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...

The Practices of a Barnabas

Coaching, Developing, Leadership

I talk about Barnabas a lot. He’s one of my favorite biblical characters… probably because he functions as a behind-the-scenes coach empowering others. I heard a talk that Bubba Justice gave on the practices of a Barnabas, taken from his study of the book of Acts....

Taking the long view

Leadership, Visionizing

We’ve all heard the expression, “We overestimate what we can do in one year and significantly underestimate what can be accomplished in three years.” We tend to be overly ambitious for what can happen in a year. We raise expectations– our own and those of...

Three words

Coaching, Leadership, Networking

Recently friend and pastor Dennis Easter shared three words with me that he has found helpful in life and ministry… words that set the stage for a way of living different than what most of us are experiencing on a day-to-day basis. Pace, Space, and Grace Pace –...

Who are we precluding from worship?

Leadership

When I was a pastor, I would think about the numbers of people who legitimately can’t come to church on Sunday mornings: hospital workers, police, firefighters, etc. Their schedules preclude Sunday mornings, and I’m glad for it. I want them to be available for...