Leading From Alignment

Pastors are on the move. In its most recent study, Barna discovered that 38% of pastors have thought about quitting full-time ministry this year. In today’s episode, Jim & John unpack the reasons why this phenomenon is happening, and what we can do about it

“God, why am I going through this incredibly difficult time while those who don’t love you are living the good life?” Has some version of that thought ever crossed your mind, or some version of those words ever crossed your lips? The truth is, God is good . . . but we’re not exempt. We’re not exempt from the trials and tribulations inherent in a fallen world. In today’s pod, John and Jim unpack a...

Pastoring has become increasingly complex. Churchgoers expect their pastor to juggle an average of 16 major tasks! If we lead without a clear set of Biblical leadership values, we set ourselves up for frustration! In the New Testament epistles – predominantly those Paul wrote to Timothy and in his letter to Titus… we discover the model

Some of the worst days in a pastor’s life is when people they care about decide to leave—but those don’t have to be their worst days. When people leave the church we lead, it can feel like it’s our fault. And usually, it really hurts. In today’s episode, Jim & John unpack a pathway to help pastors navigate the choppy waters caused by the departure of people

Historically, the Church has not known what to do with depression, anxiety, or suicide. Our silence in the past was deafening. And while we’re grateful that increasingly, churches are talking about these three enemies more openly, we’re concerned the conversation isn’t always helpful. In today’s episode, Jim and John explore three powerful steps that will help you talk intelligently and compassion...

When you love what you do for a living—when work doesn’t feel like work because of your passion for it—you’re at more risk than most of falling into the workaholic treadmill. Workaholic behavior puts leaders, their families, and their ministries at serious risk. Today’s episode unpacks three hidden dangers of workaholic addiction, and what you can do to protect yourself from them

Do you ever arrive at mid-afternoon on a work day, and feel like your brain is slowly transforming into jello? Today’s episode unpacks three dashboard warning lights that signal it is probably time to punch out for the day. Implementing a healthy daily work/rest rhythm will help you produce more, stress less, and increase your leadership longevity

The dynamics of your team—the way you work together to achieve the mission—flows throughout everything in your organization. Culture always wins. In today’s episode, John & Jim interview Jenni Catron on how culture impacts the organization you lead, why culture matters, and how to get started shaping the culture you want and need

The dynamics of your team—the way you work together to achieve the mission—flows throughout everything in your organization. Culture always wins. In today’s episode, John & Jim interview Jenni Catron on how culture impacts the organization you lead . . . and why it matters

Today's episode is pure gold. Andy Swart is back for Part 2 of our conversation about Hitting The Target When We Communication. On today's pod we explore three communication hacks that will up your communication game, and we also unpack three key next steps that will get you started

Communication has become a tricky business for leaders. Our current culture stands ready to pounce on any misspoken word or idea, and use it to attack/or criticize us. How can we hit the mark when we speak in such a volatile environment? Our guest, Andy Swart, Teaching Pastor at The Mount Church in Keller, Texas, unpacks practical ways leaders can hit the target when they communicate

Sometimes a leader has to . . . well . . . lead. Some situations call for swift action instead of collaborative consensus. And in those situations, leaders lead. In today’s episode, John and Jim unpack how to lead confidently without being too full of yourself or running over the team you lead

Retaining high-character, high-performing staff is one of the most difficult challenges facing leaders today. And yet with a thoughtful and consistent approach, staff longevity is doable. Unfortunately, A-players don’t grow on trees. In today’s pod, John & Jim unpack six practical and powerful ideas that will make your organization a great work place to work

Building a strong, productive team is one of the hardest things a leader has to do. No leader bats a thousand when it comes to hiring. When hiring staff, it’s not unusual to operate in one of two extremes: We go totally with our gut and ignore objectivity . . . or we go totally with objectivity and ignore our gut. Both extremes reduce our batting average when it comes to hiring. In today’s episode...

Church history (and world history) is full of stories about talented people who started well and had great upside only to eventually crash and burn. In today’s episode, Jim & John unpack three behaviors that help leaders grow in the most important area of teachability, and how teachability lends to longevity

The leadership model that brought the church you lead to where it is now probably won’t get the church to where God wants it to go next. The most influential contributor to the growth of an organization? The growth of its leader. In today’s episode, John & Jim explore three practical behaviors that will help remove the lid from the organization you lead.

Today we celebrate the 100th episode of Leading From Alignment! Since we launched the podcast two years ago, we’ve had over 16,000 listens and video through plays. Today, John and Jim interview three special guests, asking them to share their favorite episodes, how the podcast is helping them and the church they lead, and what advice they would give their “just-out-of-bible-school-self.” This is a...

Words . . . one of the most powerful forces for good in the organizations we serve. Our teammates often rise to the level of the words we speak to them. For every human, words matter. For humans that lead, they matter even more. In today’s episode, John & Jim explore how leaders can leverage the power of words in a way that moves their organization—and the people in their organization—in a positiv...

In 2015, more than 38% of pastors in the U.S. were bi-vocational. While there are some advantages to bi-vocational ministry, one of the biggest challenges is pace. How does a leader work in the marketplace full-time, pastor a church at the same time, and yet have any hope to find space for rest and rejuvenation? In today’s episode, John & Jim outline creative ways bi-vocational leaders can lead we...

In Episode 96 we mentioned a 2009 Barna report that stated the average church member expects their lead pastor to be great in sixteen competencies! And we’ve observed that some lead pastors expect the same out of themselves. If you ever want to grow sustainably, and keep your sanity at the same time, letting go of some of these sixteen roles is necessary. Question is, where does a lead pastor star...

A vast range of opinions exist regarding online/digital church vs. in-person physical gatherings. Some leaders have fully bought into digital; others reject it outright; while most find themselves somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. Today’s pod unpacks how digital may be both helping and hurting the local church

The past eighteen months have radically impacted the way churches measure success. Most of the numbers that screamed progress in the past have been flipped upside-down. In today’s pod, John and Jim explore four possible new metrics that move us toward working on what we can control and trusting God for what we can’t control

One of the hardest things to do for most lead pastors is to separate from work. According to a Barna research study of 14,000 U.S. lead pastors, published in January 2017, 37% of lead pastors are at medium to high risk of burnout. Many of the moral failures by pastors we read about can be traced to exhaustion. One of the key contributors to this mess? Failure to pivot. The devious idea that a past...

Leadership possesses the uncanny capacity to keep us busy with work that gets us off-mission. On today’s episode we’re going to talk about three practical ways to manage what God’s given us to do so we can stay on-mission and one day hear, “well done, good and faithful servant.”

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation on the subject Shaping the Culture You Need. You can craft an amazing vision, have a dynamic playbook, but only a healthy culture provides the fuel for that vision and playbook to become reality. Today’s pod unpacks a practical pathway to use core values to shape your organization’s culture