As a church leader, you have a lot of things on your plate. Hopefully, most of it is good stuff. However, I realize many church leaders have some less than encouraging issues to work through as well.
Although these are real challenges in today’s economic environment, they are merely the symptoms of deeper issues related to the health of your ministry. Many leaders don’t know where to begin. Continue Reading…
If you follow my blog, I think it’s safe to say you get that technology has a place in the church. Technology distributes and accelerates our efforts to build community and foster deeper ministry engagement. I love it when I see churches using Church Community Builder to move members through processes which lead to greater connection, commitment and sense of belonging. It’s funny to me how those same churches don’t act concerned about money but I covered that topic already.
When churches take the time to understand the systems and processes that define how they do church, the church is empowered to use technology to maintain, manage, improve, and measure the effectiveness in core areas of ministry. Below are three examples of some of the core processes which can be improved with the right technology: Continue Reading…
It exasperates me when I talk to church leaders who see their church management software (ChMS) only as a glorified rolodex or tool for tracking contributions. I am so passionately opposed to this viewpoint that I encourage our sales team at Church Community Builder to point those leaders to a different solution. Sure, we can do those things but that is so far removed from our mission and calling that it would only frustrate us and the church if we chose to serve them.
It is frustrating to see innovative churches adopt technology as a way to measure, manage, and improve the core processes of their ministry and yet see others who still wonder if a ChMS is worth the money, time, and effort. I have some grace here because I understand this opinion is largely the result of existing technology that simply can’t deliver on this promise or wasn’t designed with that vision in mind. There are, however, some amazing solutions available today that will, over time, change this perception. Now THAT is exciting to me! Continue Reading…
Because of the way our church management software provides socially-driven leadership tools, church leaders frequently ask me, “Why have another social network exclusively for my church when everybody already uses Facebook?” That’s a legitimate question and one worthy of some further conversation.
Let me paint the big “why” before I drill down… Continue Reading…
There’s nothing like taking people who are supposed to be working as a “team” in the workplace and seeing how they function as a “team” on an obstacle course.
If you don’t already know Michael Hyatt, you should. Michael is the chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers and writes a great blog that centers on leadership. Recently, he covered a few lessons he learned straight from taking some of his staff members to a low ropes course. Here are three of Michael’s best thoughts: Continue Reading…
I just finished a thought-provoking book called Leadership and Self Deception from the Arbinger Institute. It eloquently addresses the tendency we all have to sabotage our own leadership by ignoring our “gut” and not following through on actions which will benefit those we lead, serve, or simply do life with. As Christ-followers, that “gut” feel is the Holy Spirit and we often betray or ignore it. This leads to self-betrayal, which then leads to conflict and unhealthy attitudes towards others.
For me, this is almost always an unconscious act. I have no idea I am ignoring my gut until I see the damage on the other side. James 4:1 provides some insight into what is happening here:
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (NIV) Continue Reading…
