Congregations are among the most fascinating systems anyone can be called to manage. Like all systems, they are filled with anxiety. Unlike most systems, they also are filled with a peace the world cannot give. Like most systems, they are…
Read MoreWhat to Keep, What to Cut: Reshaping Budgets in Times of Adversity
Like many congregations and organizations with an endowment, at the beginning of 2009 Western Presbyterian Church faced a painful situation. Despite our endowment outperforming the market benchmarks by six points, it had suffered a huge loss of value in the…
Read MoreEmotional Intelligence and Effective Conflict Management, This Pair Can Make or Break Your Leadership
I was a young pastor, conscientious, concerned for my congregation and the unity of our church. So on that Sunday afternoon when John, an experienced deacon, showed up at my home unannounced, my antennae went up. John’s agitation and dire…
Read MoreUnburdening Ourselves: E-Mail Management Tips from the Experts
The need to manage our e-mail has spurred a number of authors to write entire books on the subject. If books aren’t enough, e-mail management experts are available to offer further training through their seminar programs and consulting services. And…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Committee Charters: Helping Us Be Our Best
Q: Right now we just tell our committees what we would like them to do. We don’t put anything in writing. Should we develop a formal job description for our committees? A: Committee charters are definitely worth the time they…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Helping Volunteers Get Back on Track
Q: Congregational leaders are challenged to help staff and volunteers work cooperatively—in other words, to be aligned. What should a leader do when a valued volunteer is on the wrong track? A: To help congregational leaders and members have the…
Read MoreThe Performance Planning Meeting: Putting Our People Where Our Mission Is
Whether we are talking about congregations with one staff person or very large congregations with dozens, volunteer and employed staff—people—are the primary resource used to accomplish the mission of the congregation. Commonly 65 percent or more of a congregation’s annual…
Read MoreAsk Alban: Re-inventing Boards that Bore: Overcoming Micromanagement
Q: Our board spends too much time reviewing and approving work that should be done by staff and committees. We know we shouldn’t micromanage, but we can’t seem to help it. How can we change? A: You have a lot…
Read MoreThe Abilene Paradox Goes to Church: A Management Concept Suggests Why Some Congregations Can’t Nail Down a Decision
The letter was crystal clear: “You have precipitously dismissed the most valuable member of the church staff. And now you will pay the price.” So it seemed. After 40 years of employment, the choir director at Sunnyvale Church was being…
Read MoreA Pioneering Spirit: Speed Leas Celebrates Four Decades of Conflict Management Consulting
What would motivate someone who never has enjoyed being in a conflict—whether his own or someone else’s—to spend almost four decades in the midst of congregational conflicts? “I’m curious,” explains Speed B. Leas, a long-time Alban Institute consultant who has…
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