In Depth:  Matt Waldock

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Prospective Christian leader, are you scared of failure?

Prospective Christian leader, are you scared of failure?
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

When did it become unacceptable for leaders to fail? I don't mean in the category of moral failure, but rather being responsible for a leadership decision that frankly didn't work or, in hindsight, was a bad call.

The much-documented crisis in so few people choosing to train for ministry positions is complex, but my conversation with many who considered the path into Christian leadership but chose not to pursue it often was explained as a fear of being overwhelmed by criticism. It seems to me that the fear of failure in our culture has grown exponentially – and to the detriment of Christian leadership – precisely because it has become such a taboo.

Leader, how strong is your emotional immune system?

Leader, how strong is your emotional immune system?
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

Who is the first person you always look for in a group photo? The answer, perhaps predictably, is yourself. But the more profound question is: Why do we always scramble to find out what we look like as if it were a secret that had been hidden from us all our lives?

The simple answer is that we do not know ourselves, and what we don't know, we don't entirely trust.

From 'Solution Bias' to better leadership

From 'Solution Bias' to better leadership
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

In the mid-naughties, it was fashionable to say that meetings of every type and stripe were a waste of time. But the concept of meetings endured, and most of us can attest that they are alive and well in most workplaces - and especially in churches.

Now, I’m quite fond of meetings, mainly because I’m good at them. I enjoy the cut and thrust of identifying an issue, and vaulting with the collective group to the new solution which we celebrate with a quiet self-satisfaction of cracking world peace in the time it takes for a cup of coffee to get cold.

The blessedness of 'inefficiency'

The blessedness of 'inefficiency'
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

In secular leadership circles, the holy grail of self-development is the attainment of a "highly productive life".

In this world, productivity is typically measured in terms of how many plates one can keep spinning without everything crashing down.

Pastor, do you suffer from 'chronic busyness'?

Pastor, do you suffer from 'chronic busyness'?
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

I have been wrestling with an uncomfortable question over the last few years - and it's one I've been running from.

Until this year I thought it was a wrestling match that I was winning.

Did you know that anxiety is contagious?

Did you know that anxiety is contagious?
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

At least once a year a member of the staff team will drag themselves into the office with their nose running, full of cold and with a hacking cough; then everyone else will roll their eyes in the knowing frustration that unless their immune system is like an athlete, it’s only a matter of time before the whole team gets sick.

But what if there is a far more dangerous contagion that stalks among our congregations? That contagion is anxiety.

Millennials and internships

Millennials and internships
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

Matt Waldock of City Church Manchester on how to attract young graduates into short-term church work

You simply cannot avoid them!

City Church Manchester: one year on

City Church Manchester: one year on
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

City Church Manchester was launched last September (see October 2014 en).

The city is probably best known for its millionaire footballers, early 90s Brit Pop, and its status as the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution. But little known facts about Manchester include: having the second fastest growing population in the country; being ranked as the most competitive place to do business in Europe by KPMG in 2012; having over 200 languages spoken in it by long-term residents; the student population exceeding 90,000 and being ranked the fourth most deprived district in the country.

The Third Degree
Matt Waldock
Matt Waldock

How can my church best support the Christian Union? I was asked this question recently by a church leader. It was with great pleasure that I was able to answer, ‘Love your students well’.

Foundation

UCCF’s commitment to the local church is the very foundation of our existence. Having no students of our own, the whole missionary outfit is manned and led by students belonging to local churches. Without the local church, there are no Christian Unions. The aim of the Christian Unions may well be to give every student in Britain the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel, but how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?

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