LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 113 SHOW NOTES: THE WORST DAY IN A PASTOR’S LIFE … & WHY IT SHOULDN’T BE
Some of the worst days in a pastor’s life is when people they care about decide to leave—but those don’t have to be their worst days. When people leave the church we lead, it can feel like it’s our fault. And usually, it really hurts. In today’s episode, Jim &...
GOD IS GOOD . . . BUT WE’RE NOT EXEMPT
God is good . . . but we’re not exempt. This thought has been running through my mind all week. Our interim pastor taught on Psalm 73 this past Sunday. The psalm tells the story of Asaph; a psalm writer, worship leader, and lover of God. In Psalm 73, Asaph revealed a...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 112 SHOW NOTES: LEADING THROUGH THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, & SUICIDAL IDEATION
Historically, the Church has not known what to do with depression, anxiety, or suicide. Our silence in the past was deafening. And while we’re grateful that increasingly, churches are talking about these three enemies more openly, we’re concerned the conversation...
THE WORST DAY IN A PASTOR’S LIFE . . . AND WHY IT SHOULDN’T BE
When people leave the church you pastor, God often mourns—and so should you—at least for a while. As a young pastor, the worst days in my life were when people I cared about decided to leave. But now I understand those didn’t have to be my worst days. When people...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 111 SHOW NOTES: THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF WORKAHOLISM
When you love what you do for a living—when work doesn’t feel like work because of your passion for it—you’re at more risk than most of falling into the workaholic treadmill. Pastors, missionaries, and all sorts of ministry leaders (business leaders) are susceptible...
HOW TO KNOW IF BURNOUT IS NEAR . . . AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
A Barna 2017 Study of 14,000 Protestant Lead Pastors in U.S. revealed that 37% of lead pastors are at medium to high risk of burnout. That percentage has grown even higher in the past two years. Here’s the thing about burnout – getting healed up is not like flipping a...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 110 SHOW NOTES: WHEN IS IT TIME TO STOP?
Do you ever arrive at mid-afternoon on a work day, and feel like your brain has turned to jello? Are there days when pushing through brain cramps is required? Of course. But if that is your daily default, you’re setting yourself up for trouble. Is there a legitimate...
DEALING WITH THE MESSINESS OF RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships can be messy, can’t they? In Acts 13:13 we read the following: “From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John (Mark) left them to return to Jerusalem.” We learn later on in Acts this departure caused Paul a lot of...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 109 SHOW NOTES: THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON THE ORGANIZATION YOU LEAD – PART 2 WITH JENNI CATRON
Welcome to Part 2 of our powerful conversation with Jenni Catron on the subject of The Impact of Culture on the Organization You Lead. The dynamics of your team—the way you work together to achieve the mission—flows throughout everything in your organization. Culture...
HOW TO BEHAVE AS BELIEVERS IN A MORALLY DECLINING CULTURE
Jaime Hlavin joins the blog again today, writing on the subject of how to behave while our world is falling off the moral cliff. This post is timely, practical, and challenging, all at the same time. Enjoy ~ John. It doesn’t take much to realize that we live in a...
FIVE THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ANGER
We live in an angry world. The age of outrage. We who lead are not immune from this unfortunate trend. How we handle anger has a huge impact on our emotional health. In Ephesians 4:26 the apostle Paul wrote: “In your anger do not sin.” Six simple words, that if...
MOVING FORWARD FROM ORGANIZATIONAL LOSS
Today, Jaime Hlavin writes a post on a subject nearly every church in America is dealing with: How do we move forward in light of the huge organizational (and personal) losses we’ve experienced during the past 18 months? Enjoy ~ John During those early weeks and...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 106 SHOW NOTES
Communication has become a complicated venture for leaders. Our current culture stands ready to pounce on any misspoken word or idea, and use it to attack/or criticize us. How can we hit the mark when we speak in such a volatile environment? Our guest, Andy Swart,...
THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF WORKAHOLISM
I enjoy occasionally watching the ABC show, Shark Tank. It’s entertaining, funny, informative, and at times—touching. The show reminds me about the importance of focus, passion, hard work, and commitment to one’s calling. It’s a weekly testament to the power of...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 105 SHOW NOTES
Sometimes a leader has to . . . well . . . lead. Some situations call for swift action instead of collaborative consensus. And in those situations, leaders lead. They make decisions Somebody has said when it comes to organizational decision-making, “a bad decision is...
LEADING THROUGH THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE OF ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, & SUICIDAL IDEATION
The Bermuda Triangle. A place of lore and fables regarding the vanishing of boats, airplanes, and humans. Here’s a description of the triangle from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association: “For decades, the Atlantic Ocean’s fabled Bermuda Triangle has...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 104 SHOW NOTES
Retaining high-character, high-performing staff is one of the most difficult challenges facing leaders today. And yet with a thoughtful and consistent approach, staff longevity is doable. Unfortunately, A-players don’t grow on trees. In today’s pod, John & Jim...
WHEN IS IT TIME TO STOP?
Do you ever arrive at mid-afternoon on a work day, and feel like your brain has turned to jello? Your gray matter is sucking air and running on fumes? You feel this inner urge to slow down . . . but suffer guilt because of the pile of work on your desk? Several years...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 103 SHOW NOTES
Building a strong, productive team is one of the hardest things a leader has to do. When hiring staff, it’s not unusual to operate in one of two extremes: We go totally with our gut and ignore objectivity . . . or we go totally with objectivity and ignore our gut....
NAVIGATING TRANSITIONS – PART 2
Jaime Hlavin joins us again today to wrap up her two part series on transition. Being in "the middle" is one of the more uncomfortable places to be in life. In today's post, Jaime once more poignantly unpacks a major transition she and her family are living through...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 102 SHOW NOTES
Shooting stars are so cool to watch. Church history (and world history) is full of stories about talented people who started well and had great upside only to eventually crash and burn. “Are you the kind of leader who punishes people—overtly or subtly—for speaking up...
NAVIGATING TRANSITIONS – PART 1
Today we welcome back Jaime Hlavin to the Converge Coaching blog. Jaime has been on hiatus for approximately three months while she and her husband walked through a huge career transition. Today she chronicles part of that journey for us. Enjoy ~ John I’ve been on a...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 101 SHOW NOTES
The most influential contributor to the growth of an organization is the growth of its leader. The leadership model that brought the church you lead to where it is now probably won’t get the church to where God wants it to go next. So how can a leader avoid becoming...
HOW TO BE PASSIONATE WITHOUT BEING RECKLESS
What drives you? Passion? Or adrenaline? Also called epinephrine, adrenaline is a crucial part of the body’s fight-or-flight response. In the right dose, it is a useful hormone. But over-exposure can be damaging to our health. A 2004 article by the Table Group points...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 100 SHOW NOTES
Today we celebrate the 100th episode of Leading From Alignment! Since we launched the podcast two years ago, we've had over 16,000 listens and video through plays. Today, John and Jim interview three special guests, asking them to share their favorite episodes, the...
FINDING HEALTH IN THE MIDDLE
A while back, a good friend pointed out that while the majority of pastors overwork, a certain segment of pastors have swung to the other extreme. This segment apparently thinks working forty hours per week is overdoing it. For them, it seems to be too much. And I...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 99 SHOW NOTES
Words . . . one of the most powerful forces for good in the organizations we serve. Unfortunately, one of the most powerful forces for not-so-good as well. Proverbs 18:21: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs...
HOW TO KNOW IF YOU’RE INSECURE (AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT)
Many leaders struggle with the demon of insecurity. (I’m using the word “demon” metaphorically, not literally.) King Saul was the crown prince of this particular character flaw. Chosen by God to be Israel’s first king, Saul had good looks, leadership skills, flashes...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT – EPISODE 98 SHOW NOTES
In 2015, more than 38% of pastors in the U.S. were bi-vocational. Almost every church has at least one bi-vocational leader on their team. Tim Diehl defines a bi-vocational pastor as a person who serves as a pastor in a church and also carries one or more other jobs...
THE PROBLEM WITH SHOOTING STAR LEADERS
Shooting stars are so cool to watch. They produce a bright streak of light in the sky, caused by the entry of a small meteoroid into the Earth’s atmosphere. Imagine laying on a beach during the summer at night, looking up at the sea of stars, and then all of a sudden,...