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.
Diagramming our priorities
Too much to do? Confused about what to do first? Let’s run through the process of taking stock of our lives as they currently are. Start by considering existing responsibilities and important relationships. Do we have children? A spouse? Aging parents? Health...
Discernment in giving
Giving to organizations is easy. When individuals have needs, it can be more difficult to discern what to do. We can be hardened by the many who are not sincere, who are swindlers or con artists. Yet some people do have legitimate needs. We need to rely on guidance...
A missed opportunity
Did you ever have one of those times when you wish you could go back and do something differently? A while back I was walking out of a Quiznos and a woman was there asking for money. I don’t give out money on the street, but I do sometimes buy people a sandwich or...
Who’s afraid of storms?
I was at a prayer meeting recently hosted by a dog-lover. This woman has a beautiful collie/golden mix who regularly participates in our prayer meetings. On this night in particular though, the weather got stormy. As the thunder and lightning outside the windows...
Balancing Life’s Demands
I’ve never been much of a retreat guy, but when I was in seminary I went on a singles retreat. I was new, single, and didn’t know anybody. I decided I needed to get to know some of my classmates and attending the retreat seemed to be an easy way to do that. However,...
The big difference one preposition can make
We are called not to be a church in the community, to the community or even for the community. We are called to be a church with the community. It’s an important distinction and an important reminder. To shed more light on what this reality can look like in the...
Holistic delivery for deep and lasting change
We all have our favorite styles for learning: lecture, small group discussion, reading, hands-on experience. When we’re the ones doing the training, we need to take a balanced approach for different learners. Try orientation, clusters, individual coaching, networks,...
The secret to planning good meetings
When you are planning a meeting, the first question to address is, “What are you trying to accomplish?” At the end of the time, what do you want people to do? What do you want them to feel? What do you want them to walk away with? Once you have a good answer for that,...
The cyclical vs. front-loading approaches
Have you ever looked carefully at the structure of 1 John? The first time I read it I thought the author was just repeating himself. Yet on more careful examination, he is working through the same three themes more and more deeply with each round so that it becomes a...
Affirmation as the foundation of change
For me, seminary preaching classes were a painful experience. The worst part was when I had to go to the preaching lab to be videotaped as I struggled to deliver a message. Having to listen to myself on tape seemed bad enough, but having to see myself too was just too...
Experiencing the change
How’s this for kicking off the new year? A book on making change lasting and effective. When you train people, most of the time you need to explain and describe. Some of that is necessary, and it results in intellectual knowledge. But if you want the result of your...
Bring your leaders together
As you start missional communities, you’ll see leaders arising. Get them together! You’ll need to provide support of some kind; they won’t be able to run on autopilot. When you do get them together, here are 5 good questions you can ask: What’s working What’s not...