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  Successful churches understand that strong leadership is non-negotiable and that leadership development is equally important. Unlike most secular organizations, it is imperative to create leadership roles beyond paid staff. Lay leadership is critical to the success and mission of the church. Leadership Development Cycle Jesus developed leaders by finding ordinary people and bringing out the extraordinary in them. He didn’t find Peter the apostle; he found Peter the fisherman and developed him into an apostolic leader. Jesus didn’t stumble upon Matthew the disciple; instead he found a tax collector and developed him into a disciple leader. While there’s nothing wrong with hiring leaders, it’s pretty obvious that Jesus’ life exemplifies leadership development. The apostle Paul echoes this in his letter to Timothy. He writes, You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.   And the things you have heard me ...

Just last week I was standing in line waiting to board a Southwest flight, when  someone  tugged my jacket and asked what number I had. I turned around to see a kid who was about twelve years old. After finding his place in line, we began to talk. I learned he was from Chicago and this was his very first time flying. He asked me several questions about what to expect. It was obvious the kid was pretty nervous. I watched him gulp hard as our group begin to board. We were sitting a few seats apart on the plane. I watched him as the flight attendants grabbed the microphone did their thing. His eyes were glued forward and he was listening to every word they said. Everyone else was either talking, reading or trying to get last minute emails out; but this kid was mesmerized. A frequent flyer would call these announcements redundant; but for the new flyer, the words were of the utmost importance. The attendants did a great job having fun wit...

If there is one common denominator among churches, it is the importance of volunteers. Both small and large churches have to be intentional when it comes to creating a healthy volunteer base. When we think of volunteer health, we probably envision a church where people are standing in line to serve; and once they commit, they actually show up. I have yet to see a church with a long line of people waiting to serve, but I have seen churches do it well. Here are three things I have observed in churches where volunteerism was healthy: Finding Volunteers   Most churches who have healthy volunteerism understand people are more likely to serve when they are found (and asked) by people they personally know. Creating a  strategy for  active volunteers to invite their friends and family to join them produces much better results than an announcement and a sign up sheet. Firing Volunteers   Seldom do people ever think about firing a volunteer, I mean, they’r...

Whenever we work with churches who are stuck, we start with tools that bring perspective. When teams discover where the bottlenecks are, they can begin to build and implement plans to break through the gridlock. 

One tool I like to use helps churches identify how well they are making disciples. You start by identifying four specific people groups and the percentage each group makes up of the whole church. Non-Christian New Christian 
Growing Christian 
Mature Christian While percentages vary, the church’s worship and preaching style often correlates with a predictable outcome. 
Traditional-Style Churches In my experience, churches with traditional worship and preaching styles often end up with numbers like this:
 
I’ve heard these numbers given proudly, as the team believes this indicates solid Bible teaching has led to the spiritually mature being the highest percentage of their congregation....

  It has always been said, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." This is true in both the business and the church. Because of this, leadership health is vital. Keeping leadership healthy requires many things like accountability, mentoring, and focus. In many ways, these things (and others) creates a pressure that enables leaders to function and thrive. When leadership pressure is healthy, leaders are healthy; when it's not, things can go badly pretty quick. Both too little pressure or too much is unhealthy for any organization. Check out the bell curve below.  Too little leadership pressure results in low performance and too much pressure drives performance down as well.  There are certain indicators that can reveal whether or not leadership pressure is too little or too much. There are also indicators that reveal healthy leadership pressure.  The "Good ole Boy" Mentality When there is a lack of little or no leadership pressure, the "good ol...

If I could give pastors a magic wand to fix one thing in their church, I believe most would wave the wand over their volunteer problem. I can easily hear the pain of broken volunteerism. Words like  burned out, tired  and  overworked  hang in the air.  There are a lot of things that can contribute to poor volunteerism. While working with different churches, I have picked up a few things that seem to help people get connected. Here's three things to consider when trying to people to move into serving at your church.  Build the Right Culture Are you creating a culture of obligation or opportunity. A culture of obligation uses desperation and guilt to push people to serve. The whole  "God's going to get you if you don't serve"  spill seldom works. And even if people are guilted into serving, the commitment is  usually  short lived. Volunteerism should be presented as an opportunity, not an obligation. ...

Whenever I serve as a secret shopper in churches, I try to look for things that can be easily changed and bring quick results. Usually the order of service always makes it to my report. I have experienced about every flavor. Some services feel like a race car that would hit seventy miles an hour, slam on the brakes and repeat. In other churches, the services were formatted and predictable. The bulletin told you when to stand up, sit down, stand up again and when to pray.   Regardless of your approach to Sunday, I think there is a critical question to be asked; "Do we want to create a weekend service or a weekend experience?" There is a huge difference between the two. Whenever my wife and I go to a Kentucky Wildcats game in Lexington, it's more than a game. We put on our blue attire and anticipate a great evening. When we walk through the doors of Rupp Arena, there is a buzz in the air. People are excited, giving out high-fives and cheer...