3 Tips on Leading Laterally
When most people hear the word leadership, they think of the relationship between the leader and those he/she is responsible for, serves, and shepherds. But when we understand leadership as Oswald Sanders describes it—as “influencing others”—we must include “leading laterally.” By lateral leadership I am referring to leading your peers, those you serve alongside but […]
7 Lessons for Leading a Growing Church
The following is a guest post by Pastor Derwin Gray. Derwin is the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church. After graduating from Brigham Young University, Gray played football in the NFL for five years. He graduated magna cum laude, earning a M.Div. with a concentration in apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary. He is an author […]
2 Essentials for Effective Ministry to New Believers
A local church is on the planet to make disciples, not merely help people “make decisions” for Christ and then leave them alone and uncared for. Sadly, in some churches people are led to “receive Christ” but are not challenged to grow in their new journey with Him. In these churches, leading someone to faith […]
Delighting in the Lord
Psalm 37:4 instructs us to “take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” Surely this verse is not teaching us that if we claim to delight in God, He will give us anything we desire in this world, as in: “God, I love You, so I am ready for the […]
The Never-Ending Need of Multiplying Leaders
The following is a guest post by Ed Stetzer. Ed is the Executive Director of LifeWay Research and he blogs daily at Christianity Today. Ed and I recently co-authored Transformational Groups on how to create effective small groups. Pastors of growing churches know all too well the old adage of there being two sides to every […]
A Tale of Two Mars Hills
Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16) When I was in my late twenties, serving as an executive pastor, two young pastors suddenly seemed to burst on the evangelical scene. Their churches, both […]
3 Benefits of Launching New Groups
Every Fall churches across the country gear up to kick off a new season of small groups (or Sunday school classes, life groups, etc.). While many agree that these groups and classes are an important part of their church’s ministry, we often fail to realize the importance of new groups in light of a church’s […]
God’s Presence Is My Good
Psalm 73 is a well-known psalm of lament in which Asaph, the leader of David’s choirs, wrestles with the reality that evil sometimes prospers, that those who are not God’s people seem to do well in life. After bemoaning the temporary glory of the wicked, Asaph confesses that His thinking was foolish, that his knowledge […]
5 Crucial Steps for New Leaders
The following is a guest post by Selma Wilson. Selma is one of the vice presidents of LifeWay, leading our B&H Publishing Group. I am honored to serve alongside Selma and consider her to be an incredible leader. Congratulations on your new leadership role. Whatever the process that got you to this point, and no matter the […]
Character First
When the apostle Paul challenged Timothy to reproduce himself in others, to broaden the number of leaders, and to hand ministry over to more people, he emphasized character over competence. He didn’t diminish competence, but he started with character. Notice the order of the language of this often-quoted leadership development verse: The things you have […]