3 Reasons Gratitude Makes Leaders More Effective

Gary Vaynerchuck is a successful entrepreneur, author, and CEO of VaynerMedia. Among marketing professionals, he is known for his skill in social media marketing and brand building in the digital space. He is also known for tireless work ethic. He has frequently pointed to gratitude as his motivation. He wrote: Knowing that I was born […]

5 Ways to Lead Effective and Inspiring Church Staff Reviews

Leading someone without offering feedback is cruel because you their hamper development. Feedback is like steroids for development. Over fifteen years ago I began the discipline of giving staff reviews to those who report directly to me. I have learned and grown a lot in that time. This insight from Vanderbloemen Search Group is very […]

7 Indications That Fear is Hampering Your Leadership

In the book of Proverbs God gives His people a collection of wise sayings on living life skillfully. One of those sayings contrasts trusting the Lord with fearing other people. The fear of mankind is a snare but the one who trusts the Lord is protected (Proverbs 29:25). We are commanded to fear the Lord. […]

3 Reasons Church Complexity Hurts Engagement

Too many programs. Too many events. Too many announcements. Too many things on the calendar. For those who bemoan complexity, these are common statements. If you serve on a church staff you have surely heard or offered these statements. You have likely wrestled with the tension of wanting to meet a need in a way […]

3 Lessons for Church Leaders From Yahoo! & The Peanut Butter Manifesto

In 2016 Verizon Communications bought Yahoo! In case you are wondering, I did not mean for the exclamation point to communicate that I was overly excited about the acquisition or the demise of the former web giant. The exclamation point is part of their name…Yahoo! Most who have analyzed what went wrong with the company […]

Culture Is the Hardest and the Last Thing Changed

Every ministry, every organization, every team has a culture. There have been numerous illustrations to try and capture what culture is and what culture means. Some have said that the culture is the DNA of an organization. And that just as every living organism has self-replicating material, every organization has a culture that will self-replicate. […]

5 Reminders For Your New Season

Today is my first day in a new ministry and leadership role as I begin serving Mariners Church as their new senior pastor. The day has been mapped out for several weeks. After taking my daughters to school for their first day, I will go to my new office for several planned meetings with my […]

Only 2 Ways to Resolve Tension Because of Higher Expectations

When I was in my twenties, just beginning to find any semblance of a stride as a leader, I shared with a mentor that I was receiving some pushback among some people on my team that my expectations were too high. The expectations probably were too high as I was leading a team of predominantly […]

When to Lead as a Farmer and When to Lead as a Hunter

Farmers and hunters both spend their days working for food they will eat, but how they get their food is very different. Hunters search for food that they will soon eat. They eat what they kill today. Farmers plan, plant, watch over, and harvest at the appropriate time. Their work today shows up months later. […]

3 Common Emotional Mistakes Leaders Make

Sometimes being a leader feels like living in two different worlds as leaders must think about the future while also executing today. And then there are the emotional challenges of leadership, as being a leader often requires leading with two emotions at once. Leaders often must grieve the loss of something while also holding to […]