Barnabas File

In his newest book on leadership , Mark Miller challenges the reader to a choice: Will you be a common leader, accepting the “common wisdom” that informs that stance, or will you be an uncommon leader who realizes there is a better way?   Miller has written the book to serve leaders who believe they can make a difference in the world, who care about personal excellence, and who are energized by producing tangible results.  These attributes apply to all leaders, not matter where they serve in the organization.    The five fundamental movements that the author delineates are:   See the future. Engage and develop others. Reinvent continuously. Value results and relationships. Embody a leader’s heart.   Similar processes can be found in other books on leadership such as those by James Kouzes and Barry Posner ( The Leadership Challenge )  but Miller brings an up-to-date spin to the process of being an effective leader.  Each section also prov...

You’ve heard the old joke: “How many ­­­­­______ (name your denomination) does it take to change a light bulb?” Answer: “None. ________ don’t believe in change.”  Funny but points out the biggest challenge for the church—being willing to accept not only change but the necessity of transformation in order to be the church that the world needs today.   In a recent presentation, Peter Hawkins highlighted five keys to organizational transformation in the 21 st century.  Think about them and how they apply to the church.   First, Purpose led.  Purpose is clearly stated, and stakeholders are aligned behind it.  What can we uniquely do that the world of today and tomorrow needs?  Are we spending too much time on peripheral ideas and not addressing the major needs of our time?  We can keep rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic or change the course of the ship before it is too late.   Second, Stakeholder-centeric. ...

The best coaches are really teachers.     Marcia Reynolds writes, “The best coaches make us recognize we have gaps in our reasoning.     The moment we become unsure of what we know learning happens.    This is good coaching.” Reynolds is a good coach.  In Coach the Person Not the Problem:  A Guide to Using Reflective Inquiry, she draws on learning theory, neuroscience, and her considerable experience in coaching to provide a practical and productive model for coaching--The Five Essential Coaching Practices. She provides some interesting insights.  For example, she writes, “Thinking is the enemy of the coach.”  The work of analyzing the client’s story belongs to the client, not the coach. The role of the coach is to help the client revisit, review, and reframe the narrative in order to generate a learning moment and then to act on it. Reynolds uses case studies to illustrate her observations and each ch...

Charles Chandler The reality is startling: Over 20,000 clergy in Protestant/evangelical churches are forced from their ministry positions in the United states every year. Just over half of these ministers will return to full-time ministry roles. One consequence is that fewer seminary students are choosing parish ministry. Only half of the seminary graduates will be in ministry roles ten years after graduation.  Charles Chandler, President of Transforming Clergy-Congregational Health Network, Inc., shared these statistics with 25 participants called together for a “think tank” in Ashland, Virginia, earlier this month.  The group was challenged to provide input on these topics: Characteristics of healthy relationships in congregations; Conditions contributing to unhealthy relationships; and Strategies fostering healthy relationships. John Killinger and Trisha Miller Mandarijn Being part of this two-day meeting was an intense, enl...

When a church finally realizes it is time for a change, the attitude is often, “Let’s just bite the bullet and get this done.”  In other words, we realize that this is needed, so let’s not waste time on reflection or preparation, let’s just act. There are times when expediency is important--an opportunity for a new ministry comes along and requires immediate action or a crisis requires a snap decision.  Most of the time, however, the church has time to address change with an appropriate time for discernment and choice. When it comes time to consider changes that are truly transformational, Jim Herrington and his colleagues writing in Leading Congregational Change suggest that you take the time to assure that your church has a base of spiritual and relational vitality.  If these core strengths are not present, change may rip your church apart. Spiritual and relational vitality are two dimensions of a single reality that Christ taught in this...