Tag: leadership
The Clergy-Laity Thing is a Problem
I have been writing a series of posts on Christendom and have shared both some of the positives as well as some of the negatives. Today we’ll start getting into some specifics. One of Christendom’s most enduring legacies is creating a professional clergy class. As someone who has been in full-time ministry for 34 years and ordained for…
Is Submission Really Supposed to be a Thing in the Church?
A few week’s ago, I wrote about a pastor here in Dublin telling me that if I ever wanted to plant a church, I would need to submit to him, which led me to write the following: “If a church leader tells you that you must submit to them…you should run away…and fast. That is…
A Feature or a Bug?
As you may have read, I completed a dissertation this summer. The topic was something I have been thinking about for a while. In the paper, I summarised the problem I was addressing with the word Hierarchy. However, I wanted to address issues of authority, abuse of power, and what are unquestionably malformed leadership structures in…
No, the Buck Should Not Stop with You.
A few years ago, I was talking with an individual about working together to plant a church. While the process was exciting, we eventually decided not to move forward together. We simply had too many areas where we didn’t mesh. Two issues that made it a no-go for me were, eating together and having a…
An Unexpected Option
I wrote last week about my first job offer, which wasn’t actually a job offer. I wanted to share a second story about a real opportunity that has often made me wonder what if. Because our primary focus was university ministry for our entire time in Albany, we were often asked to fill in…
The Most Harmful Thing I Believed About Church Planting
As the Table – Dublin is getting off the ground, I wanted to repost some of what I’ve written over the past few years…specifically regarding church planting. I’d love to get your thoughts. :: originally posted 23 April 2015:: Before planting a church in Ithaca, NY I spent about a decade starting and leading campus…
Heading to Texas
Tomorrow morning I get on a plane and fly to Austin, TX. I’ll be there for less than 48 hours before heading down closer to San Antonio for a conference with Communitas Leaders. It is a bit weird because church planting in Dublin is my main work (& passion), but the marketing director position has…
The Bishop and the Singer
After seeing headlines all weekend saying “Bishop Apologizes for touching Ariana Grande,” I watched the video. I am angry. I am frustrated. There are a number of things this brought up for me… 1) The bishop’s behaviour was completely inappropriate. To watch a person treated that way by a someone claiming* to represent God…how does…
FlashbackFriday::Comfort
Since we are sharing a series of posts about our move to Ireland, I thought I’d repost some other posts from around that time as it’ll give some insight to what was going on. I may make small edits or update information, but generally they’ll be shared as originally published #FlashbackFriday
More Questions than Answers
I’ve had this thought bouncing around in my head the past couple days…though I might as well write it down. What does it say about a person who attempts to make themselves look good, by tearing others down? What does it say about a person who does that only behind the other’s back? (And is…
Thus Sayeth the Lord…or maybe not
I spent too much of my life in churches where a person could use the phrase “Thus says the Lord,” and whatever followed would often carry the weight of scripture. When I was younger and less mature, I would go to conferences hoping that the person on stage would have a “thus says the Lord,”…
UNLeader…a book review
I’ve never been much of a book reviewer. If you want to know what the book says, you should read it. However, this morning as I began reading UNLeader by Lance Ford, I decided to try reviewing it on a chapter by chapter basis. Not so much for you, but because from the moment I began reading the forward by Alan Hirsch, I knew there were things I would be wrestling with as I went though it. And I’ll likely learn more if I do that wrestling here.
Let Me Help Me By Helping You
A little over 15 years ago my colon ruptured. You don’t want any more details than that. Along the way to figuring out what the problem was, which took over 6 months, I had to deal with a number of specialists, all who had a gauntlet of tests that they wanted me to go through….
Recognising What Our Words Communicate
Like all fields or industries, church planting has its own vernacular…words and phrases that communicate in a quick and vivid manner. A couple of weeks ago over coffee with a friend he to referred to a time in the church planting process where a ‘bait and switch’ occurs. Here’s what he was referring to…Often early…
I Used To Be Nice
Is it possible to lead a church and care for your soul? While I believe it is, like a lot of church leaders, I’ve learned that it doesn’t come naturally. My experience is that the system church leaders find themselves in, often puts taking care of your soul at odds with all the ‘ministry stuff’…
And We’re Back
Last spring I stopped blogging. While I love writing, blogging had become a chore and I wasn’t enjoying it. The previous autumn I shut down my personal blog and focused on theWilsonsInDublin.com. It seemed like a good way to keep friends and family up-to-date with our lives on this side of the pond. It didn’t…
Friday Data Dump
It’s hard to believe how much work it is to get ready for some time off. Elizabeth & I spent most of last night finding rental cars online, looking for hotels or houses to rent for the week or so we’ll be in the southern part of Ireland, and then we fall into bed about 2 hours later than we should have.
Weekend Wrap Up
At the end of the Pastors’ Sabbath Retreat, they encouraged everyone to make one major change…one thing that you learned from the retreat that you would implement once you got home. Mine was (after consulting with Elizabeth of course), that we would begin taking sabbath more seriously and practicing it as a family. It has…
My 3 Words for 2010
On the one hand, I really liked the idea of an over-arching theme as opposed to a list of things to accomplish over the next 12 months. Goals, although I am always setting them, tend to be a bit frustrating to me. Once I reach one, before I really get to enjoy it, I’m already thinking about what’s next.
Quick Quote
Saw this Peter Drucker quote while reading a blog post last night. Hope it encourages you as much as it did me: “No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed…
Required for Leadership
I’ve been doing some reading and study for an upcoming leadership class. And I’ve noticed one thing that has come up over an over again that is required to be a leader…might not seem all that profound, but here it is…you actually need to care about something. There needs to be something that you are…