At leadershipjournal.com, John Killinger gives us five keys to dealing with church politics.  The bullet points are his but the comments are mine. 

They are…

  1. Make friends, but carefully. – It seems if people are REALLY eager to be your friend…tread carefully.
  2. Truth has consequences. - Tell the truth in all things.  Small fudges will come back to bite you.
  3. Don’t feed the rumor mill. - Live a life above reproach.  (note…this section has a really good story about how one pastor defeated a rumor…it is worth heading over just for that.)
  4. Confront the turncoats. – Just because we are followers of Jesus, it does not mean we have to be a wimp.  Take on those who are acting in inappropriate ways.
  5. Give credit away. - This helps your reputation in big ways.

Source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2007/cln70521.html

I think the first four are good advice. The last one is just good ethics for leadership…give the credit and take the blame.

For further reading check out my series on church politics.