As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“I’ve taught seminary students now for 26 years, and I’ve worked with hundreds of graduates in doctoral programs or local church events. I always want to know what leadership issues pastors wish someone had taught them. Here are twelve I hear often” - Chuck Lawless
“What reasons do pastors give when asked why they’ve thought about stepping down for good? Stress, loneliness and political division are the three items that rise to the surface.” - Barna
“…some pastors may be tempted not to include a class on their own local church’s history. Not so fast! Your congregation’s story is worth retelling for at least three reasons.” - 9 Marks
Leadership development is one of those things that churches frequently talk about but rarely plan for or actually do. According to Ephesians 4:12-16, every church is responsible to train its members for gospel-advancing, church-building ministry. But how do we do that? Below is an example of the process our church uses to develop leaders for ministry:
The Three Step Process of Ministry Leadership Development at Community of Grace
“The youngest pastors (ages 18-44) are most likely to say they deal with stress in ministry (78%), while the oldest pastors (ages 65 and older) are the least likely (47%).” - C.Index
“My recent article, ‘Are We Preaching with Power?,’ kicked up some responses at Sharper Iron. The discussion was positive (a rarity on the internet), and it prompts this expansion of the theme.” - Don Johnson
“The largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States announced the release of its annual statistics on Monday, which were compiled by the PC(USA) Office of the General Assembly.” - C.Post
“44% of pastors say they need to invest in learning better communication skills. Michael Nave, pastor of Cornerstone Church, joins Ben Mandrell… to discuss the Greatest Needs of Pastors study and what pastors can do to become better communicators.” - Lifeway
“Christians … tend to believe missions is a calling for some (51%), not a mandate for all (25%). On the other hand, the vast majority of pastors (85%)—regardless of denomination—says missions is work that all Christians participate in.” - Barna
“Platt gave a talk yesterday at the T4G conference that was an excellent challenge for all Christians to be more committed to pursuing disciples of Christ among all nations…. I believe something was missing from his message, and that missing element is vital to understand the work of missions.” - Ben Edwards
Discussion