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.
Story of an incarnational missionary
While working full-time, Tony Bleything gathered a strong core of 70 people. He proved himself a capable missionary, gatherer and leader. At the point when he hit 70 people, he realized he could no longer function effectively in a bivocational capacity, but the church...
Funding proven people
We need to start thinking about funding missional activity in new ways. I've already talked about how bivocational missions activity is going to be come more and more the future of the church, in part because the way we've traditionally funded church plants is...
Why people give
When people ask me for advice about raising support, I ask them to consider why people give. In my experience, there are four reasons why people give: 1. Because they have a relationship with you 2. Because they believe in the vision 3. Because you have a clear...
Advice for missionary letters
Here is my unsolicited advice to those of you who raise support about keeping in touch with the people who are investing in your minisistry. 1. Be regular and consistent. Contact once a month is the absolute minimum. If I haven't heard from missionaries I am...
Non-monetary rewards and sanctions
Today’s entry is from guest blogger Dr. Steven Goodwin. People are motivated by much more than money. This means that granting an employee a salary increase is not the only means to encourage positive work behavior. Researchers Richard King and Judith Mathers of the...
Plant the seeds – don’t dig them up
Have you ever watched kids learning to garden? They plant something, then are so eager to have it grow that they keep digging it up to see if it’s growing. Sometimes we’re like that in our endeavors. If we’ve sown the seed and done what we needed to do, now it’s time...
Using the prophetic gift well in leadership
Of all the gifts, the prophetic gift is one that is often misunderstood and misused... like God or a prophet hammering down in an uncaring angry way. But that's not how the gift is supposed to operate. How do you deal with the prophetic gift if you have it and are in...
Whose approval do you seek?
I recently asked this question of someone. He’d been working hard in his ministry, putting forth a great deal of effort, yet receiving very little by way of appreciation from his congregation. He was frustrated and tired. Yet the question, “Whose approval are you...
New Resource: Barnabas Coach Training
As a ministry leader, you want to develop people who can engage in incarnational missional ministry. You want to develop people who can come alongside others to develop them as well. You want a relational-- yet effective-- means of making disciples. What you need is a...
The role of Barnabas in church planting
I think Barnabas is one of the most important people in the Bible, yet he gets almost no recognition. Barnabas probably wouldn’t even make most people’s biblical top ten list. But consider the significance of the role he played. Barnabas came alongside Paul, and got...
What about the other 167 hours?
Take a look at the ministry flow chart below. It puts the role of celebration-- the worship service-- in context. That’s one hour out of the week… the rest of the week is 167 hours. Consider where you are putting your time and energy. How much is being invested into...
Fire and mission
Take some time this Friday morning to meditate on this insight from German theologian Emil Brunner: “The Church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.”