The big picture of the missional journey

As we encourage our people to engage culture, they will form missional communities. Out of those missional communities, we will develop leaders. With those leaders, we will multiply movements. These four areas together make up what I call “the missional journey.”...

The dynamics of effective leaders

I recently had lunch with a former student of mine who is currently a church planting leader with the Vineyard in Norway.  He also works as a business consultant.  He mentioned that a major study some years back had been done jointly by BI Norwegian Business School...

Anger management

Recently I’ve started teaching a class on anger management for teenage moms at a local high school. Parenting is hard enough even when you have all you need.  Doing it under less than ideal circumstances is even more challenging.  There are some young women taking...

Positive assumption

What I’m calling positive assumption simply means assuming the best about a person. We think about this when we are trying to encourage people by pointing out something they’re doing well, but positive assumption can be every bit as helpful when someone is doing...
Three critical components for ongoing ministry success

Three critical components for ongoing ministry success

My wife, a very wise woman, keeps in mind three important strategies for maintaining long-term success in ministry. These apply no matter what kind of ministry you’re involved in, whether you’re leading a network of churches, organizing a small group service project,...

The five tests of a godly vision

Is your vision godly? Measure it in light of these benchmarks. A godly vision… Is right for the times Promotes faith rather than fear Motivates people to action Requires some risk-taking Glorifies God, not people

Trust the bike

Novice mountain bikers grab the handle bars tightly. They believe it will give them more control over the bike. What it actually gives them is a rough ride—there’s no room for the bounce. A looser grip on the handle bars allows room for the bike to bounce without...
Teaching your team to listen

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...

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...