Intentionalizing the spontaneous

Leadership, Training

I began coaching a leader in a growing organization recently and he came to an important realization: what had been working for leadership development and discipleship in the past wasn’t working as well anymore. Some of the dynamics had changed since the organization...

Considering the long-term impact of our decisions

Developing, Leadership

We need to regularly ask the questions: “What are the long-term effects of this decision?” and, “What might be the unintended consequences of this decision?” For example, if you try to solve your shortage of church planters by recruiting, it has the long-term (and...

Up willow creek without a paddle

Leadership, Networking

Remember when Willow Creek was all the rage? Everyone else began looking to the seeker service as the silver bullet. Yet what they didn’t see was all the foundational work of intentional relationship building before seekers were brought to the service. There was a lot...

Cheeseburger, cheeseburger

Consulting, Leadership, Visionizing

When you approach something from a consultant perspective, you need to see what the church needs… not just your area of specialty. Instead, a good consultant sorts out their needs and approaches the situation appropriately, referring to the appropriate tools for...

Outputs vs. outcomes

Leadership

One of the things I’ve learned in consulting is helping people make the shift from focusing on outputs to focusing on outcomes. What’s the difference? Outputs are related to the activity you’re doing. Outcomes are focused on the results you want to get. An example of...