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.
Gratefulness expressed to others is not only biblical, but it brings with it many practical personal benefits as well. Science is now telling us what the Bible has for centuries: showing gratitude, saying thanks, and affirming others is really good.
Charles Stone
Leaders need people they can trust to give them honest feedback, however uncomfortable. Without such people, leaders will not see their blind spots. They will lose their humility. Their growth will be stunted.
Elaine Vitikainen
“I'll let you in on a little secret. Jill and I work really hard to keep a relational connection in the midst of marriage ministry. Emotional and physical closeness aren't a given. We have to make time to connect to just be husband and wife in an ever-evolving relationship. And there's nothing as good as prayer to connect (and to repair [...]
Jeff & Jill Williams
While acknowledging the past, you can more wisely lead your church into the future, knowing that these past patterns still play a part in the present. As Pete Scazzero has often said, “To go forward, you must go back.”
Charles Stone
Honoring your predecessors gives them the freedom to support you. Former pastors are flawed humans who may be unsure about how much of a difference they really made. Acknowledging the ways they have been used by God can give them greater freedom to celebrate how God is using you.
Mike Fleischmann
Emotions are real. Every leader experiences the full range of emotional ups and downs. Just be aware that emotions can impact judgment. And reserve your most critical leadership moments for when you are out of the emotional extremes.
Scott Cochrane
When you lose a great staff member, it’s like climbing a tall staircase to nowhere. You did a lot of work in training and creating a staff culture that is productive; then, it’s gone. Jay has heard all the reasons why people leave seemingly great ministry positions. Here are ten of them.
Jay Mitchell
Any leader is only complete when they have healthy, nourishing friendships. Specifically, they must be nurtured through four different communities.
Malcolm Webber
Too often we get the sequence of events backward. We correct far more than we pray or encourage. The result? No change.
Stephen Altrogge
Join Brent as he breaks down the 18 Principles of Healthy Leader Development in Season 2.
Brent Hoover
When we first choose to live as foreigners we are prime for the suckering. We are wide eyed and overflowing with enthusiasm. There are seven great deceptions, and most of us fall for at least five. I have personally tested them all. You know . . . for research.
Jerry Jones
Listen to our new episode of In the Word with Malcolm Webber!
Malcolm Webber
When you hear the term “majority culture,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? What thoughts or feelings arise within you? What images or memories of the past resurface?
Adrian Pei
Two-by-two provides protection. It provides another set of eyes to watch and ears to listen, to be on the alert for the enemy. It allows also for one to rest while the other is on watch. This keeps both in the battle. Two-by-two provides a system of accountability. By laboring together one can help the other stay on the narrow road.
Scott Rodin
Listen to our new episode of In the Word with Malcolm Webber!
Malcolm Webber
Find out more about building teams in this brief excerpt from Building Teams by Malcolm Webber.
Malcolm Webber
Many churches have lost one important thing in the pursuit of becoming missional – a true dependency on the all-sufficiency of the Bible. Following attractional, missional, or invitational models, churches become derailed from the central purpose that Scripture gives believers – knowing God by His Spirit in a Christ-centered community.
Brent Hoover
In an age of platform-seeking celebrities, it’s easy to overlook this reality. Both inside and outside of the church, nobody is the person they are without the investment of others. A glimpse in the rear-view mirror of life will reveal that the mysterious hand of God’s sovereignty often worked through the love, investment, and sacrifice [...]
Matt Rogers
They don’t speak my language. I don’t speak theirs. I live very differently and my habits are very different from theirs. But in many ways, we are very similar.
Elaine Vitikainen