How far in advance of the new calendar year's Sermon Calendar do you start the planning process? When we're "firing on all cylinders," we begin the planning process the first week in October. The process begins with preparation for "data day," which is a meeting or two during which we look at the current year's measures and other inputs in preparation for a discussion about the coming year. This includes the … [Read more...]
A “Customer Service” Culture
Transforming Organizational Culture Is Absolutely Necessary But A Very Difficult Thing To Do
I read a book a very long time ago that I was looking through again the other day. The book's name is The Nordstrom Way - The Inside Story of America's #1 Customer Service Company, written by Robert Spector and Patrick D. McCarthy. A couple of paragraphs from the first chapter caught my eye and reminded me why I got so much out of this book so long ago. Read on ... Donald E. Peterson, the retired chairman of the … [Read more...]
My First Year As Executive Pastor
Recalling How We Went About Accomplishing This Very Important Leadership Transition In Our Church
I was having a conversation a while back with a senior pastor and his fairly new executive pastor on several topics. One of the questions they asked me was, "What was your first year in the role like? What should we be doing?" Having joined the staff almost 17 years ago, and it was fun to reflect on how my first year went. I thought I would share my response ... First of all, my decision to become an executive … [Read more...]
Decision Making
Decisions Are Made Based On An Organization's Priorities, Not On Fairness
I was in a meeting the other day during which a staff person said that something "wasn't fair." While I contemplated the decision and their comment, I remembered a post I saw a very long time ago written by Tim Stevens. In the post, he shared several thoughts ... We aren't fair about what gets promoted from the platform. Some ministries or events get priority. We aren't fair about which events or … [Read more...]
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