Hosted by John McGee, Senior Director of Watermark Resources, the Church Leadership Podcast discusses relevant topics for church leaders to encourage and equip them for ministry at their own churches.
Episode: 144Mar 20, 2024
Things I Didn't Learn in Seminary: The Art of Administration
Incompetence isn’t always a moral issue, but it will hobble your ministry just as quickly. People are inherently skeptical of churches, and if you don’t keep the trains running on time, you’ll erode their trust. In the fourth installment of this series, John McGee and Dave Bruskas discuss how the X’s and O’s of ministry administration, from complying with government regulations to maintaining excellent facilities, can either support or detract from the message of the Gospel.
Church Leadership
Church Operations
Episode: 143Mar 6, 2024
Things I Didn't Learn in Seminary: The Art of Leading Yourself
Ministry has a definite and appropriate outward focus. But you can’t lead others well if you aren’t leading yourself first—spiritually, practically, and physically. In this week’s episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, Dave Bruskas and John McGee discuss how stewarding your own time and gifts, from your schedule to your personal spiritual walk, can hugely impact your ministry’s fruitfulness. "The Rule of Life" Reference
Spiritual Formation
Church Leadership
Episode: 142Feb 21, 2024
Things I Didn't Learn in Seminary: The Art of Organizational Leadership
A lot of us go into ministry unconsciously believing that we just need to know how to teach and preach well, when in fact, leadership involves a huge amount of team management and goal-setting. In this week’s Church Leadership Podcast, John McGee and Watermark Director of re:generation Dave Bruskas return with more things they didn’t learn in seminary that have been invaluable in their pastoring careers.
Church Leadership
Church Operations
Episode: 141Feb 7, 2024
Things I Didn't Learn in Seminary: The Art of Pastoring
Seminary is invaluable for a pastor, but some aspects of ministry can only be learned through hands-on experience. This week’s episode of the Church Leadership Podcast kicks off a new 6-part series covering things we’ve learned on the job: how to handle a confession, what to say at a hospital visit, and much more.
Church Leadership
Episode: 140Jan 24, 2024
The One Thing You Must Do This Year
Many of us have set ambitious goals for 2024. While it’s great to learn new skills and accomplish new things, the best way to have an impact is simply to be faithful. In this week’s episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, John McGee reminds us that Jesus honors faithful servants—not accomplished servants or goal-crushing servants.
Church Leadership
Episode: 139Jan 10, 2024
How to Operate Under a Leadership that You Don't Respect
At some point, most of us will end up working under someone we don't see eye-to-eye with. In this week’s Church Leadership Podcast, Watermark Resources Project Coordinator Ashley Lawrence breaks down how examining your motivation and mindset can empower you to take the right action steps. Actionable Steps: 1. Be a champion, not a criticizer - Are you gossiping and complaining or praying for your leadership and bringing solutions? - Commit to put effort behind the decision that was made, even if it wasn't your first choice. 2. Receive and give feedback - We need to be able to receive feedback before we can give it. - It's important for leaders to have people in their corner who can tell them the hard truth. Be one of those people. - When you have feedback, always ask "Can I ask you a question" or "Are you open to feedback?" - It's not loving to withhold feedback from people you care about, if you love your leadership, help refine them. 3. Assume the best about your leadership team - If you consistently negatively interpret their actions or motives, that's only going to make you more bitter 4. Find people who are thriving - Who around you is highly motivated, loves what they do, and wants to encourage others? - Ask these people questions and learn from them! - If you don't have anyone like this around you, be the catalyst! It's contagious. 5. Pray constantly - If you feel frustrated by your leadership team, pray for them - it's much harder to be bitter towards someone when you pray for them.
Church Leadership
Episode: 138Dec 13, 2023
Staff Value #4 - Having Fun
The joy of the Lord is our strength, and lighthearted fun strengthens a team. In this week’s episode of the Church Leadership Podcast, Braun Brown and Sean Hill share the importance of not taking yourself too seriously and how church leaders can harness the power of fun to bring people together for effective Gospel work. The last of Watermark’s four staff values, having fun is one of our defining traits—and one we think any church can adopt. Watermark's Staff Values
Church Leadership
Staff & Teams
Church Culture
Episode: 137Nov 29, 2023
Staff Value #3 - Team Unity
Just like a finger won’t survive long if it’s severed from the hand, our spiritual health depends on connection to the rest of Christ’s body. We’re meant to function together, and without unity as one of our core values, our mission will fall apart. Caitlin Van Wagoner and David Penuel join this week’s Church Leadership Podcast to talk about how church staff can not only avoid gossip and division, but also pursue each other relationally and prioritize collaboration. Watermark Staff Values - Download "Resolving Staff Conflict" - David and Caitlin's Talk from CLC Conflict Roadmap - Download
Church Leadership
Staff & Teams
Church Culture
Episode: 136Nov 8, 2023
Staff Value #2 - Excellence in What We Do
Churches that do not encourage their staff to excel are missing an opportunity to honor God and inspire others. On the other hand, churches that pursue excellence for the wrong reasons have made an idol out of something that should be an offering. On this week’s Church Leadership Podcast, Watermark teaching pastor John Elmore joins John McGee to talk about faithfully executing our work to the best of our abilities without losing sight of our mission. Watermark Staff Values - Download
Church Leadership
Staff & Teams
Church Culture
Episode: 135Oct 25, 2023
Staff Value #1 - Dependence on God
Too often, we assume that we don’t need to tell church staff to rely on God. But Christians routinely affirm spiritual dependency as a concept without living it out practically, valuing strategy over sensitivity to the Spirit. This week’s podcast covers why dependence on God is at the top of Watermark’s core values for its staff and what this looks like practically. Watermark's Staff Values - Download
Spiritual Formation
Church Leadership
Staff & Teams
Church Culture
Episode: 134Oct 11, 2023
Resolving Staff Conflict
Even in full-time ministry, when imperfect human beings work closely together, conflict is bound to arise. As leaders, we have the opportunity to reflect Christ in a uniquely tangible and powerful way through how we resolve conflict. In this talk, first given at CLC 2023, two of our veteran staff members walk through a conflict they personally experienced and how they were able to restore peace biblically. Conflict Roadmap PDF Video Download
Church Leadership
Staff & Teams
Episode: 133Sep 27, 2023
5 Biggest Ministry Regrets
As fallible humans, anyone who serves in ministry for a significant length of time will have some regrets—opportunities they should have taken, relationships they should have invested more in, and words they should have said (or not said). In this week’s Church Leadership Podcast, Watermark Director of Re:generation Dave Bruskas reflects on the things he would do differently if he could go back, and how other church leaders can minimize their own regrets.
Church Leadership
