3 Reasons Some Churches Struggle to Empower Younger Leaders
Intuitively church folks know that their churches must empower younger leaders. Simply stated, if a church fails to engage new generations, the church will eventually die. Yet while people know a church must empower younger leaders, some churches struggle to do so. They struggle to hand significant responsibility to younger leaders, to empower younger leaders […]
3 Actions of Servant Leaders
One of my favorite and most important meetings is a monthly meeting at LifeWay for “emerging leaders.” Those in the meeting are invited to be in the group for a year. People on my leadership team help identify who should be invited, and we gather 12 times in 12 months and read and discuss 12 […]
5 Ways to Lose Your Ministry
It is deeply tragic when ministry leaders lose their ministry, when sin sidelines them for a season. Not only is it painful for the leader, but also it is painful for the people who have been impacted and influenced through their leadership. Because sin is always crouching at the door and because Satan prowls around […]
5 Reasons I Can’t Stay Away from Student Ministry
This summer has shown me that I can’t stay away from student ministry. I was honored to be the camp pastor at one of our FUGE camps and enjoyed spending time with students from my church family. Tonight Kaye and I are hosting a group of 12th graders from our church because, well, because we […]
6 Takeaways from Scaling Up Excellence
The team I lead recently read Scaling Up Excellence together. Every year I assign books to individual team members and also to the team collectively. Sometimes we discuss a book in one meeting, and other times we walk through a book chapter by chapter. Scaling Up Excellence was one we walked through chapter by chapter. […]
11 Actions for Culture Cultivation
Just as a healthy garden will not exist without careful gardening and constant attention, a healthy culture does not happen by accident. Culture is the shared beliefs and values that guide a group of people. Left alone, culture deteriorates. Wise and loving leaders cultivate the culture in which they are leading. If leaders fail to […]
3 Warning Signs of an Exaggerated Resume
If you are responsible for building and leading a team, you have looked at resumes. The number of resumes submitted for a particular role can be overwhelming. Typically leaders make a first pass, or rely on someone else to make a first pass, to toss some resumes to simply narrow the number down to a […]
How Should the Christian Live?
I am honored to lead the Resources Division at LifeWay and serve with a team of leaders who are passionate to serve the Church in Her mission of making disciples. Each Wednesday, I share the heart behind one of the resources our team has developed and give an opportunity for you to register to win a free copy of […]
3 Leadership Clichés I Never Use
The reason leadership maxims gain traction among leaders is that they are generally helpful. Pithy statements that summarize principles are both memorable and instructive. But not all leadership clichés can be trusted. In the untrustworthy clichés, there are nuggets of truth, but they are overstated or oversimplified. Here are three leadership clichés I never use […]
3 Emails You Should Never Send
In a recent meeting with my leadership team, I shared my concern that email has a tendency to make us less efficient while promising to make us more so. An article from Harvard Business Review prompted the discussion with my team and has caused me to evaluate my own email habits and learn some ways […]