Leading From Alignment

In today’s episode John and Jim welcome Karl Vaters to the mic to discuss his bestselling book, De-Sizing the Church. We dig into Karl’s research on the church growth movement and explore how discipleship and integrity are the answers to every problem a church encounters.

In today’s episode John and Jim welcome Karl Vaters back to the mic to continue our conversation around his compelling book, De-Sizing the Church. Today Karl reveals what he is most optimistic about and most concerned about regarding pastors and the local churches they serve.

It is amazing what God can reveal to us when we slow down and listen. In today’s episode we unpack the first three of six inspirational moments from John’s vacation earlier this year. If you feel tired, or discouraged, or even a bit distant from God, this episode is the medicine you need.

In Episode 284, John and Jim covered the first three of six inspirational thoughts from John's February vacation. Today in Episode 285, they present three more insights from his time soaking in God’s awe-inspiring and creative masterpieces.

How we forgive is a harbinger of leadership fruitfulness and longevity. In part two of their conversation about Leadership & Forgiveness, John and Jim focus on extending forgiveness to ourselves, and then close with four powerful forgiveness principles we need to know.

One of the hardest things to do for most lead pastors is to separate from work. Failure to pivot from work to our personal life leads to overscheduling, overcommitting, and rest-deprivation. So here is the question: How do we work hard, how do we fulfill our calling, without running ourselves into the ground? We learn how to pivot.

Leadership is a journey fraught with peril. Numerous temptations lurk. In today’s episode John and Jim explore three less talked about, more subtle temptations that threaten to sneak up on and ambush a leader.

Hurrying seems to be our national pastime. And pastors are among the biggest hurry-ers. The question is—how do we deal with the tension between our God-given assignment and His call to stop hurrying? How can we be productive without always being on the move? Into today’s episode John and Jim unpack four master keys to embracing a less-hurried life.

You do not exist to cater to every whim of those you lead. It’s not good for them . . . or for you . . . nor the organization you lead. In today’s episode John and Jim explore three ideas that help leaders locate the middle ground between the extremes of people-pleasing yeses and people-dodging no’s.

Are you in pain today? Even while the organization you lead is growing? Growth, while often desirable, is usually accompanied by pruning, both in our personal and pastoral lives. And pruning often is joined by an unwelcome companion . . . pain. In today’s episode John and Jim outline four ways pruning brings more fruit into our life at home and at the church or ministry we lead.

The top contributor to pastoral burnout? The ongoing stress of the role. If you have answered the divine call to pastoral ministry, you have signed up for both a fulfilling and stressful journey. In today’s episode John and Jim work through five of the most stress-inducing realities of the pastoral role and then offer a practical tip to successfully navigate each of those five stressors.

It’s not easy to finish. It’s even less easy to finish well. With the attrition of well-known ministry leaders over the past several years, you can begin to wonder, does anyone finish well? The good news is that with intentionality, God’s help, and the help of our Christian community, we can finish with a flourish. In today’s podcast John & Jim consider three ideas that increase the chances of fin...

Last week John and Jim started a two-part series about casting your 2025 vision. In today’s episode they continue their conversation on vision with extremely practical vision development exercises that will help you begin the vision-development process.

In the past two episodes John and Jim focused on vision development and vision-casting. Vision answers the question, where? Today they begin another two-part conversation on the irreplaceable role core values play. Core values answer the question, how? How do we behave on our way to where God is telling us to go?

Last week John and Jim began a two-part conversation on the irreplaceable role core values play. Core values answer the question, how?. How do we behave on our way to the vision God has given us? Core values provide the fuel that thrusts our organization toward that vision. Today’s episode unpacks how leaders can utilize core values to shape the culture they need.

In 1900, the Ford Motor Company commissioned a series of tests to determine how long a workweek should be to optimize productivity. Ford discovered the “sweet spot” was 40 hours per week. If you are a pastor, a 40-hour work week is likely elusive, not practical, even difficult to conceptualize. But the question remains, how do pastors migrate toward a smarter, more reasonable weekly work rhythm? I...

What is the top contributor to the ongoing burnout crisis for pastors? The ongoing and immense stress of the role. The solution is not the total elimination of stress. The truth is some stress is actually good for us. But the unrelenting variety of stress is where challenges emerge. So, what is a leader to do? In today’s podcast we unpack three big ideas and five practical behaviors that will help...

Vision is a clear, compelling, mouthwatering picture of where God wants to take the organization you lead. In today’s episode contains part one of our conversation around this most important leadership skill: Vision development and casting. We are cheering for you to dream big this year!

Human nature leans toward noticing problems with other people while being blind to our own. Jesus identifies this tendency when He asks: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” This tendency can trip up even the best of leaders. In today’s episode John and Jim unpack how we as leaders can take care of our “own yard” first.

Episode 268:John’s Four Biggest Aha’s of 2024 by Converge Coaching

The second leading cause of pastor burnout is isolation. All of us need people in our life who energize us, refresh us, make us laugh, who we can have mask-off community with. Leadership is too hard to do alone. In today’s episode John & Jim explore two major friendship obstacles, and then outline seven quick friendship tips for pastors.

What is it like to be on the other side of you? The answer can be a leading indicator of your emotional intelligence level. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your emotions, the emotions of those near you, and the impact your emotions have on the emotions of those near you. In today’s episode we focus on four threads that help a leader gain more of this precious leadership commodi...

Ever feel like there is more work to do than hands to help? If so . . . you need a team. A team that feels free to help you. In today’s episode we explore three master keys to developing and releasing a team to help share the ministry load with you.

What is the most limiting behavior for a leader? The inability or unwillingness to have tough conversations with those you lead. In today’s episode John and Jim unpack six practical steps that will help you find the sweet spot between the tendency to bully and the tendency to wimp out when it comes to difficult conversations.

One of the most vulnerable times in an organization’s life is when it is transitioning from its current senior leader and passing the baton to the next one. In today’s episode John and Jim explore a high-level plan for a senior leadership transition. They answer two of the most frequent questions pastors ask when being coached through the leadership transition journey and then outline an example o...