Don’t Just Build Competencies, Build Healthy Leaders!
Too often, to our detriment, we only deal with competencies when building leaders.
Malcolm Webber
Be one. Build many.
Malcolm Webber
To the Mentor: Mentors Don’t “Need” Protégés
Something felt, well, wrong about the whole thing. I had gone to him for advice, some professorial counsel about choices that lay before me, as I was nearly finished with my graduate studies. I had options, six options to be exact. And people who have had the fortune of finding themselves with more than one […]
Russell West
Two Views: Severance and Financial Support for a Fallen Leader
There are two different views on severance or financial support for a fallen ministry leader.
Eric Geiger
10 Reflections on Worship Leaders
The title varies (e.g., Minister of Music, Worship Pastor, Song Leader, etc.), but the task is generally the same. Here are some of things others have most affirmed about worship leaders, followed by concerns most often raised.
Chuck Lawless
How to Recover after You’ve Made a Leadership Mistake
I have often watched leaders struggle to recover from a mistake made that probably didn’t have to be as personally or professionally damaging to them as it was. They simply didn’t respond well enough and it cost them more than it should have.
Ron Edmondson
Why Jesus Let People Walk Away
In John 6, Jesus is being chased around the Sea of Galilee by a large crowd. He’s healed terrible diseases, fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes, and taught with great authority. Things were going so well the crowd was planning to make Him king by force. In modern language, Jesus was a rock […]
Matthew Rohrs
Authentically Counterproductive
We hear so much about being an “authentic” leader. I believe fully in authenticity. You must lead from who you are; at the same time, authenticity does not give you permission to be a jerk. The most productive leader leads from strengths and dials back those tendencies to react poorly. This week’s question: When might [...]
Corey Olynik
The Issue No One Will Hold You Accountable For
I’ve never been a good worrier. I have met people my whole life who could out-worry me and were frustrated I wasn’t as worried as they were. I have often thought worrying just wasn’t my issue, something I was … above. A few months ago I was combing over the Sermon on the Mount with […]
Alan Briggs
How to Help Someone Not Change
Dear Stephen, I have this person in my life – maybe it’s my spouse, maybe it’s one of my kids, maybe it’s a friend – it doesn’t really matter. They have this sinful habit that drives me absolutely bonkers. They complain a lot. Or maybe they criticize me a lot. Or maybe they argue a […]
Stephen Altrogge
20 Lessons I Wish They’d Taught Me in Seminary
The Bible says that wisdom is worth more than gold, and understanding worth more than silver (Prov. 16:16). David learned many wise lessons during his more than 20 years in music and worship-leading ministry and shares them here to encourage serious introspection.
David Manner
Are You Fearful for the Future?
This life can be pretty scary at times. Who knows what’s going to happen with our government? With drugs, morals, terrorism, the economy or all kinds of other issues? If our finances are tight or one of our children is going through a crisis, we can be tempted to fear and preoccupied with the future. […]
Mark Altrogge
Great Leaders Are Great Observers
This is Part 1 in a series on Listening Over my life, I’ve been fortunate to work with many leaders who are older and wiser. Sometimes when people have that much experience, they’re tempted to be “advice dispensers” – to always need to educate, direct, and caution everyone around them. But many of the leaders I’ve […]
Adrian Pei
3 Changes Your Church Needs to Make to Serve Families Better
Ministry is shifting. If you’ve been in children’s ministry for a while (as many of you have), you might feel like your skills are growing dull; strategies that used to work seem to fall flat. Practices that used to easily equip families no longer work. Things are changing. There are a host of cultural realities […]
Larry Fowler
Building Relationships for Lasting Success
Whether you realize or not, relationships are the fuel that feeds your success, and are often highlighted as an important part of your role as a leader. Interpersonal relationships are most important to success in all organizations today. They are especially important in times of organizational stress, emergencies and disasters. They are [...]
Patrick Ondrey
Three Keys to Avoiding the Curve that Kills Good Leadership (and Leaders)
Leaders may be described as curving inward toward themselves and their own interests or curving outwards towards others. How do we achieve the convex shape of the leader who is “curved outward” toward those they lead and serve?
Scott Rodin
Change Can Be Traumatic! Your Followers Need Your Care.
People often react to change in detrimental ways. Here’s how you can encourage your followers in the midst of change.
Malcolm Webber
Choosing God’s Presence
I’m at a small conference of workers. The theological reflection the other day was Exodus 33. In this chapter, God begins by telling Moses: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, […]
Justin Long
Dennis Fletcher Wounded Healers
We were working with 25 Mothers’ Union community development coordinators from across South Africa. As part of our training, my co-facilitator performed a monologue of how it must have felt to be the woman who encountered Jesus at the well (John 4).
Bill Crooks