Community
Articles in this category focus on rejoicing in the community of other believers, how to build and nurture community, and how to better reflect Jesus Christ to our brothers and sisters in the faith.
How to Be a Critic People Love
The best critic is the not the one who is merely right, but rather the one who has earned the right to be heard in a way that changes things for the better. That only happens when the critic is someone you trust. Whom do you trust more than that one you are already convinced loves you?
David Goodman
Before We Criticize Our Leaders
How do we respond when our leaders fail or disappoint us?
Adrian Pei
Under-Delegation vs. Over-Delegation
Delegation is also the number one development tool you possess as a leader. No amount of education (important), training (also important) or feedback (very important) can substitute for direct responsibility. Emerging leaders need to learn under the yoke of responsibility. Look back at your own growth as a leader to see the truth of this. But there is a danger in both under-delegating and over-delegating.
Jess MacCallum
Is Your Leadership More Than Words?
If you want to be the kind of leader whose organization is on the cutting edge, stop asking for someone to give you an answer you already know. Great leaders have the courage to act!
Mike Mowery
The Prison of Familiarity
When was the last time you changed your opinion positively about a fellow-worker in your ministry team? I wonder if I miss important insights and challenges because I have stopped listening to certain colleagues. I may be stuck with outdated opinions of people. I’m imprisoned by my familiarity.
Ahadu Gebreamlak
When Sheep Bite
Members of flocks might wish shepherds were more sensitive to their needs. But the reality is, when shepherds find their sheep can bite like wolves, they easily become too defensive to act in their own best interests, let alone that of their flocks. This is true not only of pastors, but Christian leaders of all sorts.
David Goodman
Is Your Leadership More Than Words?
If you want to be the kind of leader whose organization is on the cutting edge, stop asking for someone to give you an answer you already know. Great leaders have the courage to act!
Mike Mowery
How to Be Joyful in Your Leadership
As a biblical leader, I choose to model joy for the people I lead. By choosing to model joy, I hope my colleagues can see “work” and “vocation” as synonyms for joy.
James Bruyn
How Leadership Is a Relationship
Leading isn’t strictly about getting the job done. Leading is about building relationships.
Joseph Lalonde
Are You Wise with Your Buckets of Influence?
Good leaders know when to use the right bucket. The most important thing for you to do as a leader is to use your influence to promote fairness, lawfulness, peace, empathy and real prosperity for everyone.
Mike Mowery
The Biggest Way People on Your Team Know You Value Them
How can a leader let each person on the team know they are valued? When people you serve sense that you are responding specifically to them they know they are valued. Here are four ways leaders should respond to each person on the team.
Eric Geiger
What I Wish I Had Known 20 Years Ago as a Pastor
If you are just starting out in ministry, here are five key lessons Charles Stone learned over the last 20 years as a pastor.
Charles Stone
A Simple but Incredible Way to Reach Your Community and Grow
Tom’s church tried a unique way of reaching out to their church’s community. We gave each of our members attending a loaf of bread and asked them to give the bread to someone in their neighborhood or community.
Thom S. Rainer
Less Is More
Every dialogue can be either a competition, or a bond of connection with another person.
Adrian Pei
Take Responsibility for Your Own Feedback
Without feedback, your growth as a leader is stunted. But what if your boss or leader does not offer feedback? Or not enough of it? Here are three places to find valuable feedback.
Eric Geiger
Are You a Shepherd Warrior?
We can’t fight all the time; we need time for refreshment and encouragement. The warrior becomes a shepherd through his or her love and affirmation of the sheep.
Stephen Mayers
The Culture of Mistrust
Trust is such a fragile commodity. It can easily be broken even before it is built. Yet we know trust is the foundation for healthy organizational behavior.
Elaine Vitikainen
Eight of the Most Common Worship Leading Mistakes
Here are eight of the most common worship leading mistakes that I’ve observed in my own ministry, and through friendships and experiences with lots of other worship leaders too.
Jamie Brown
Why Don’t We “Circle Back” More Often
Even if we make a mistake, it’s almost never too late to “try again.”
Adrian Pei
How to View God’s Weak, Flawed and Messy People
It’s easy to look at our brothers and sisters and see their warts and blemishes. Yet the perfect One, the holy One, the One without a single imperfection doesn’t look on His people the way we often do.
Mark Altrogge