Coaching Christian Leaders

Diminishing Skills After 44 years of professional work, I am starting to feel ill equipped. I don't know if I am functioning at my highest level. I wonder, "Are my skills and knowledge enough for the work God has called me to do?" Don't misunderstand, I have an associate's, bachelor's, and master's degree. But this education, while valuable, has limits and some of it is no longer relevant.  What can I do? I could return to school and pursue a PhD or a DMin. But further formal education is not for me. There must be another way. Another Way In the professional world, many careers require professional development. Professional development involves acquiring new skills and knowledge through ongoing education and career training after entering the workforce. It ensures that professionals maintain their expertise and deliver high-quality services within their field. No one requires professional development for pastors in non-denominational circles. They are left...

A church expects its pastor to visit its members. But I have a few questions about this.  How many visits per week is a pastor expected to make?  How long should a visit last? And d oes a phone call or a text message count as a visit?  How Many Visits? I've struggled knowing how many visits are expected. So, I did a bit of research, and this is what I've learned. The rule of thumb is a pastor should visit 5-10 percent of its congregation each week. I'm not sure where this percentage comes from, but Dr. Kennon Callahan in his book Twelve Keys to an Effective Church supports it. Dr. Callahan divides these visits into three groups. For a church of 200, he recommends 20 visits a week with church members. Another 20 visits per week with unchurched in the community. He as; recommends an "adequate visitation to persons who are hospitalized and homebound." If you are keeping up with the numbers, that comes to 40 plus visits per week. If I use my current church and round ...

Artificial Intelligence is either the next best thing or the end of the world as we know it. Until then, I suggest you give it a try. The AI model that has been in the news lately is ChatGPT. I've used this tool for the past month, and have found it helpful.  What is ChatGPT? ChatGPT is an AI-powered bot developed by OpenAi. It is unique in that you can ask it natural or normal questions and it will respond to you in the same way. Here's how I am using it. . Replace Google with ChatGPT The days of asking Google for information may be in the past. The reason is, if you ask Google a question it will respond with adds and information that may or may not answer your question. But if you ask ChatGPT the same question you will get a clean, add-free answer. Here's an example. Click on the link below to see how ChatGPT answered. Who is Marcion the Heretic? Notice that I stayed within the chat and modified the questions to get more of the answer I wanted. That should be your approac...

In Matthew 28:19-20 God called the church to make disciples. Other than teaching them to obey all that Christ taught, there is no other information in Matthew 28 on how to make these disciples. So, the church must develop its own approach. Below is my first attempt at developing a discipleship process. I have broken it down into a few steps. Here are steps 2-5. Basics - Learning how to read and study the Bible, pray, and to share their faith. Community - Making church attendance a habit and joining a Bible study group. Service - Finding a place to serve. Spiritual Disciplines - Practicing Bible-based spiritual disciplines. I will cover these in greater detail in follow-on posts. Today, let's focus on the first step, which is Assign a Mentor. Assign a Mentor To help a believer navigate the basics, community, service, and the disciplines, it's important to assign a mentor. What is mentoring? Mentoring is a relationship between an experienced person (mentor) and a less experience...

If there is one thing I constantly change, it's my preaching. The changes are small, and maybe to the listeners, unnoticed. But to me they're important. For instance, over the years I have reduced the length of my sermons by about 10 minutes. What used to last 45 minutes is now 35. I reduced the time because of my congregation. I noticed that their ability to focus dropped dramatically after the 30-minute mark. I have since learned that what you can say in 45 minutes, you can say in 35 minutes or less. Recently, an article by David Prince changed my preaching. The article is A Simple Guide to Reading the Bible with Jesus as the Hero . His ideas have dramatically changed how I preach Old Testament based sermons. Now I am working on how to layer the gospel within the body of the message. Rather than tacking it on the end, I want the person and work of Jesus to be evident throughout. A resource that has helped me with this is Preaching the Truth as it is in Jesus: A Reader on Andr...

I've been putting together a list of books that I feel every Christian should read. My current list is just below. Knowing God by J. I. Packer Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken and Gregg Lewis Heaven by Randy Alcorn The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan How Should We Then Live? by Francis A. Schaeffer The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel Pastors, who are a part of my weekly text group, submitted the titles below. Some I have read, many I have not. They do look like some great choices. Thanks to all of you who participated. The Imperfect Disciple, Grace for People Who Can't Get Their Act Together by Jared C. Wilson Trusting God by Jerry Bridges Conformed to His Image by Ken Boa The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Ma...

Today we sit down with Dr. Gene Herndon. Dr. Herndon is a business leader, a coach, an author of numerous books, and the pastor of Stone Point Community Church in Glendale Arizona. Dr. Herndon spoke about: Leadership Development How to use millennials as leaders How to repurpose your sermons to reach more people Monday Morning Masterminds  and his leadership training for business and church leaders. I really appreciate the time that Dr. Herndon gave to Coaching Christian Leaders. I learned so much from him and I am sure you will as well. Resources www.GeneHerndon.com www.m4.geneherndon.com www.stonepointcc.org His most recent book - The Elephant in the Room Please share this episode with others!

Last week you evaluated your people and determined where they stood as disciples. If you haven't done this, look back at previous post for more information. Today, let's start with a question. Is your discipleship program producing laborers & leaders? Many churches offer Sunday School or Small Groups. People faithfully attend and learn. But in the end what is accomplised? A lot of information is given but little development occurs. For a discipleship progam to be successful it should be intentional as it matures disciples and builds leaders and laborers.   Right Intent - Wrong Question I am a pastor of a small church. Recently, I met with the elders, and one raised a concern. He asked, “Where are we going to find more Sunday School teachers?” No sooner did he ask that question than another asked, “And we’re not getting any younger. Where are we going to get some younger men to be elders?” These questions were sincere, but they were the wrong questions. You don’t find ...

As a believer, one of your greatest responsibilities is to build up other believers. God has called you to make disciples; to move believers along in their faith. So how do you do that? I think the first step is to know where they're at.  One way to know this is to label them. There are many labels we can use, but I want to keep it simple, so here are four. Unbeliever New Believer Mature Believer Laborer or Leader Let's try this out.  Who is the first person you think of when you think of someone in your church?  Write their name down. Now how would you label them using one of the above four labels? Let's do it again. This time instead of thinking of a person and then labeling them, pick a label and then identify someone in your church that matches that label. Really, for these labels to have any value it is important that you determine how you can move someone from one position to another. Recently, I led a young man to Christ. We met after church. He had some great ques...

How do you develop trusted leaders to take the work forward - even in your absence? Adam Hussey shares his expertise in leadership development. Today we sit down with Adam Hussey. Adam is a missionary with Action International. He and his wife Alei serve in the Philippines. Much of their work is centered around developing local church leaders.  Also, Adam has some unique ideas on how missionaries can raise financial support in these tough times.  Contact Info The best way to contact Adam and to learn more about his work is to visit his website.  You will find Adam at www.actioninternational.org/missionary/hussey.   There you can email Adam and read more about his ministry. Also, check out his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TeamFaithHopeLove Closing Thoughts Thanks for listening to Coaching Christian Leaders . You should subscribe to this podcast so that you’ll never miss an episode. You can find this podcast in just about any podcast app. We are on Apple P...

Michael Ward, the author of The Sixth Sola, shares his approach to personal discipleship. Michael shares: How he came to Christ The other five solas The purpose of the book the intended readers His view on other methods of personal discipleship How preaching can be more effective The reading plan The Great Relationship versus the Great Commission How this approach has impacted him  If the Bible were a gym, what would be the exercises? Resources His Book: The Sixth Sola His website: 6thsola.com Closing Thoughts Thanks for listening to Coaching Christian Leaders . You should subscribe to this podcast so that you’ll never miss an episode. You can find this podcast in just about any podcast app. We are on Apple Podcasts, Deezer, Gaana, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and now we are on Amazon Music. Check it out and make sure you subscribe. This is Mark Jones and I will speak with you soon. Please share this episode with others!

Every pastor I've ever met wants to reach the lost and build disciples. I believe that’s you as well. I know you want to see people saved and for your church members to grow in their love and understanding of Christ. That’s why you got into this work. But now, after years of doing this work, you realize that it’s impossible to do it alone. You need help. You need others to come alongside and share the load. In part, that’s why you are listening to me. That’s why you found this podcast. You want to learn how to identify, train, and release leaders into the work. This is Mark Jones and I help pastors reach the lost, build disciples, and develop church leaders. Thanks for listening to Coaching Christian Leaders. If you want to know more about how I can help, then please visit www.CoachingChristianLeaders.com In today’s episode, we are going to focus on the most important leader you must train. You must train this leader before all others. And a failure to do so will cause problem...

Bobby Albert is the President of Values-Driven Leadership. He is the author of The Freedom Paradox , Principled Profits , and True North Business. Today we spoke with Bobby shared his insights on leadership and the state of our country. He Shared How he came to know Christ as your savior. Why he wrote The Freedom Paradox. What is meant by “Freedom Paradox. How Freedom + Responsibility = Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  What’s the value of going all the way back to the birth of our nation? Four cultural changes People are acting on emotions rather than principles People are exhibiting scarcity mindsets instead of abundant mindsets. People are focused on symptoms instead of the root problem. People no longer understand how you communicate is as important as what you communicate. What is the hope for American? His Books The Freedom Paradox Principled Profits True North Business His Website and Email BobbyAlbert.com Bobby@BobbyAlbert.com Visit TFP-...

Pastors, God has commissioned you to make disciples. God has gifted you to equip your church members for ministry. And God has committed you to train up not one generation of leaders but to oversee the training of two additional generations of leaders. But are you? Are you doing these things? I know I have struggled to develop leaders. Why? One reason is that I got busy doing church. Each week was filled with sermon prep and then preaching; administration, phone calls, visits. Nothing wrong with that. But weeks would go by, then months. And before you know it a year has passed and I still have not developed a leader. But that’s changing. And I want to share with you how it is changing and what you can do to develop the next generation of leaders at your church. This is Mark Jones and you are listening to Coaching Christian Leaders. Today we are going to answer an all-important question. And we must know the answer to move forward in our leadership development. Here’s the quest...

Often when we start a new project, when we begin to develop a new program, if we are lacking a certain ingredient, if we do not have one specific emotion, the project withers and dies. But when we possess it we will see the project through. This is Mark Jones the host of Coaching Christian Leaders and today I will share with you that one essential ingredient you must have to move your leadership development program forward. When we last met, you were taking your first steps in leadership development. You determined the leadership position to develop and then you created a one-page job description for that position. If you have not done that then take a few minutes to do so. What is that position you wish to develop? I am working on developing elders. Maybe you need to create youth leaders or build up your children’s staff. Maybe it’s a deacon or women’s ministry leader. Whatever, you need to identify it and then create a simple job description. In the last episode, I encouraged...

Matt Lombardi and Rachel Baird share their expertise on church staffing. Both are with Shaar.Work . Shaar is a platform that connects Christian freelancers and contractors with churches. Shaar.Work is a wonderful resource for both small and large churches.  I really do appreciate both Matt and Rachel taking the time to explain their service Shaar.work . I learned a great deal from both Matt and Rachel. Shaar.Work can be a great resource for small and large churches. And I believe they are on the cutting edge of church staffing. So check them out at Shaar.Work . Contact Information Website: Shaar.Work Matt's email: Matt@Shaar.Work Rachel's email: Rachel@Shaar.Work Closing Thoughts Next week I will be back with another episode on How to Develop church leaders. If you like the Coaching Christian Leaders podcast, then share this episode with other pastors. Maybe you're in a pastor's Facebook group or a member of a ministerium. Email or post a link to Coaching Chri...

Intro What‘s stopping your church from fulfilling the Great Commission? What is stopping your church from sharing Christ with your community, building small groups or Sunday School classes, from staffing children’s ministries? You might say, “I don’t have enough people. I’m boiled down to just a faithful few and we’re doing all we can. And we can’t do any more than we currently do.” But here’s another reason. And I will use myself. The reason we were falling short...The reason we were not fulfilling the Great Commission is that we were just doing church and not intentionally developing leaders.   This is Mark Jones and I help pastors create leaders. Now is the time to get intentional and begin to create a system that will develop future leaders. In the last episode, I presented a biblical foundation for Leadership Development. I shared with you three Scripture passages: Matthew 28:19-20 Ephesians 4:11-12 And 2 Timothy 2:2 I discussed that God has commissioned you to M...