April 2nd, 2013 
alandanielson Most people, pastors and laypeople alike, become disappointed with their church. It’s inevitable. People are flawed and since churches are made up of people, churches are flawed. If we’re not careful, though, this disappointment can turn into discouragement, frustration and anger. So if disappointment is inevitable, how do we avoid the awful emotional turmoil that [...]
March 26th, 2013 alandanielson Recently I had a church consultant say something most pleasant while simultaneously disturbing to me: “Alan, you really have that ’nice guy factor’. Not a lot of senior pastors have that.” I deeply appreciated the compliment, but I was saddened by the follow-up statement that few senior pastors are nice guys. After processing my friends sentiment for a few [...]
December 12th, 2012 alandanielson I’ve been a pastor for over 20 years and even now there are days when I’m tempted to quit. To be completely honest, I had one of those days recently. I’ve often been asked how I’ve been able to stick with it for so long. The short answer is that I’ve been able to sustain [...]
Posted in Character, Leadership, Spiritual Growth 
Tags: difficult people, discouraged, discouraging, ministers, pastors 
5 Comments » November 1st, 2012 alandanielson I’ve been watching the TV show, The Walking Dead, lately. Suddenly it hit me last night that the Zombies are not the villains in the story…people are the villains. You don’t get mad at the zombies for chasing after the heroes, they’re just doing what zombies do. In fact, there are occasions where you actually [...]
June 27th, 2012 alandanielson Having worked at large churches and consulted churches of all sizes, I’ve become more and more aware of a particular word over the last few years: metrics. Generally speaking, metrics are the numbers that an organization tracks. Common church metrics are things like attendance, offering, small group participation, baptisms and membership. Regardless of the metrics each [...]
February 22nd, 2012 alandanielson In 2000 I became a senior pastor for the first time and it was much harder than I thought it could ever be! Then I enjoyed being on staff at LifeChurch.tv for four years where I led small group ministries. Just over a year ago I went back to the senior pastorate when I accepted [...]
December 8th, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 09-08-2010. Reposted 12-08-2011. ————————————————————————— But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for— “God has had it with the proud, But takes delight in just plain people.” ~1 Peter 5:5 (MSG) Organizations need avenues for honest, humble feedback. One of those avenues is the [...]
November 8th, 2011 alandanielson Yesterday I read a post on ChurchLeaders.com by Dallas Willard. In it he wrote about the fact that most pastors are chronically dissatisfied: That is one of the biggest issues for ministers today because of the model of success that comes to us. We get the idea we are supposed to make something happen, and [...]
Posted in Character, Leadership Tags: excellence, high, idolatry, Leadership, standards No Comments » November 7th, 2011 alandanielson Leadership is not about position. It is not about power. Leadership is about influence. Poor leaders don’t understand this, so they spent their time flexing muscles, raising their voices and imposing their will. Good leaders do understand this truth, so they focus their attention on improving their ability to influence. Below are 10 practices you should [...]
Posted in Character, Leadership Tags: be a better leader, equity, influence, leader, leaders, Leadership 1 Comment » November 1st, 2011 alandanielson Originally posted 09-15-2010. Reposted 11-15-2011. —————————————————————– I’m going to say something that might make some of you angry today, but I just have to say it: Some pastors drive me nuts! In my line of work as a pastor and consultant I meet tons of pastors. All are wonderful people, some just don’t quite get [...]
