Christian leaders are famous for saying, “We give God all the glory.” And most of them mean it. But is there a deeper place—a place beneath our words—from which God wants to receive honor? And how does that play out in the workplace? Conviction is a funny thing. Until it happens, you think you’re fine. […]

Leaders want to be known for something great. To leave a lasting mark on their organization. To exercise their giftings in transformative ways. Let’s look at God’s pathway to distinction. Thirteen years into my personal quest for leadership distinction, I’d demonstrated vision, good communication skills, and the ability to rally people for effective ministry. But […]

Take yesterday at work, for example. Can you remember praying on your own or with others? If you’re like most leaders, the answer is no. There were back to back meetings in your office, piles of projects on your desk, and unexpected visitors at your door. The title of this blog may well have been: […]

Christian leaders embrace the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the foundation of their life in Him. It’s also the basis for life-giving rebirths within their ministries. Let’s look at the essential elements of ministry resurrections. I experienced a practical resurrection during the renovation of our 35-year-old kitchen. When the estimate on my plans exceeded our […]

If you’re looking for an easy journey, don’t venture onto the road of Christian leadership. It’s uphill, full of potholes, detours, and glimpses of spectacular, fruit-filled vistas. How do we maintain an “onward and upward” mentality? Recently a colleague and I were commiserating about the day-to-day challenges of leadership. Projects take way longer than you […]

The landscape of leadership is dotted with mazes—those crucial decisions that require traversing multiple routes to find the best one. Mazes can be challenging, complicated, and cumbersome. But they don’t have to be. Recently, as I prayed about a crucial ministry decision, God characterized it as a maze and showed me that one of the […]

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 […]