In his famous and classic work, Mortification of Sin, John Owen wrote, “Never think your sin is dead because it is quiet, but labor to give it new wounds, new blows every day.” He also famously wrote, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” The more we think our sin is quiet, the…
sin
4 Signs of a Self-Centered Team Member
If you have been leading for any period of time you have learned the corrosive power of selfishness on a team. Instead of being committed to the mission of the ministry or organization, a selfish team member is obsessed with his or her own agenda. Selfish team members can’t bring unbiased wisdom to a discussion…
How to Recognize Repentance in a Restoration Process
When friends or ministry leaders fall, we can find ourselves in the serious conversations of designing a restoration process – a process that places the leader in the care of others with the purpose of restoring the person to some type of leadership. In recent years, I have been asked frequently about restoring someone to…
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….
Two Views: Severance and Financial Support for a Fallen Leader
I have enjoyed and benefited from the theological books that present multiple views on important theological vantage points. They have helped provide clarity on differing positions and caused me to research further and even challenge my own viewpoints. Today I want to offer two different views on severance or financial support for a fallen ministry…
4 Ways a Church Should Respond with Grace When a Leader Falls
The central message of the Christian faith is the gospel, the good news that Christ exchanged our sin for His righteousness and forgiveness. Those of us who have been rescued by His grace have been called out of the kingdom of this world and into His kingdom. We are “the called-out ones,” the Church. Therefore,…
3 Warning Signs You Are Responding with Pride to a Leader’s Fall
People love to watch great and mighty buildings fall. We find it fascinating that a structure that took years to build can come down in a few seconds. Some arrive hours early for a scheduled implosion to get a good view of the devastating seconds when the building topples inward. Those who love to watch…
How Should We Respond When a Leader Implodes?
I was at lunch with a friend recently, processing the news of another fallen leader. While perhaps we are only more aware of the number of leaders falling because of our constant connectedness via social media and online news, it sure feels like an epidemic at times. Regardless of whether or not the reality of…
Why I Almost Didn’t Write the Book AND Why I Have Already Struggled to Promote It
I almost did not write the book How To Ruin Your Life because I was afraid people would assume I was piling on, leveraging the pain of others, and kicking good people while they were down. In my role at LifeWay, we had been through a painful season of seeing leaders we love disqualify themselves…
Leaders, We Must Face Our Shadows
Pete Scazzero recently joined us on the 5 Leadership Questions Podcast. Pete is the founder and pastor of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, and he speaks and writes on the importance of leaders being healthy. He mentioned the daily need for a leader to “face your shadow.” The metaphor is compelling. When we were…