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.
Who will succeed you?
No matter who we are, none of us is indispensable. Yet many leaders have not put much time or thought into considering who else could step into our shoes in the event of sickness, death, or other unforeseen events. Reflect on your own situation. Who could take on your...
Putting out the fires of hell with a squirt gun
I once coached a planter who could inspire a group of people to do almost anything. He was an amazing communicator and motivator. I often chuckled that he could preach a message inspiring people to go put out the fires of hell with squirt guns and they’d be ready and...
Shark Tank for ministry leaders
Have you ever watched the show Shark Tank? It’s about aspiring entrepreneurs making a pitch to successful start-up leaders: “Here’s my product or concept, here’s my business plan, now will you become an investor or strategic partner?” What I particularly enjoy...
The importance of diverse teams in church leadership
I read an article recently in the Harvard Business Review, one of my favorite sources for leadership tips outside of a Christian context. The article is called Why Diverse Teams are Smarter. It makes good use of research to establish why teams that involve people from...
2 Practices for Building Team Resilience
Resilience has long been known as an important quality in leaders, particularly ministry leaders and church planters. But it’s not just you as an individual leader that needs to be resilient; it’s your whole team. The time you spend building team resilience is time...
Define the What; Release the How
I ran across a great blog entry recently from Carey Nieuwhof. I highly recommend reading the post by Jenni Catron; you can find it here. One phrase in particular that stood out to me was “Define the What; Release the How.” Define the What; Release the How. The...
A simple, successful ministry flow outline
Recently I was trying to think through the most simple way to represent what happens in successful ministry. What is the fewest number of things that need to happen for the basic ministry process to be complete? Here’s are the seven elements I have so far: Living and...
3 essentials to thriving in ministry
Guest blogger: Don Easton. Don is a church planter and Senior Minister at C3 Church Robina, Australia. Having experienced burnout, he considers it a gift that has taught his to thrive in ministry. Learn more about Don and his ministry at doneaston.com. 3 essentials to...
The 3 Rs of listening to the Holy Spirit
Whether you are part of a small group, a ministry team, a discipleship relationship or a coaching relationship, you will need to be intentional about listening to the Holy Spirit. That’s how we help others growth: not by telling them what to do but by listening to the...
My recommendations for discipleship processes
This blog post is adapted from an excerpt from my latest book, The Church Planting Journey. In any healthy ministry, there needs to be a strategy in place for passing discipleship along from one person to the next. Here I cover a few of my most important...
Supervisory questions
In the past on this blog, I have recommended doing supervision sessions with your staff people four times a year, with monthly coaching sessions in between those. But what does a good supervisory session look like? What topics should you cover? How should that staff...
Taking a step back: the personal audit
Periodically I find it necessary to take a step back and reflect on my life, my goals, and the direction I’m heading. Over the summer can be a great time to do that. Get away to the woods, the mountains, the ocean, the lakes… wherever is peaceful enough for you to...