4 Common Marketplace Leadership Sayings That Don’t (Fully) Apply in Ministry
Augustine articulated that “all truth is God’s truth.” When a true leadership principle is discovered in the marketplace, the author of that principle is God Himself, whether the people who discovered the principle recognize its Author or not. Ironically, the world often recognizes leadership principles long after they have been revealed in Scripture. For example, […]
Ministry (and Management) By Walking Around
David Packard, one of the founders of Hewlett-Packard, is credited with coining the acronym MBWA and the accompanying phrase “management by walking around.” It’s a phrase I have read in multiple leadership books to encourage leaders to be present among their teams to build relationships, continually share direction and vision, and increase accountability through visibility—all […]
3 Inexpensive Leadership Decisions That Are Very Costly
Earlier this year, I wrote about five expensive leadership decisions that are worth more than they cost. Meaning, it is wise to spend the money and invest in your marriage and family, generous giving, wise counsel, developing leaders, and a seasoned leader on your team. There are leadership decisions that have a cost, but the […]
6 Years and 6 of the Best Nuggets of Wisdom My Predecessor Has Given Me
It has been six years since I became the Senior Pastor of Mariners Church, following my predecessor (Kenton Beshore or “KB”) who served Mariners faithfully and with incredible skill for 35 years. KB is worthy of respect and honor, and I am very thankful for him. He is still on our team as one of […]
The Blessing of Constraints
In the spring of 2019, I shared with the shepherding elders of our church that we were going to be launching one new congregation a year for the next five years. Our directional elders were already on board, we had resources set aside for the first launch, and we were in the process of building […]
Leaders and Managing the Gift of Momentum
If you are a leader, you know there are seasons with momentum and seasons without. As a Christian leader, you must preach to yourself that God is good in both seasons, faithfulness to Him is the priority in every season, and often the most fruitful work is done when there is no momentum—that seasons of […]
Walking With the Wise: 4 Qualities to Seek
As a teenager, my parents, concerned about the influences I was choosing, would sometimes ask me, “If your friends would jump off the Mississippi River bridge, would you jump with them?” Of course, I answered, “No,” but the reality is that wherever those closest to us go, we tend to follow. Whoever those closest to […]
Who Has the “A?”—A Framework About Roles and Responsibilities
Our executive pastor introduced the “ARCI” framework to me and has operationalized it within our team—so much so that the question “Who has the A?” is a common one among leaders I serve alongside. What I Appreciate About the Framework It helps solve a major problem—the lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities when leaders […]
A Framework for Ministry Leaders: Thinking Flock and Sheep
Larry Osborne has commented about ministry leaders, and I am paraphrasing, that some lean towards being a “flock leader” and some lean towards being a “sheep leader.” Meaning that some leaders, in their gifting, are more prone to think broadly about the overall ministry (the flock), while others are more prone to think about individual […]
Adjusting Your Approach to Serve Those You Lead
While Michael Watkins created a framework that helps leaders evaluate the needs of the organization they will be leading, Ken Blanchard developed a framework, famously known as Situational Leadership, that helps leaders evaluate the development needs of each person the leader is leading. What I Appreciate About This Framework I love that the framework emphasizes […]