I've been doing this leadership thing for as long as I can remember. I've discovered how making and implementing difficult decisions is one of the hardest and most painful things we do. Whether it's church discipline, trying to help people experiencing financial hardship, or identifying and addressing unacceptable behavior, making and implementing difficult decisions is "difficult" and not much fun. It's just … [Read more...]
Performance-Based Compensation For Pastors
Is Compensating Pastors For "Good Performance" A Good Thing?
So, a senior pastor successfully grows their congregation by 20% this year and is rewarded with a bonus based on some predetermined set of parameters related to growth. Good for the pastor ... good for the church ... good for the kingdom? A campus pastor successfully launches a campus ahead of schedule and under budget. The church compensates the pastor to reward good performance. This is a good thing. … [Read more...]
Never Make A “Rule” You’re Not Prepared To Enforce
Another Important Practice When It Comes To Great Leadership
One mistake I see many leaders make is in the area of making "rules." What is a rule, really? When I was in corporate, depending on the organization, the Human Resources Manual or Employee Handbook always had a list of "Major Work Rules." If employees broke one of those rules, they would face "corrective action up to and including termination." The good news is, most of the time, these work rules were pretty … [Read more...]
Successful Staff Meetings
Here Are The 5 Keys To Having Successful Staff Meetings
How often do you meet with your staff? Are the meetings productive? Successful? In my experience as an Executive Pastor, I went through many iterations of attempting to have great staff meetings. While I wouldn't say, I ever got it "perfect," I would say we did a pretty good job with it. We met every Wednesday at noon and began with a brown bag lunch. In my experience, here's what I would say are the top 5 "keys" … [Read more...]