5 Big Lessons I Have Learned From a Long-Time Senior Pastor
In the last six months, I have been exposed to a plethora of Kenton-isms – statements Kenton Beshore employs to teach a point to me or to a group of pastors he is mentoring. Kenton served in one place, Mariners Church, for 40 years with 35 of those being as senior pastor. So when he […]
4 Voices About the Power of the Word in Our Lives and Churches
Earlier this week I was sharing some stories of transformation I am aware of taking place in our church. And those stories are connected to people who are new to the faith spending time in the Scripture. As we talked, we reflected on the reality that the Word does a work on us. The Word […]
3 Ways to Treat Your Predecessor
Since being named Kenton Beshore’s successor and becoming the senior pastor of Mariners Church eight months ago, other church leaders have started to ask questions of us about succession. There are many churches in this season, where the church is led by a faithful and great leader who has led for many years and is […]
Church Leaders: Because Leadership Is Transferrable…
In the book The Leadership Code, Dave Ulrich and his coauthors articulate that as much as 70% of leadership is transferable from one context to another (the other 30% is specific to that context or industry). This means that the vast majority of what makes someone an effective leader in one context is transferable to […]
Buildings and Other Things That Leaders Shape … That Shape the Orgs They Lead
The great (and true) quote that “we shape our buildings and our buildings shape us” is credited to Winston Churchill. Other less insightful quotes are credited to him on the Internet as well, but this quote is really good because it is so true. As I shared in this post, leaders form their organizations by […]
10 Things Leaders Shape That Shape the Ministry/Organization (Part 1)
Winston Churchill is credited with the insightful quote, “we shape our buildings and our buildings shape us.” He was correct; the buildings we gather in shape the culture of those in the buildings. The statement can be applied to other influences as our ministries and organizations are shaped by more than the buildings we utilize. […]
“I Should Have Been Doing Most of What I Did as a Student Pastor”
I followed a living legend in Kenton Beshore when I became senior pastor of Mariners Church six months ago. I have enjoyed learning from Kenton and I look forward to learning more from him. He said something in a meeting the other day that resonated with me and challenged me. He was speaking about his […]
4 Lessons From a Great Tom Brady Leadership Moment
While football is a team sport, each year the National Football League hosts a game between players who have been recognized for their individual performance. The game is called the Pro-Bowl and to be invited to play in the game a player has to excel in his individual performance and be deemed once of the […]
What Research Says About How Self-centeredness Grows in Us
According to research, the more isolated you are the more self-centered you are. And the more self-centered you are, the more likely you are to live isolated. University of Chicago Professor John Cacioppo led a ten-year study on self-centeredness using a scale he called the “Chronic Self Focus Scale.” He concluded that focusing on yourself […]
4 Possible Reasons Team Members “Over-Quote the Leader”
Over-quoting the leader is a common practice in organizational life. Here are some examples you have surely seen: You are at a meeting at your kid’s school. A teacher stands up and says, “The district says we need to talk about this.” Or “our principal is asking us to talk about …” Immediately you get […]