The New Year is here!

As the new year begins, make a habit of reading Scripture and growing in your faith. Subscribe to my free daily devotionaldelivered to your inbox each morning.

Now on to this week’s newsletter.

Conflict with Fellow Leaders

One of the most frustrating things for pastors is dealing with conflict…within our own leadership ranks.

Whether it is a board of elders, deacons, staff, or volunteer leaders, nothing derails the work of ministry like conflict and disagreement amongst leadership peers.

This week’s newsletter encourages you to begin one habit that will help spare you this headache.

My Early Mistakes

One mistake I made repeatedly as a young pastor was letting my enthusiasm and desire to move quickly cause me to outrun everyone around me.

I worked in the trenches of planting and pastoring the church every day. It was not a 9 to 5 job for me. I lived, breathed, and ate pastoring the church.

But many of the people leading alongside of me did not.

Other leaders had full-time jobs and vocations outside the church. These people served as elders or the leadership team. They were not thinking for hours per day, several days in a row, about a strategic idea that could help accomplish some goal.

So when I showed up to a monthly meeting and unveiled the idea as ready to launch, and they haven’t heard about it or processed it, they often shot it down.

This got me twisted up and mad.

Why were they not on board? How come they couldn’t see the idea?

I caused unnecessary conflict with many leaders and co-workers in the ministry for many years because I outran them and skipped a crucial leadership necessity.

I finally realized a simple change could remedy this dilemma.

Call to Action: 1 Tip

Provide fellow leaders real-time updates to avoid blindsiding them.

Easy Habit

The easiest way to remedy the conflict that comes from this gap in communication and knowledge is to send a weekly email to those leaders that need to be in the know.

Your regular meetings are also a place to provide updates and developments.

• Share with other leaders the ideas you’re generating about the future or initiatives you want to pursue long before they’re finalized concepts that you want them to approve or participate in
• Send a summary email at the end of the week on: attendance numbers, financials, trends your noticing, initiatives your considering, tweaks you think are needed, conflicts that are happening, etc.
• Inform your elders or board about an underperforming staff member and the corrective measures you’re taking long before you propose that person be removed from the team

Every week may not contain all of those topics, but the habit of a weekly summary allows for leaders absent from the day-to-day of the ministry can stay in tune to what’s happening.

Always choose over-communication instead of under-communication.

Regardless of the size church you lead, this practice will breed clarity, and clarity always helps produce alignment.

Want to Learn More?

Thanks for reading!

Grow in your leadership with:

1. Pastor Cohorts. New cohort beginning in February of 2023. We cap the size of the group. Get signed up here ASAP. We’ve also had a large demand for a Student Ministry Leader cohort. You can now sign-up here.

2. 1-on-1 Coaching. If you desire a more personal option, this approach is tailored to your church context and areas of growth. Starts in February. I’m only taking 5 in 2023.

3. Church Consulting. Those looking for help with a revitalization effort, setting new vision for the church, and developing systems, this option can be something to explore.