Some pastors ask individuals what they want to do—what is their calling—and then send them off to go start that ministry in the church’s name. Everyone runs off in different directions and the church ends up with dozens of different priority ministries: food pantries,...
Calling isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime, you-find-it-or-you-don’t kind of endeavor. At certain points, God may call us to shift gears– and that doesn’t mean we got it wrong the first time. Sometimes he uses one season of life and ministry to prepare...
Sometimes people have an expectation that when you work together as a team, everyone needs to be friends — buddies who go out and do things together outside of work time. Many teams do function like that, and that’s fine if it works. But not all teams have to function...
Yesterday I wrote about planning for retirement financially. There’s a second way we need to plan for our retirement, and that’s thinking about our Kingdom contribution. What are we going to DO during retirement? In my opinion, we never fully retire. If...
One of the most helpful things I’ve found for building solid teams is to make a distinction between responsibility and contribution. Responsibility is their job– what that person is responsible for. If it doesn’t get accomplished, they are held responsible...
Part of a series inspired by Peter Drucker, an important mentor of mine Peter Drucker suggests that leaders regularly ask themselves the question, “What’s my contribution?” In other words, what does the organization need from me at this particular time to facilitate...
Reflect on the ministry you lead. What’s needed now? You may have many strengths, but what’s the core function that needs to be brought to the ministry at this particular time? There are many different possibilities: Healing and restoration? Helping people move...
In yesterday’s blog entry, I mentioned one of my favorite quotes from Bishop Desmond Tutu: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” What is your “little bit of good”? Do you have neighbors? Bring...
We all have a contribution to make. It doesn’t have to be huge. But all of our small contributions come together to make something huge. Bishop Desmond Tutu said: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the...
