The One Characteristic of a Healthy Church
What is the best and most biblical way to define a “healthy” church?
Malcolm Webber
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.
Malcolm Webber
Creating Strong Family Relationships
If you were to ask someone what their most important relationship is, the answer would most likely revolve around a family member. So why do these leaders who claim family relationships matter have such a devastated family? It’s because it’s easy to say your family is important but difficult to live it out.
Joseph Lalonde
3 Observations of Church Revitalization
Revitalization is essential. It’s not easy and there are many ways, but as a revitalizing pastor, here are three observations of turnaround churches. The big question: if your church were to close its doors tomorrow, would anyone in the community care, notice, or react?
Matthew Fretwell
Why Leaders Don’t Listen
Osmo Wiio’s first law of communication is that “Communication usually fails, except by chance.” The barriers to effective listening are numerous. In order to be effective leaders, we must identify and understand that which hinders us from effective listening.
Malcolm Webber
Bridging the Gap Between Millennials and the Church
There is a growing divide between church importance and Millennials, and it’s not getting any better. To close the door of the divide, the church must relate the importance of salvation for the collective community ‒ the power of God on display ‒ through prayer, proclamation, and practice.
Matthew Fretwell
What NOT to Say to Someone in Pain
Several years ago at a physical therapy appointment I was getting some kinks worked out of my back. As the therapist torqued my left leg into a pretzel, she told me about a friend who recently got news about a life-threatening medical condition. As my therapist shared, she felt unsure about what to say to her friend facing […]
Charles Stone
Daring to Be Vulnerable
When people are facing extreme problems, their organizations often embody those same challenges. The Coalition of Women Living with HIV and AIDS was one such agency. Having grown quickly, but haphazardly, it was on the brink of tearing itself apart. This is the story about the power of forgiveness to resolve conflict and bring positive [...]
Joyce Mataya
How Your Church Can Feel More Like the Family of God
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.” (Ephesians 2:19) When the apostle Paul describes the church as God’s household, His family, what does he really mean? Reflect with me a moment on what it means to be a family. To be family […]
David Goodman
Are You a Shepherd Warrior?
We have a constant flow of leaders through the retreat center who share their stories with us. They are all doing incredible work but at the same time facing huge challenges. We find there is an amazing energy and drive among the leaders we meet to do great exploits for the Lord and they are […]
Stephen Mayers
A Leader’s Real Power: Vulnerability
Recently I participated in a leadership retreat near Lake Michigan focusing on renewal. The purpose of the retreat was to teach how to offer renewal to others. The first morning I got up early for a walk on the beach and discovered a very unique stone in the shape of a heart with a hole in it. This […]
Ritch Hochstetler
Leaders Need Friends
Community serves a twofold place in the life of the leader. First, the healthy leader is built in community (Eph. 4:13-16). No healthy leader will ever be developed in a vacuum. The hottest ember grows cold in isolation. When we come together we are given copious opportunities to be patient, kind, forgiving and loving, to […]
Malcolm Webber
Get In The Ring: Embracing Healthy Conflict In Your Team
As Patrick Lencioni said in his book The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, “fear of conflict” is one of the things that can cripple a team. I used to avoid conflict because it made me feel uncomfortable. Over the last few years I have chosen to embrace it and have seen how it could be […]
Gerhard Duvenhage
Do Extroverts Make Better Leaders?
Do extroverts make better leaders? Susan Cain researches this question in her best-selling book Quiet and in her 2014 TED talk “The Power of Introverts.” The answer is important for people engaged in leader development, and the book a valuable resource. Below are some highlights that I hope will be thought-provoking. Scientists have [...]
Susan Jensen
Eight of the Most Common Worship Leading Mistakes
No worship leader ever stops making mistakes. From the most seasoned and experienced worship leaders, to the newest and greenest, mistakes are inevitable, humbling, and part of the process of maturing. We’re imperfect people, working alongside other imperfect people, playing musical instruments and singing songs imperfectly, with a [...]
Jamie Brown
How to View God’s Weak, Flawed and Messy People
If you spend any time in a church, you’ll discover a conglomeration of flawed and imperfect folks, with plenty of weaknesses and shortcomings. 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 […]
Mark Altrogge
Mentoring the Mentors
Mentoring is usually concerned about mentoring younger leaders. Mentees are seeking for guidance and coaching from senior leaders as they face new challenges and struggle to balance their life and leadership, ministry and family. But who will mentor the mentors? Or do they need mentors if they are already mentoring others? In my recent [...]
Herman Moldez
Are You Drained or Tired?
Do you ever worry that if you give to others too much, you won’t have anything left at the end of the day? Author Dr. John Townsend addresses this common concern and some misconceptions about love in his book Loving People, which I recommend. Dr. Townsend writes that it is normal to feel tired when we love […]
Adrian Pei
First In, Last Out Leadership
“Why are we always the last to leave?” Kids in church leadership families ask this question every week. They typically don’t mind showing up early to set up. It’s a small price of admission for the chance to play 1,000 games of tag in a vacant building! But by the end of the day, and […]
Dan Lovaglia
Fostering an Environment of Collaboration
I’ve been in many church offices where I observe walled-off office after walled-off office. I’ve also seen settings where you are the only person in the office so instead you work at home or in Starbucks by yourself every day. So in these situations how do we spur on collaboration? Collaboration is paramount to a […]
Joe Hoagland
How to Be a Critic People Love
It seemed I was everyone’s target all evening … and not a single shot missed. I was the chair of that planning committee-meeting-turned-nightmare many years ago. One member came to me privately after the meeting and bluntly told me I was blowing it because I was way too defensive. By then I was quite ready […]
David Goodman