Shepherd Staff Content Page

There’s a moment every church hits when a position goes vacant, and the pressure rises fast. Sundays are still coming. Ministry needs are still real. Volunteers are already stretched. The inbox doesn’t slow down because a staff seat is empty. For many leaders, this is the defining tension of a church staff search. In that moment, the temptation is strong to treat hiring like triage: “We just need someone in this role!” However, staffing decisions are rarely neutral. The person...Read More

Seminary taught me theology, doctrine, and the beauty of God’s Word. I am  grateful for every moment of it. But once I stepped into children’s ministry, I realized something quickly:Kids Pastors requires an entire set of practical skills that seminary never covered. Most kids pastors today are deeply called, deeply passionate… and deeply under-equipped for the real-world responsibilities that make a ministry healthy, scalable, and sustainable. And the truth is: they shouldn’t have to figure it out alone. 1. Seminary Didn’t Teach Me...Read More

What really determines whether church leadership transitions strengthen a congregation – or strains it? Greg & Ryan are guests on the podcast The People Who Help People. In this podcast episode, they explore what separates healthy church leadership transitions from harmful ones. You’ll hear real-world stories of churches navigating pastoral transitions, lessons from both successful and painful searches, and practical insight into why culture fit often matters more than credentials. The conversation also unpacks how clarity, consistent communication, and spiritual discernment...Read More

When a beloved, long-serving Senior Pastor announces a transition, most churches respond by thoughtfully forming a Senior Pastor Search Team. These teams take on one of the most significant responsibilities in congregational life – they prayerfully discern, identify, and recommend the next Senior Pastor. Occasionally, however, we encounter churches include the departing pastor or current staff members on the search team. While this may seem logical; after all, who knows the church better than they do? This choice does not...Read More

Your church faces a problem. Maybe you know about it, or maybe you don’t. This challenge doesn’t belong only to your local congregation; it reaches across the “big C” Church and far beyond. Every movement, institution, organization, and business needs leaders who step up and lead well. If any movement on earth should excel at developing the next generation of church leaders, the Church should. We lead in leadership development for two reasons. First, we follow the greatest leader to...Read More