Leading From Alignment

Should I stay, or should I go? A question most pastors have asked multiple times. Churches can experience two extremes when it comes to lead pastors: pastors who leave prematurely, or pastors who hang on too long. In today’s episode John and Jim unpack four powerful questions and four practical steps to help leaders discern if a necessary ending is nearing

In last week’s episode 257 we explored a leader’s most important assignment . . . building a strong inner life. In today’s episode we piggyback on that idea today by unpacking a practical way to get arrive at a stronger inside life . . . responding to Jesus’ invitation to weary leaders. The more we say yes to His invitation in Matthew 11, the stronger our inner life grows.

In today’s episode John and Jim do a quick flyover of three quotes from Peter Scazzero’s book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader. Together they unpack the #1 assignment of every pastor—an assignment that if taken seriously, is the biggest contributor to a pastor’s longevity and fruitfulness.

It’s national election season again. It’s safe to assume there’s going to be some tension leaking into the churches you lead. In today’s episode John & Jim unpack four perspectives we hope will help you manage that tension.

Today John and Jim welcome to the mic Lewis Brandon, pastor of Jordantown Wesleyan Church in Vinton, Virginia. A vibrant, growing church led by a vibrant, growing pastor. His powerful journey of healing from brokenness, anxiety, and depression is one of the most moving interviews we’ve had in the history of this podcast.

Finding character-filled, talented people to add to your team is challenging. In today’s episode Johne and Jim conclude their three-part series on Staffing Your Church from Within. They welcome to the mic today, Pastor Jim Westheim, Director of Operations at Faith Alive Church in West Branch, Michigan. He will unpack the practical steps Faith Alive has taken to successfully build their team from within (including 225 volunteers) over the last three years.

Finding character-filled, talented people to add to your team is becoming increasingly challenging. The pool of available candidates seems thin right now, and we sense it could stay that way for the near future.

Considering those realities, we offer Part 2 of our series, Staffing Your Church from Within. In today’s episode we get extremely practical about taking next steps to implement this way of adding to your team.

Over the past few weeks, more than a dozen pastors have reported to us they are trying to add staff. They have the budget for it but are finding the talent pool shallow. We believe this trend will continue to grow in the years ahead. With that in mind, today’s episode is the first in a series of three podcasts dedicated to the idea of staffing your church from within.

The health of your marriage is foundational to the health of the organization you lead. The most impactful thing a pastor does for a church’s health is to have a healthy marriage. In Part 2 of their conversation with Greg and Rachelle Colegrove, founders of The Fun Marriage Workshop, John and Jim explore what pastors and their spouse can do if they find themselves in marital crisis, how they can get in front of marital struggles, and the impact marital health has on the church they lead.

In today’s episode, Greg and Rachelle Colegrove, founders of The Fun Marriage Workshop, join John and Jim on the mic. Together they unpack the leadership marriage landscape, the contributing factors to marital stress in a leader’s life, and finally what leaders can do to address those stressors both biblically and practically.