Before Christmas, I announced that I will be launching a new coaching network this spring for 12 church leaders. We’ll be meeting six days over six months beginning in March.

At this point, the first 12 spots are full, so I’m in the process of accepting applications for a second group. It looks like there may be about six openings left. Very likely we’ll have a group for Senior Pastors and a group for Executive Pastors. Have you committed to taking your next step in your leadership in 2012? If so, this may be your opportunity.

As a reminder, here are some things to keep in mind…

• This is not an opportunity for someone who is looking for inspiration. My coaching networks involve work. You can’t just show up. You will have to commit to six months of reading and engaging exercises with the ministry team at your church. This is designed to help you discover new systems and strategies.
• This experience isn’t for people looking for leadership theory. Yes, you’ll learn some leadership skills, but this experience is designed for you to put those skills into action. Every month you will leave with new tools to implement in your ministry environment. I want to help you shift your thinking and shift your behaviors.
• This is not a conference experience. In a conference, you can sit and soak in the teaching without engaging anyone else. In this coaching experience, you will be encouraged and challenged by other leaders who will be counting on you to participate fully.

(more…)

Scott Belsky

What should leaders and/or organizations consider stop and start doing in 2012? Here are some thoughts from Scott Belsky, the CEO of Behance.

TONY: What’s one thing that leaders and/or organizations (businesses, churches, non-profits, etc.) should consider stopping in 2012?

SCOTT: We need to stop surrendering to “reactionary workflow” – the state of simply reacting to everything that comes into us (twitter, Facebook, linked in, etc…)! Instead, we must be proactive with our energy in what matters most to us! In the digital age, it is all too easy to simply react all day every day and never move the needle in our long-term goals. Remember, success is, quite simply, making an impact in what matters most to you. We need to allocate our energy accordingly.

(more…)

Mark Batterson

A few weeks ago, I contacted several of my friends who are helping to shape the world around us in business, non-profits and ministry. I asked them to give me their thoughts on what leaders and/or organizations should consider stopping and starting in 2012.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share those insights beginning with these thoughts from Mark Batterson, the Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.

“Curse the barren fig tree!

“One of the most intriguing miracles that Jesus did was cursing a fig tree that wasn’t producing fruit. What if we had the courage to do that organizationally?  Every year we try to identify things within our organization that aren’t producing fruit.  It could be our print pieces—they become white noise.  It could be a particular ministry that is simply treading water. It could be a staff member that isn’t producing like they should.  It could be a policy that is outdated.

(more…)

Healthy churches are built around healthy leaders. It begins with you. If you’re not healthy, your influence will be marginal at best. Are you ready for a fresh a start?

Here are six resolutions to set you up for success. They’re the foundation for helping you take your next steps in your leadership.

6 New Year’s Resolutions for Church Leaders

1. Establish a healthy pace. God will not bless your life and your ministry if you deny his principles. That includes daily time to connect with God and prioritize our most important relationships. It means weekly taking a day to stop and take a sabbath. It means blocking off vacations months in advance for real renewal.
2. Invest in your family. For many of us that begins with our marriages. I started listing my friends who have blown up their ministry and their marriages because of infidelity. These aren’t people I read about in the news — these are people I have shared life with. The list is now in the double digits. Your marriage and your family need to come before your ministry, because unhealthiness will eventually end your ministry.
3. Grow with other leaders. The emphasis is both on “grow” and with “other leaders.” You need both. Don’t settle for what you already know and what you’ve already done. Be stretched by other leaders. Gather with peers. Find a mentor. Connect with a coaching network. Be intentional about taking your next steps. If you think you’re beyond this, you are a very prideful person. (more…)

In the last few months of the year, I wrote a series of posts on building senior leadership teams. One of the posts focused on how to identify people who should be on that team. Those seven questions that I offered led to a lot of conversation on Twitter. With that, this become the #3 most popular article in 2011.

Senior Leadership Teams: 7 Questions to Identify Who Should be on the Team

When considering who should be on the senior leadership team, many times we try to answer the wrong questions. Sometimes we ask, “What positions should be represented on the team?” In church world, we may think the “Pastor” or “Director” title or people with certain positions automatically qualify. That’s not always the case.

Sometimes we ask, “Who has been around for the longest?” Tenure does not necessarily equate with the profile of the person you want serving on this team. In fact, I’d argue that if you’re stuck and fresh perspective is one of your needs, sometimes the newest person may be who should be on the team.

It’s not about positional leadership or length of ministry. It’s not necessarily the people at the very top of your current organizational structure. However, once you identify the right people for your situation, you should build your structure around your senior leadership team. In other words, every person and every ministry needs to be connected to one person on your senior leadership team.

With that preface, here are seven questions to help you identify who should be on your senior leadership team. This assumes, of course, people have already met the qualifications of leadership defined by Scripture.

1. Do they have the leadership gift? This is the key question that shapes everything else. If they aren’t a leader, they shouldn’t be on this team. You also need to consider leadership capacity. We know from Scripture that there are leaders of tens, fifties, hundreds and thousands. For this team, you ultimately need leaders of hundreds and thousands.
2. Are they a big-picture thinker? In other words, this person always prioritizes the church’s health over what’s happening in their specific ministry area. They are more concerned with alignment to the overall goals rather than defending their turf. They won’t let their passion for a specific ministry get in the way of making decisions that help the entire church take a step forward.
3. Is this person a strategic thinker? You need people who can think beyond the daily details. There are places for managers on your team. You need people who can take the game plan and make it happen. Your senior team, though, isn’t the place for managers. Find people who think about the future and then can strategically propose how to get from here to there.
4. Can they build teams? In ministry, this is primarily about building and equipping teams of volunteers. As the church grows, you also need people who can develop staff teams. These are the folks who have demonstrated they can identify and empower other leaders. If their instinct is, “I need to do this myself,” you have the wrong person.

Back in March, it appears that I struck a chord with this post. Not only did it receive a lot of Tweets and comments, I’ve probably not had any post that has generated as many confidential email messages confirming this is as issue in churches across the country. Because of that, this became the #5 most popular article in 2011.

The “Culture of Honor” is Hurting Churches

At the risk of not showing honor to peers in ministry, I want to tackle the topic of honor today. I’m concerned. I see a trend in churches that I think is unhealthy. Honestly, I believe it’s also unbiblical.

There are a number of churches today that are trying to teach a culture of honor. The concept of honor is biblical. In fact, Romans 12:10 tells us to:

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (ESV)

We should show honor to our leaders, but God designed it to go both directions. If it’s one-way, it’s unhealthy and unbiblical.

Let me explain further how God designed honor to work in church leadership. First of all, we are supposed to submit to our leaders. Hebrews 13:17 says:

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

One of the ways we show honor to our leaders is by submitting to their authority. At the same time, though, leaders are instructed to show honor by serving those they lead:

“But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

That’s the servant leadership that seems to be missing when the “culture of honor” is carried out to the extreme. Servant leadership only goes one direction. When that happens, honor only goes one direction.

[Read the entire article.]

I get questions daily from folks who are part of my network. Primarily, they come through this site and Twitter. Here’s a question that I received that ended up generating the #6 most popular article in 2011.

11 Questions Church Leaders Should be Asking

A friend in ministry recently asked me what questions church leaders should be asking. I thought about the types of questions I try to help answer when I’m working with them in the church consulting or coaching relationships. Here are the first questions and some bonus thoughts that came to mind:

1. When was the last time I heard from God? Am I doing what he called me to do? This is the “Acts 6″ question. Acts 6 is a great reminder that it’s possible to be doing the ministry of God without doing the ministry God has called us to do.
2. What should our church be known for in this community? For a moment, ignore anyone who attends your church. What does the rest of the community know about your church?  That’s a better reflection of whether or not you’re really accomplishing your vision.
3. Are we really focusing our time, money, leadership, prayer behind the things that will produce life change and community impact? If not, there’s a good chance that “fairness” is driving these decisions. Fairness never produces revolution.
4. Is our church growing both spiritually and in numbers? Churches that are stuck and not bearing fruit hate this question. As I’ve shared before, I don’t believe healthy churches are necessarily big churches, but healthy churches aregrowing churches.
5. Is there a clear path to help people take steps in their faith with the ultimate goal of them becoming fully-devoted followers of Christ? Having a vibrant Sunday worship experience is only one component of that. I’m amazed at how many churches haven’t really established a discipleship strategy beyond Sunday morning.

I released several eBooks in 2011. This has by far been the most popular. It’s been downloaded or read online by over 22,000 people. Here’s the post that started it all. The #8 most popular article on my website in 2011 was all about helping people consider their theology of leadership.

Have you developed a theology of leadership?

Today is the official launch of my new eBook, Developing a Theology of Leadership. Amazingly, the stats indicate over 1,300 people have already read it since I leaked out the link before the weekend. I’m hoping you’ll find this resource helpful as you begin to consider who you are as a leader.

This eBook is based on a series of articles I wrote about two years ago. Thanks to the help of Ben Stroup, we’ve refreshed the content and added some new features to help you take your next steps in your leadership.

What I love about this and the next few resources I’m about ready to release is that you can’t just read them and put them on a shelf. (They’re eBooks. That would literally be impossible.) Aside from that, each eBook includes a discussion guide for you to begin a conversation with your ministry team. I’ve also included some recommended steps to take the content and “put it into action.” I’m challenging you to do that. Remember, teaching (or reading) shifts thinking, but systems shift behaviors.

[Read the entire article.]

“People pleasing is generally less about pleasing and more about fending off the rejection and disappointment of others.” –Nellie Akalp is CEO of CorpNet.com

I think we are susceptible to two extremes. In the first extreme, we can be so focused on the tasks in ministry that we really don’t care what people think about our actions. For those of us in that camp, our focus is the cause. We’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission…even if it’s offensive to people around us.

In the second extreme, we can be so focused on the people that pleasing those around us becomes our mission. For those of us in that camp, our focus is the people. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep people happy…even if it jeopardizes our mission.

Obviously, both extremes are unhealthy. There’s a tension in the middle that we need to embrace. Ms. Akalp offers some specific recommendations for helping people pleasers find a healthier perspective. She challenges us to:

• Recognize the difference between being generous and wanting to avoid conflict and disappointing others.
• Actively manage people’s expectations.
• Be brief and meaningful when communicating (especially when delegating or responding to a request).

Over the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to facilitate seven different leadership coaching networks with more than 85 leaders from across the country. I will be launching a new network this spring for 12 church leaders. We’ll be meeting six days over six months beginning in March.

After a number of preliminary inquiries about this new coaching network, 10 people have applied for 12 spots. However, all applications will be considered to determine the right mix of like-minded participants.

Here are some things to keep in mind…

• This is not an opportunity for someone who is looking for inspiration. My coaching networks involve work. You can’t just show up. You will have to commit to six months of reading and engaging exercises with the ministry team at your church. This is designed to help you discover new systems and strategies.
• This experience isn’t for people looking for leadership theory. Yes, you’ll learn some leadership skills, but this experience is designed for you to put those skills into action. Every month you will leave with new tools to implement in your ministry environment. I want to help you shift your thinking and shift your behaviors.
• This is not a conference experience. In a conference, you can sit and soak in the teaching without engaging anyone else. In this coaching experience, you will be encouraged and challenged by other leaders who will be counting on you to participate fully.

Here are what a few folks had to say about participating in previous coaching networks:

• “As a lead pastor this was incredibly awesome. Tony is a systems and process genius. Through Tony’s network I was able to gain a better view of helping structure my vision, my dreams and better lead my team. This was a six-month commitment and well worth the time.” –Michael Robison, Lead Pastor of Uncommon Church in Austin, TX (more…)