I mentioned on a recent blog post about a generation of pastors and Christian leaders I'm seeing out there who have experienced great success by the power of their personalities, motivation, and personal charisma. In a Christian celebrity culture, they excite and inspire audiences, and become leaders based on external abilities. But what they lack is sober responsibility. They are not personally disciplined leaders, forged in the fires of adversity. They don't have to make the hard choices (they have "executive pastors" to do that). They have an attractive ... read more

Probably the most controversial part of my book "Branding Faith" is a section I devote to "personality driven" churches and ministries. While there's been a lot of criticism lately about churches and ministries lead by strong personalities, the truth is, it's been around since the days of the early church. In Branding Faith I looked at both sides of the issue - certainly it's a major reason so many organizations are popular. But should something negative happen - financial, sexual, or other misconduct - or even bad health or death - it really hurts the organization. ... read more

Here's my column in Ministry Today magazine about branding churches and non-profits. I'd love to hear your thoughts. ... read more

Something that might be worth talking about is the increasing debt that a number of major media ministries currently carry. When allegations of mismanagement were made against Richard Roberts as President of Oral Roberts University, one of the revelations according to local news sources was the school's approximate debt of $55 million. Recently, another major Christian university was about $23 million in debt, and was only saved through a life insurance policy after the death of the founder. But a life insurance policy isn't a long term donor development plan. Others that are considered popular in religious media are shouldering mountainous loads of debt - most likely, ministries that you wouldn't realize. Is this a problem? And if so, what does this tell us? ... read more

There's been a lot of interesting discussion here lately on the scandals, alleged misconduct, and outright stupid behavior from some pastors and Christian media leaders. It brings up an interesting point, not the least of which is the wave of problems, all happening at the same time. There are some common themes with the criticism, and one that bothers me a bit is the tendency to compare a major, international ministry with a local pastor. The truth is, ... read more

For the leader or employee in a faith-based or non-profit organization that sees impending change coming - but can't convince anyone else - here are a few thoughts. Especially for those in the middle of generational change. Right now in America there are a number of major religious organizations in the middle of changing leadership from the first generation leader to the second. For those of you who see that coming, take heart with the following: ... read more

Check out the Ignite Media Conference in Southern California. It's a one day hands on lab for creating effective media and marketing for churches. It's an interactive learning experience (and experiment) for pastors and media directors who are looking to integrate faith and effective creative strategy for their local churches to communicate the most important message ever told. And, it's a chance to do it with over 500 other church and ministry leaders from Southern California. ... read more