Leadership
Holistic Leadership Development
You want to develop leaders who will do what Jesus called us to do, leaders who can take the church forward into the 21st century. You look to the fields and see them, as Jesus does, ready for harvest — and you know that’s where your ministry needs to concentrate.
What’s needed is holistic leadership development — the kind of leadership development that comes from the harvest and leads people back into the harvest, resulting in subsequent generations of new believers and new leaders living as Jesus called us to live.
We can help you develop leaders the kind of leaders you need in a way that is both relational and intentional… and ultimately effective in helping your church accomplish its mission.
The condition of the heart
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the parable of the sower. Jesus said, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It...
All or nothing
One theme that seems to come up with many missional leaders is they think in terms of all or nothing. They want to move their whole ministry missional/incarnational, but they can’t get everyone to go there. I’ve talked with a lot of these leaders lately. They feel...
Launching Missional Communities Field Guide
If you’re a practitioner wanting to understand more about the nuts and bolts of missional community life and structure, the Launching Missional Communities Field Guide by Mike Breen and Alex Absalom can point you in the right direction. Within its pages you'll find...
A story of missional community
Missional community is happening all over the place. A story from Brian Williamson: “Last Friday, I was asked to come and share some time and encouragement with one of our missional communities. As I looked around the room here's what I saw: Two women who are asking...
A new work of the Spirit in the recovery community
A story from Adam Trambley, who has begun some work in the recovery community: “One of the interesting places I stumbled across while prayerwalking around my church during some lunch hours was a drop in center for folks with mental illness. A couple months later, I...
The intuitive leader
Over many years of working with leaders, I’ve found that the more intuitive a leader is the more difficult it is for them to replicate themselves. They just intuitively know what do to and aren’t able to explain or articulate it to others; it feels mysterious to them...
Missio Intensive in Portland
I’m at the Missio Intensive today in Portland with Hugh Halter and Matt Smay—pictured here. In case you’re not clear on what an Intensive actually is, it’s an event designed to help you rethink your assumptions about church and move your current church in a...
End of the trail: celebration at the destination
Note: part of a series from From Followers to Leaders. See Feb 21 blog entry for backstory. Eventually, the new leaders reach the end of the path. They may have gained competence in a particular area, or accomplished a specific goal such as multiplying a small group...
Support networks: campfire conversations
Note: part of a series from From Followers to Leaders. See Feb 21 blog entry for backstory. We’re not on this journey alone. And we’re not on it just with our guide. We’re on it with our fellow hikers, our peers, our teammates. There are other people trekking...
Ongoing support: along the trail
Note: part of a series from From Followers to Leaders. See Feb 21 blog entry for backstory. Even after people have started out along the path and we’ve provided some on-the-job training, we’ll still need to provide continuing support. The challenges our...
Show-how training: beginning of the trail
Note: part of a series from From Followers to Leaders. See Feb 21 blog entry for backstory. To the degree that learning content doesn't incorporate experience, it begins losing value. Conversely, learning that incorporates experience is exponentially more...
Orientation: the trailhead
Those who decide in the parking lot that this journey sounds like a good idea will move on to the trailhead. We might expect that once people have left the parking lot and decided to hike the path, they would just get on the trail and start going. Not so. It...