LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 213: LEADERSHIP SHORTAGE… & WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT
The average age of a clergy member today is 57, compared to age 50 in 2000 (Lifeway Research). Half of all American pastors today are older than age 55. In 1992, 24% of all American pastors were older than 55 (Barna). One of the impacts of these alarming trends? The...
LITTLE THINGS
Today we welcome one of our Converge Coaching teammates, Mary Selzer, to the blog. As we prepare our minds and hearts for Thanksgiving festivities, I hope this short and powerful piece of writing influences your heart and mind toward gratitude and joy ~ John. ...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODES 212- INTERVIEW WITH SHANNON SHAFFER- PART 2
In today’s episode we continue with Part 2 of our compelling conversation with Shannon Shaffer, worship pastor at Auburn Hills Christian Center. We explore the personal and public components of worship leading, the traits of an effective worship leader, and how...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 211 – INTERVIEW WITH SHANNON SHAFFER – PART 1
Today’s episode contains Part 1 of our powerful interview with Shannon Shaffer, Worship Pastor at Auburn Hills Christian Center, located in Auburn Hills, MI. Our conversation today focuses on factors that cause turbulence between worship pastors and lead pastors, and...
THE IMPACT OF CLARITY ON YOUR LEADERSHIP
We began October talking about Pastor Appreciation Month. As church leaders and pastors, if we desire to be appreciated by our congregation, our contention in this month of posts has been this: we must make progress toward becoming leaders worthy of such respect. Last...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 210: LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
In terms of successful marketplace organizations, ones that are financially profitable while creating an environment valuing both the employee and the customer/consumer are ideal. The question is: what does success in pastoral or ministry leadership look like? And...
THE IMPACT OF NAVIGATING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
If you want to lead well for a long time—and be respected by those you lead—you must figure out how to handle difficult conversations. If you don’t . . . you put a cap on your how many people God can trust you to lead well. During the month of October, we honor...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 209: LEADERSHIP & DISCERNMENT
In Episode 209 we continue our Leadership & series with Leadership & Discernment. Discernment is an often overlooked and underutilized tool in a leader’s repertoire. Merriam-Webster partially defines discernment as the ability to “detect with senses other than...
THE IMPACT OF SOFT SKILLS
You as a leader are the biggest contributor to your team’s level of production. And most of the things you can do to increase good outcomes have to do with soft skills. Hard skills, also known as technical skills, are technical knowledge or training you’ve acquired...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 208: LEADERSHIP & SOFT SKILLS
In the final segment of our Leadership series, we’re going to unpack Leadership & Soft Skills. You as a leader are the biggest contributor to your team’s level of production. And most of the things you can do to increase good outcomes have to do with soft skills....
PASTOR APPRECIATION MONTH: WHY AND HOW?
In today’s post, Jaime Hlavin kicks off a series of four blogs focused on Pastor Appreciation Month. We are taking a bit of a different slant on the subject, focusing on how pastors can lead and serve in such a way that honor is due them. Enjoy ~ John. It was...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 207: LEADERSHIP & DELEGATION
We’re in the third segment of our Leadership & series. In Episode 205, we explored Leadership & Communication. In 206, Leadership & Seismos Moments. Today’s episode focuses on Leadership & Delegation. Sharing the ministry load doesn’t always come...
LEADERSHIP AND DISCERNMENT
In today’s powerful post Jaime Hlavin unpacks the reasons we leaders need to develop discernment. Every leader needs a shepherd’s radar. And then Jaime proceeds to give us four practical steps to hone this most important leadership skill. Enjoy ~ John The word...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 206: LEADERSHIP & SEISMOS MOMENTS
Today in Part 2 of our two-part series, Leadership & …. We tackle the subject of Leadership & Seismos Moments. You can listen to the podcast here. The video version is here. Matthew 8:23-27: “Then he (Jesus) got into the boat and his disciples followed him....
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
The Oxford English Dictionary defines success as: 1) The accomplishment of an aim or purpose. 2) The attainment of fame, wealth, or social status. 3) A person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains fame, wealth, etc. My Generation X childhood memory of success...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 205: LEADERSHIP & EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Today we kick off a 2-week series of pods entitled Leadership & … Leadership and Communication Leadership and Seismos Moments Today we start with Part 1: Leadership & Communication. Effective communication is a super important skill, but it is hard. No matter...
LEADERSHIP & SEISMOS MOMENTS
Leadership tosses a variety of storms our way . . . some are garden variety storms; others are white-knuckle events. In today’s post I want to unpack a familiar passage of Scripture with you, explore some of the larger storms leadership tosses at us, and then outline...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 204: THE CO-VOCATIONAL BALANCING ACT
In 2015, more than 38% of pastors in the U.S. were co-vocational. Almost every church has at least one co-vocational pastor on their team. Tim Diehl defines a co-vocational pastor as a person who serves as a pastor in a church and carries one or more other jobs in...
THE TRUTH ABOUT FORGIVENESS
I was reading recently about a group of neighborhood children who were playing baseball when someone hit one across the street, smashing through sweet old Mrs. Jones’ picture window. Instead of doing what I did as a kid—running away—the children went to Mrs. Jones’...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 203: THE IMPACT OF HUMILITY ON A LEADER
In today’s episode we unpack six powerful ways humility shapes our leadership and sets us up not only to bear good fruit . . . but to do so over a long span of time. “The great act of faith is when man decides he is not God.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes I am not equipped...
PUTTING THE GOOD IN GOODBYE: A HEALTHY CONVERSATION ABOUT THE COMINGS & GOINGS OF CHURCH PEOPLE WEEK EIGHT: FINAL WORDS
Today’s post is the last leg of our journey through Putting the Good in Goodbye. We trust that we’ve offered you some tools to navigate those seasons when you become acutely aware pastoring is not for the faint of heart. We understand the weight of responsibility a...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 202: SO YOU’RE A PASTOR’S KID – PART 2
In Part 2 of our conversation with JD Wiegand, JD unpacks what he wishes he could have said to his parents, to pastors who have children, and to kids whose parents pastor a church. If you pastor a church and still have children at home, you are not going to want to...
PUTTING THE GOOD IN GOODBYE: A HEALTHY CONVERSATION ABOUT THE COMINGS & GOINGS OF CHURCH PEOPLE WEEK SEVEN: WHEN A STAFF MEMBER LEAVES
Sometimes those who’ve left our churches at some point decide to come back. Last week we learned how to handle that gracefully. In today’s post we talk about another type of leaving as we evaluate Chapter 7 of Putting the Good in Goodbye. We’ll walk through a process...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 201: SO YOU’RE A PASTOR’S KID – PART 1
I (John) started in vocational ministry when I was 22 years old. I was about 3 months in when I heard an acronym for the first time – PK. That acronym was usually inserted into a sentence that went something like this . . . “Oh well, you know those PKs are a special...
PUTTING THE GOOD IN GOODBYE: A HEALTHY CONVERSATION ABOUT THE COMINGS & GOINGS OF CHURCH PEOPLE WEEK SIX: WHEN PEOPLE COME BACK GO
In last week’s post we dug deep. Dredging up the feelings of processing departures can be emotional and exhausting. Hopefully you found some peace and tangible tools in our dive into Chapter 6. This week we continue to Chapter 7 of Putting the Good in Goodbye . . ....
LEADING FROM ALINMENT EPISODE 196: TOP FIVE COUNTDOWN – NUMBER 5: SHAPING THE CULTURE YOU NEED
As we approach our 200th episode, we thought it might be fun to re-release our most popular five podcasts. Today’s episode is our first most listened to and watched episode: Shaping the Culture You Need. Culture is fuel. You can craft an amazing vision, have a...
PUTTING THE GOOD IN GOODBYE: A HEALTHY CONVERSATION ABOUT THE COMINGS & GOINGS OF CHURCH PEOPLE WEEK FIVE: WHEN PEOPLE GO
A healthier way of saying goodbye begins with a healthier way of saying hello. We learned that in last week’s post from chapter five in Putting the Good in Goodbye. This week we will discuss Chapter six . . . what to do when people go. When a church member departs, it...
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 199: TOP FIVE COUNTDOWN – NUMBER 2: HOW TO LEAD CONFIDENTLY WITHOUT BEING JERKY
As we approach our 200th episode, we thought it might be fun to re-release our most popular five podcasts. Today’s episode is our second most listened to and watched episode: How to Lead Without Being Jerky. Sometimes a leader has to . . . well . . . lead. Some...
PUTTING THE GOOD IN GOODBYE: A HEALTHY CONVERSATION ABOUT THE COMINGS & GOINGS OF CHURCH PEOPLE WEEK FOUR: WHEN PEOPLE ARRIVE
In last week’s post, we evaluated what it means to “put people in their place” in our churches. In a nutshell: They are God’s people, not ours. In Week Four of Putting the Good in Goodbye, we will dive into what we need to do when people arrive at our churches....
LEADING FROM ALIGNMENT EPISODE 198: TOP FIVE COUNTDOWN- NUMBER 3: THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF WORKAHOLISM
As we approach our 200th episode, we thought it might be fun to re-release our most popular five podcasts. Today’s episode is our third most listened to and watched episode: The Hidden Danger of Workaholism. When you love what you do for a living—when work...