John Newton on Suffering in the Pastor’s Life—Erik Reed
People are hurting. Many of the people in our congregations are experiencing terrible trials and afflictions. As pastors, we must have our taste as well. It is one thing to hear of others struggles or to talk about them in an application of a message, but to know them first-hand is different. Newton shows that without these afflictions, we may encounter situations with congregants in which we would have nothing to say. This does not mean we must—Lord, willing—experience every possible affliction, but it certainly means we must experience enough to speak as a fellow-sufferers, not as those detached from the groans of those whom we pastor.
Your Strategy Has to Be Flexible—But So Does Your Execution—Martin Reeves and Rodolphe Charme di Carlo
Peter Drucker said: “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” This and a slew of similar maxims reflect a common view of strategy execution: that it’s distinct from strategy, harder to pull off than defining a strategy, and therefore more critical to success — underpinned by seemingly indisputable virtues such as diligence, discipline, consistency, alignment, and focus. But such a simplistic view of execution can be misleading and can reduce actual impact.
When a Leader Has Doubts—Dan Reiland
You might question yourself. Perhaps you are unsure of yourself. You may tend to overthink some things which burns even more energy. This can lead to wondering or even worrying about what people think of you as a person. Whether this begins or ends with insecurities, the result is the same.
Short term or occasional personal doubt is normal, but can’t be allowed to take root. Long-term personal doubt is unhealthy, and I strongly encourage you to talk about it with a trusted mentor or counselor.
A Quick Guide for First Time Managers—Steve Graves
With rare exception, after all, everyone in an organization can perform better with better management. Managers can break the cycle of “the way we always do things” and improve performance. Managers are a necessary piece of scaling anything.
And being a manager enables you and your organization to increase your impact, your bottom line, your personal fulfillment, and your legacy.
Three Leadership Pipeline Traps and How to Resolve Them—Rob Jacobs
Any church or ministry that is interested in growth must then be interested in growing leaders. There is a critical lens through which to view this through. The standard approach is seeing those involved in running the church or the ministry, be they staff or volunteer, through the “work to be done” lens. In other words, every person has specific work to do, and that is what they do.
As a proponent of developing a leadership development culture and systematic leadership pipeline approach, I would suggest that instead of looking things as a “work to be done” we instead view them through the “levels of leadership” lens.
Facebook Video of the Week: 4 Words Leaders Must Say on a Regular Basis
5LQ Podcast This Week
5LQ Episode 215: How to Cast Vision with Will Mancini
