How can bivocational ministers and the congregations they serve thrive? In this interview, Kris Bentley redefines bivocational ministry beyond traditional models, emphasizing shared leadership, congregational adaptability, and spiritual sustainability. She encourages both pastors and congregations to embrace bivocational ministry as a thriving, collaborative model of God’s call, rooted in sufficiency, creativity, and community engagement. Jessica Kris Bentley explores how bivocational minis...| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
What are the opportunities, joys, and challenges for single persons in vocational ministry? Kevin E. Lawson and Jane Carr conducted focus groups and interviews with 45 single church staff members to answer these questions. They share seven ways unmarried staff can thrive in ministry. As more young adults delay marriage, date longer before becoming married,| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
Mike Bonem says that the simple solution to ministry leaders feeling overloaded and overwhelmed is to delegate more. Our most common excuses for failing to delegate don’t really stand up. The key is clarity around what tasks can and cannot be shared. I lost count a long time ago of the number of coaching conversations| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
How can weary church leaders live into God’s design for flourishing? Laura Heikes challenges church leaders to resist the culture of busyness and embrace the life-giving rhythm of Sabbath. While our society may glorify overwork, ministry flourishes when leaders model God’s balance of work and rest. Here are practical ways to start living into this| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
How can church leaders overcome burnout? In this interview, Callie Swanlund discusses her book, From Weary to Wholehearted, exploring burnout and its unique challenges. She introduces the SPARK practice—Soma, Preparation, Awe, Retreat, and Kinship—as a holistic approach to overcoming ministry burnout. Callie emphasizes the importance of recognizing burnout signs, creating supportive environments for clergy and| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
Tom Berlin says that two years of global pandemic have revealed some key truths about the nature of ministry. Serving in this difficult time has raised the challenge of embracing new skill sets, forced a renewed reliance on the Spirit’s sustenance, brought the centrality of Christ-filled relationships to the fore, and magnified the importance of| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
How has the pandemic shaped the vitality and resiliency of congregations? Did it really prompt large numbers of pastors to leave ministry? Doug Powe, director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, interviews Scott Thumma, principal investigator for the Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations research project. Listen to this interview, watch the interview video on| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
Matt and Kim Bloom, principal researchers with the Flourishing in Ministry research initiative, explain why clergy are at risk of burnout. Their research has found that four types of “recovery experiences” are effective in avoiding burnout. Burnout is real and it has real consequences. There’s a great deal of research to suggest that burnout not| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
What is the state of clergy health and wellbeing coming out of the pandemic? What factors and practices influence the emotional wellbeing of clergy? Allison Norton describes new research that reveals growing discontentment even though clergy health and wellbeing tends to be better than that of the general public. Ann Michel: Before we get into| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
A balanced delegation of tasks may necessitate doing fewer activities and doing better discipleship training. Drawing on his own experience, Karl Vaters offers five delegation lessons for church leaders including: leave guilt at the door, adapt to suit your size, stop activities that are without leadership, do nothing without two leaders, and assess and hone| Lewis Center for Church Leadership - Advancing the knowledge and practice of ...
