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.
Principle #4: Engaging authentically with others
Jesus not only lived among those he served, he truly interacted with them at a personal level. He treated people as individuals and engaged in conversations with them around issues that mattered to them. Here are some of the observations I made as I read the gospels...
Principle #3: Dwelling among the people
Jesus didn’t teach from afar. He personally and relationally among the people he ministered to. Some he knew well: He cried with them, laughed with them, ate with them, traveled with them. Sometimes we forget that there were others beyond the twelve disciples who...
Principle #2: Living with purpose
Jesus wasn’t just wandering around the Holy Land aimlessly. He was walking with a purpose. We too, as we seek to live incarnationally as he did, need to walk with a purpose. That doesn’t mean we’re in a hurry or that we’re not relational. Quite the contrary,...
Principle #1: Staying connected with the Father
One principle I found when looking at the life of Jesus is that he stayed connected with the Father. That may sound simple and obvious, but it’s amazing how quickly we lose sight of it in day-to-day ministry. Especially those of us who plan well can begin relying on...
The 7 principles of incarnational living
After doing a study on the life of Jesus, which I’ve written about previously on this blog, I have arrived at 7 principles of incarnational living. Living incarnationally means: Staying connected with the Father Living with purpose Dwelling among the people Engaging...
Video interview with Dennis Easter
Amazing video interview with FourSquare Pastor Dennis Easter of Portland. He has taken a historic downtown church and helped move it in a missional direction. Lots of great examples of the ways his church is integrating with the community around them to live out their...
Why is urban ministry so lonely?
Why is it that when you are working in urban contexts it’s so hard to get people to join you? Why do people seem unwilling to join in urban ministry ventures? In rural settings, it’s relatively easy to get people to come out and build some houses or churches, dig...
Listening to the Spirit and ministry planning—yes, they do go together
Over years of working with churches and church leaders in a wide variety of denominations and networks, one thing that continues to amaze me is how many people view planning and spirituality as completely separate and even antithetical practices. On the one hand, some...
Top 5 missonal books
If you only have five books to read on missional ministry, these are my top picks. Taken together they provide a good overview of the theoretical, the practical, and the stories. If you want a broader scope of missional ministry, as well as multiple voices, read the...
How Eden Reforestation Project started
The entry below is part of a week-long series by Steve Fitch, President of Eden Reforestation Projects. I grew up in the Philippines and loved to explore nature. In 1997 and 2001, I went back and was shocked by the destruction that had taken place. The coral reefs...
The power of 10
The entry below is part of a week-long series by Steve Fitch. Eden Reforestation Projects is one of the best, if not the best, in the world at: • Employing thousands of desperately poor individuals who • plant and protect whole forests • at 10¢ per tree $10 per month...
The loss of Psalm 104
A meditation from Steve Fitch 16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 17 There the birds make their nests; the stork has its home in the junipers. 18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the...