Most leaders are good at making pragmatic decisions. They do the research, list the options, and weigh the pros and cons. But does that approach yield the best decisions? We were at a significant juncture at our ministry—so significant that we held a special board meeting to address it. There were three possible routes to […]
Marathoners often describe hitting the wall as they run. It’s a stretch of time when everything in their body hurts and everything in their mind screams, “Stop!” They press through, and the pain lifts. But is “no pain, no gain” a good mantra for Christian leaders? It was an intense season at our ministry—a huge […]
If mission is king, culture is queen. A vital mission without an honoring culture will eventually wilt. But a life-giving culture enables the mission to flourish. Let’s learn how. Twenty years ago, God began imprinting His culture on our hearts. He did it by pointing out how weary we’d become from running “fast and furious” […]
Next to mission, a godly culture is essential for ministry effectiveness. Absent a healthy culture, mission suffers. So what exactly is ministry culture, and how do you identify yours? Early on in our ministry, our staff was relatively small. We had an unusually strong rapport—personalities, giftings, and skillsets jived well. We enjoyed each other. We […]
As Christian leaders, we know God called us, loves us, and empowers us for the work of the ministry. But even though these truths are the wind beneath our wings, we sometimes take them for granted and lead on autopilot. How do we stay engaged with God and lead vibrantly? When my late husband […]
TED Talks are short, powerful speeches given by 2,000+ leaders since 1984. TED Talks celebrated their one billionth video view in 2012, and since then they’ve averaged 17 new page views a second. In a ministry leader’s world, their speech for the annual gala or banquet rises to the level of a TED talk. So […]
The culture of a ministry is the foundational beliefs and values on which its relationships and decision-making are built. Godly leaders establish cultural consistency throughout the organization, even at board meetings. The three cultural foundation stones at our ministry are: 1) honoring God 2) cultivating healthy relationships with each other 3) seeking God’s wisdom […]
Leaders are born with a megaphone at their mouth and a laptop at their fingertips. Whether they’re giving stadium keynotes or elevator speeches, writing year-end appeals or weekly thank you notes, they paint the sky with their impassioned, flowery words. But… leaders who learn to write tight have happier readers. Did you catch what I […]