Sticky Teams: Keeping Your Leadership Team and Staff on the Same Page

In this modern classic of church leadership, Larry Osborne shows pastors what it takes to develop a healthy environment of teamwork, overcome the roadblocks to unity, and work together to lead the church.

Serving on a church board can be a tough assignment. Marathon business meetings and petty squabbling can quickly take a toll. But lay leaders aren't the only ones who find board meetings to be a harrowing experience. So do many pastors.

Larry Osborne is no exception. Six months into a new pastorate, he found himself embroiled in controversy. Old members left as fast as new ones could be added. He and the board seldom saw eye-to-eye on anything.

Troubled and confused, he set out to find some answers.

• What were the secrets of an effective leadership team?
• Could a pastor lead without becoming a dictator?
• What would it take to develop and maintain and unified board?
• Could it even be done?

Now, after many years of board meetings and hours of research, Osborne applies tested, no-nonsense wisdom to questions like these:

• What roadblocks keep a board from working well together?
• What do you do when a member of the leadership team isn't working out?
• What work should a board handle? What should it definitely not touch?
• How can a leadership team guide a congregation through controversial changes?

Publisher Description

Serving as a church leader can be a tough assignment. Whatever your role, odds are you've known your share of the frustration, conflict, and disillusionment that comes with silly turf battles, conflicting vision, and marathon meetings. No doubt, you've asked yourself, 'How did it get this way?' With practical and accessible wisdom, Larry Osborne explains how it got this way. He exposes the hidden roadblocks, structures, and goofy thinking that sabotage even the best intentioned teams. Then with time-tested and proven strategies he shows what it takes to get (and keep) a board, staff, and congregation on the same page. Whatever your situation; from start-up phase, to mid-sized, to megachurch, Osborne has been there. As the pastor of North Coast Church he's walked his board, staff, and congregation through the process. Now with warm encouragement and penetrating insights he shares his secrets to building and maintaining a healthy and unified ministry team that sticks together for the long haul.