Category: Leadership

Church workers and evenings

There are challenges about how we do ministry in a healthy way.  This means that there are aspects to church leadership both in a paid and in a voluntary capacity that are difficult, sometimes these are unavoidable and sometimes they are simply down to how we organise things. One frequent suggestion is that the pressure… Continue reading Church workers and evenings

Adding workers to your team -who to look for

I was reflecting further on the conversation from the other day about staff wages, in particular Youth workers and wondered if there was a little bit more to say here, not so much about the salaries themselves but about what they may be saying about other issues in terms of recruitment. The point was crystalised… Continue reading Adding workers to your team -who to look for

Women and church leadership

I wanted to say a little bit more here about church leadership and my previous comments about churches needing both mums and dads.  I’m a complementarian which means that I believe men and women are created equally in God’s image and are co-heirs in Christ.  It also means that they bring different perspectives, gifts, roles… Continue reading Women and church leadership

What is eldership about?

I’ve recently joined the eldership team of our church.  The process has been significantly different to my previous experience including when we joined our previous church and when I had a look around at potential church jobs back in 2021.  This partly reflects the fact that I was not being considered for a paid role… Continue reading What is eldership about?

Leaders at risk

These reflections were prompted by a conversation with my dad who has been reading through 1 Samuel over the past few weeks.  We were talking about Saul and his response to David’s popularity, his jealousy when David is praised for killing more Philistines than him. On one level, there’s some practical questions.  How should a… Continue reading Leaders at risk

Is my friend on the slippery slope?

My friend Steve Kneale wrote this article the other day arguing that if we are encouraging and offering theological training for men in the church, then we should also offer it for women too.  Men and women should have equal access to this kind of training and education. All of that at first glance seemed… Continue reading Is my friend on the slippery slope?

Board games and the missing step when interviewing potential pastors

My friend Richard Baxter has suggested that pastoral interviews should include a game of monopoly. He is not being completely serious about having board games but he is arguing that we need more than just an interview and a preach to get a feel for potential pastoral candidates. As it happens, whilst the interview process… Continue reading Board games and the missing step when interviewing potential pastors

The key difference between the volunteer and the staff worker

I saw this helpful thread from Tim Wilson, the other day about how to volunteer in church life without burning out.  One useful observation he made was that church members shouldn’t compare what they are able to commit to with what a paid member of staff such as the pastor or youth worker can do. … Continue reading The key difference between the volunteer and the staff worker

Before you warn about danger first make sure there’s an ark ready

Noah was called by God to be a witness to the world around d him as the day of judgement drew near and the Flood was about to come.  It’s clear from the New Testament that Noah was preaching to the people, warning them of coming danger. This warning came through the fact that he… Continue reading Before you warn about danger first make sure there’s an ark ready