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.
This one thing I do
I like Henry Ford. I’ve been tweeting some quotes from him lately. When Janet and I visited Detroit, we toured Henry Ford’s house with some friends. Downstairs there was a display that Janet saw and she called out, “Hey, Bob—that’s you!” I came over and took this...
Witnessing a baptism
A woman in our church was recently baptized. She invited her family to come and witness the event. They came, even though they weren’t followers of Jesus. But they had seen the dramatic changes in her life over the past months. Having come out of a recovery program,...
Crabby Joe’s Mission Statement
Ran across this sign at a restaurant and wanted to share it with you: “What’s with the mission statement? I cook the food – you eat the food – you pay for the food and then you go home. And you don’t make a mess!” Although I suppose I do value mission statements more...
Announcing Kingdom-Minded Coach Training
We need a way to train coaches that specializes in working with today’s missional leaders. In Kingdom-Minded coach training, I bring the basic coaching skills that all coaches need together with the specialized competencies that coaches need to work effectively with...
What would you do?
So you’re trying to come alongside missional leaders and coach them toward effective ministry. One church planter in his 20s doesn’t seem to trust you at all. He feels disillusioned by church and reacts angrily against certain vocabulary choices you’ve made. “You just...
Hope Chest
When Janet and I were engaged, she wanted a hope chest. In typical entrepreneurial fashion, I built her one from scratch without plans. Plans might take too long, so I just started with some lumber and built as I went. It turned out beautifully—a pine hope chest, one...
Lesson #3: Don’t freak out
Note: See December 27 entry for back story. A third lesson learned from our Argentinean driver was this: Stay calm and don’t lose focus. He showed grace under pressure: continually on the speaker phone or talking with his wingman as he navigated the streets and...
Lesson #2: Strategic flexibility
Note: See December 27 entry for back story. The destination was incredibly clear: the international airport across the city. The destination never changed. But the pathways of seeking to get there varied wildly. Our driver did a fancy left turn and went through some...
Lesson #1: You need a wingman
Note: See December 27 entry for back story. One lesson I learned from my Argentinean driver was simply to team up. While Janet and I sat in the back, our driver brought along a helper in the passenger seat. His passenger basically acted as a wingman, dealing with...
Lessons from an Argentinean driver
“This is worst I have ever seen it. This traffic is the worst in my life.” These were the words of our very experienced driver as we tried to make our way across Buenos Aires to the international airport. Janet and I were celebrating our anniversary in Argentina...
Working alongside local non-profit groups
I have the following story from Rich Earl: In an effort to combine the power of coaching with a missional/incarnational approach to ministry, a fellow pastor and I have volunteered to provide free coaching services for a local non-profit group in our city. We are only...
The high jump
Where should we set the bar in training people to do ministry? It’s tempting to set the bar too high too fast. An athlete training for the high jump wouldn’t start with the bar seven feet high. He or she would start much lower and then work their way up with...