Are you asking the right questions?

Are you asking the right questions?

How can you be sure you are asking the right questions to get to where you want to go? As you lead your church or ministry, the kinds of questions you’re asking make a big difference in where you’re going and what you do—or don’t do—in order to get there. For...
The benefits of wandering

The benefits of wandering

As I’ve read the Bible, one of the things I notice is that many of the people featured in its pages spend considerable amounts of time wandering around or trying to figure out what direction they should be going: Moses wandering with his people through the wilderness,...
Clarifying direction: achieve, preserve, avoid

Clarifying direction: achieve, preserve, avoid

You know that to get anything done, you need to cast vision. But once you do, it’s time to get more specific about precisely what you are trying to get done.This clarification process is best done together with your team. For example, say your church has a...
Obedience and knowledge

Obedience and knowledge

The essence of discipleship is “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt 28:20a).  It’s not just about teaching knowledge, but about teaching obedience so people can live into what Jesus taught and how he lived. That’s the...
Directions for the future

Directions for the future

Every few years I engage in the painful– yet ultimately rewarding and productive– process of updating my website. Now is that season. Not only am I redesigning the site, but I’m coordinating how I do my blog, tweets, and newsletters. So you’ll see some...
Recalibrate

Recalibrate

When you have a compass, you need to recalibrate it depending on your current location. With the electronic compass on my iPhone I move the phone in a figure 8 several times to allow it to calibrate to my current location. I can’t just pull it out and use it. If the...
Whose approval do you seek?

Whose approval do you seek?

I recently asked this question of someone. He’d been working hard in his ministry, putting forth a great deal of effort, yet receiving very little by way of appreciation from his congregation. He was frustrated and tired. Yet the question, “Whose approval are you...
When are you a supervisor and when are you a coach?

When are you a supervisor and when are you a coach?

In many cases where you are the supervisor, you may want to take a coaching posture as much as possible. However, a coaching posture requires that the person you’re coaching is the one who sets the agenda. The agenda they set may or not be most strategic for...