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.
Gaining ownership
Effectively casting vision means more than getting consent or compliance. It means getting ownership. If the people consent to the vision, they’re essentially promising not to block you. If they have ownership of the vision, they want it to happen as much as you do...
Casting vision
People can lose vision is less than a month. Effective visioncasting must be repeated, intentional, and take many different forms. Here are a few common strategies: Strategic prayer Personal example Rewards and recognition Powerful stories Appeals to scripture...
Clarifying your vision
Leaders must be able to effectively visioncast for a preferred future, and effective visioncasting—of course—starts with ourselves. In order to grow and develop our ministries in the right direction, we need to know where we’re headed. Often our best intentions are...
Now that’s something Jesus would do
I ran across a great example of incarnational ministry recently. There’s a Mennonite group in Colorado called New Horizons Ministry. They run a residential home that cares for the babies of women who are in prison. Women who give birth in prison are faced with some...
Planning for the unexpected
In Mexico, something seems to go significantly wrong almost every day. Miguel was one of my hosts on a recent trip. The motor mounts on his car were shot from all the speed bumps, so he got them replaced. Then the battery light came on. The next morning, the battery...
Teaching your team to listen
Relational health and harmony is extremely important when working with teams. To create and maintain that quality on your team, one of the most important skills you can learn—and teach—is to listen well. If you can learn that, then you can model good listening skills...
Five steps to leading a good meeting
Is there such a thing as a good meeting? My own definition of a good meeting is one that accomplishes what it’s supposed to accomplish. To lead that kind of a meeting, be sure to incorporate the steps below in your planning process. Decide on the purpose of the...
How to delegate
Specifically identify what tasks need to be delegated Choose people who seem like they might become good at those tasks Say clearly what needs to be done Give them the “what” but let them develop “how” they will accomplish the task Suggest any helpful resources they...
The joys of delegation
Delegation means sharing the work. We can give some of our tasks to other people. Delegating spreads the workload more evenly and also helps other people develop their skills. As people get better at their new tasks, we can also allow them to make more of the...
Del Vio: the strong man
In much of the Hispanic world there’s a concept known as the “Del Vio”—the strong man. The Del Vio is the man who is in charge, the man who calls the shots. (And yes, it’s almost always a man.) We have a good dose of the Del Vio in non-hispanic parts of the United...
Humility: the first step toward true leadership
Lots of people want to learn leadership skills. Skills are important in leadership, but the real key is attitude: humility and openness to change. Let’s reflect on our attitudes toward change and transformation in our own lives: 9 To some who were confident of their...
Five ways to get more done with less stress
Five ways to get more done with less stress: Make a list and prioritize it. Put your priorities onto your calendar. Group similar activities together. (e.g. errands) Evaluate weekly (What worked? What didn’t work? What needs to change?) When the pressure comes—slow...