Leadership
Give the Work Time to Mature
I’ve served as Senior Pastor at Candia Congregational Church since July 2017. Founded over 250 years ago, the church had spent the past four decades with renewed focus on loving God and people as Jesus commanded. When I arrived, the church had several thriving ministries, but as the big events grew, we started asking: “Are…
Read MoreFrom Isolation to Impact: How Pastor Cohorts Change Ministry
The text arrived at 2:00 am: “Thinking about quitting. Can’t do this anymore.” Sound familiar? If you are a pastor in New England, you’ve either sent that message, received it, or thought about sending it. Picture this: You have just preached your heart out to forty-seven people scattered across a sanctuary built for two hundred.…
Read MoreSeven Principles of Inspiring Worship
Many years ago, as a seminary student, I purchased a single page from a first edition (1611) King James Bible. I framed this large, pulpit-size Bible page, and it later hung in my office at the first church I pastored. Years later, when I retired from that ministry, I had the page conserved and reframed…
Read MoreObstacles to Holy Worship: Some Churches Make It Hard for People to Worship
One summer Sunday morning many years ago, I had the Sunday off from preaching at my own church and decided to visit a colleague’s church nearby. I recall that I was feeling very empty spiritually and was hungry for an encounter with the Lord. The service started well with some uplifting music, prayer, and Scripture.…
Read MoreStrategies for Pastors to Stay Emotionally Connected to Their Ministry Team
Being a pastor comes with unique responsibilities and challenges, not least of which is the isolation that can come with leadership. Despite this, it is crucial for pastors to remain emotionally connected to their staff, leaders, and volunteers, as these connections form the bedrock of a supportive and effective ministry team. Here are some strategies…
Read MorePreventing Ministry Team Burnout
by Steve Treash, Overseed Field Director The concept of “burnout” originated in the 1970’s with a psychologist named Herbert Freudenberger who used the term to describe what he saw among the volunteer staff of a medical clinic in New York City. The volunteers were young, enthusiastic and on a mission to serve the City’s poor…
Read MoreStaffing a Small Church with Volunteers
Like the proverbial small school quarterback who plays in the marching band at half-time, the small church pastor has to make quick uniform (and mindset) changes throughout his week. I vividly recall the early days of my one and only pastorate, a 35-year ministry, when the church was small and we were struggling to come…
Read MoreChurch Organizational Structure: The Case for Elders (Part 2 in series)
Imagine the headline: “Archaeologists Discover Previously Unknown New Testament Document!” The article goes on to report that the document is an authentic first-century description by the Apostles of how a church should be organized. Suddenly, we would have the definitive church organizational structure. The finding would upend Christian history and ecclesiology and have to be…
Read MoreChurch Organizational Structure: Help or Hindrance? (Part 1 in series)
A few years ago, a friend who is a denominational executive sent me a copy of the proposed organizational structure drafted by one of his member churches. He wanted my opinion. After reading the complicated, convoluted, and overly detailed document, I emailed my friend with my conclusion that this was the church structure from Hades.…
Read MoreAlpha as a Leadership Development Tool
One of the oddest incidents in the Book of Exodus occurs when Moses’ father-in-law Jethro visits him in the Sinai wilderness (Exodus 18). Moses and the Israelites had just witnessed some of the greatest miracles in the Israel’s history: the plagues, the Passover, the Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea, and the provision of…
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