Bud Brown

The trait good mentors look for in pastors they coach

Humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. C. S. Lewis Humility expresses itself in a teachable spirit. Something the coach can work with to help the pastor achieve personal and professional performance levels he couldn’t have dreamed of on his own. Eager to listen. Ready to admit fault Sober

The foolish pastor’s guide to self-worth

They couldn’t have been more wrong. They thought they were all that and a bag of chips because they did well on a task they’d been given. They figured the Boss would be all over them with praise. They were walking on clouds. But they missed it by a mile because they bought into the

This is how turnaround pastors lead

They lead like Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and George Marshall led the invasion of Nazi Europe. They trust their team. They give freedom to innovate. They expect others to speak candidly. They listen. The Generals listened before deciding Soon after Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy in June of 1944, the American advance stalled in France’s infamous hedgerows. Hedgerows

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How Pastors Lead Beyond Their Limits

It was far beyond his abilities. It was the toughest church he would ever serve. Note: This is an excerpt from our upcoming book about the distinguishing characteristics and best practices of effective turnaround pastors. His mentor, who suggested he take the church, had warned him that it was rife with false doctrine, preoccupied with

Three Pastors On A Wild Ride

NOTE: The journey below was written before the publication of our book, Pastor Unique: Becoming a Turnaround Leader. Heck, we didn’t even have a title yet! It is fun to look back and see God’s hand. Gary Westra, August 23, 2016 We started a wild ride two years ago. Really wild We didn’t realize

If I Had a Do-over—Reel 1

The sixties. Not the decade fifty years ago, but the age swiftly overtaking a person who once hoped to remain forever young. My sixties. When I sit down with my peers, now over decaf not Mountain Dew. Trying not to dwell on meds and memories, focusing more on completing the course and inspiring others to

The Key Every Pastor Needs Before Leading Change

On November 12, 2013 a small painting, roughly 30″ by 22″, sold for $32,645,000.00. With a surface area of 684.1875 square inches, that works out to $47,713.52 per square inch. At that price, the average American household could have spent their entire year’s income to buy about one square inch.[1] How did a piece of paper glued

Tending God’s Vineyard

Not all of life’s important events happen on stormy seas. Before moving to the Pacific Northwest my family lived on an alluvial plain of the Southern California high desert. I gave orchard tending a try. It wasn’t large””only 24 trees. Our little acre had more rocks than soil, so planting one bare-root fruit tree took