we are today, whether right or wrong. And some decisions are irrevocable. In […]
Church management advisor and trainer, Barry Voss shares his objective insights on the topic of what he advises for those called to pastoral ministry. I have been training pastors and church leaders now for 12 years on leadership and management, focusing on teaching them Biblical principles and giving them practical tools to help them lead & manage their churches more effectively. I have 25+ years of experience as a leader and manager in business, in church, and in my own ministry, but yet I have never been pastor of a church. This often makes it very difficult for me to relate […]