Leadership

Leading God’s people is a privilege, but also a burden.  The burden became so great for Moses that one day he prayed to God "put me to death right now..." (Numbers 11:15) The burden became so great for Jeremiah that one day he exclaimed "Cursed be the day I was born!" (Jeremiah 20:14) The burden became so great for Jonah that one day he prayed "O Lord, take away my life..." (Jonah 4:3) The burden became so great for Elijah that he prayed "I have had enough, Lord...Take my life..." (1 … [Read more...]

Why is delegation an important topic to learn about? Because effective delegation increases job performance, relieves job burnout, decreases workloads, builds teamwork, alleviates stress and allows you to get more done.  A while back I read a great little book called If You Want It Done Right, You Don't Have to Do It Yourself! by Donna M. Genett, Ph.D. Here's a summary of what I've learned.   1. Effective delegation requires advanced preparation. BEFORE you meet with someone to delegate … [Read more...]

At the 2016 Annual Network Conference I had the privilege of teaching on the subject of overcoming leadership insecurities. Since I had a short window to share I didn't have time to cover some of the other ways we as leaders can overcome our insecurities. Here's what I would've included in my talk if I had had more time: Refuse to compare yourself with others. Much of our leadership insecurities come from comparing ourselves to others. This is something we must work hard to avoid doing. The … [Read more...]

Leadership causes insecurities to rise to the surface. And if we're not careful we'll make decisions based on what's best for our ego vs what's best for the glory of God and the good of His kingdom. Here's the third way we can overcome insecurity... AUTHORIZE YOUR TEAM AND THE PEOPLE IN YOUR CHURCH TO DO MINISTRY  An insecure leader has trouble raising up a team and giving ministry away because insecure leaders fear losing control. An insecure leader wants to be in the center and at the … [Read more...]

Leadership causes insecurities to rise to the surface. And if we're not careful we'll make decisions based on what's best for our ego vs what's best for the glory of God and the good of His kingdom. Here's the second way we can overcome insecurity... ASK YOUR TEAM FOR HELP Insecure leaders don’t like asking for help because insecure leaders would prefer receiving all the credit themselves vs sharing it with others. Insecure leaders don’t like to get input from their team because they want … [Read more...]

Leadership causes insecurities to rise to the surface. And if we're not careful we'll make decisions based on what's best for our ego vs what's best for the glory of God and the good of His kingdom. Here's the first way we can overcome insecurity... BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH BRIGHT CAPABLE PEOPLE.  An insecure leader feels threatened by talent. Take King Saul for example. He felt threatened by young David. Instead of harnessing David's abilities and using them for the … [Read more...]

There are several things we can do with criticism: We can minimize it. People who are busy helping advance the mission don’t have the time to complain! It’s the people who aren’t involved (and therefore aren't having any fun) that have the time to complain. We can minimize complaints by getting people involved in advancing the mission by serving. We can learn from it. Sometimes people have valid complaints that might need to be addressed. But if we're not careful we'll take it as an attack … [Read more...]

What does it take for a church to grow?  Some place a heavy emphasis on godly character that comes from prayer, as if that's all it takes to grow a church. This camp loves the first part of Psalm 78:72, "And David shepherded them with integrity of heart..." Others place a heavy emphasis on good leadership, as if that's all it takes to grow a church. This camp loves the second part of Psalm 78:72, "...David shepherded them...with skillful hands." But anytime a teaching implies that 1) … [Read more...]

I'm reading a book right now called John Adams by David McCullough. After John Adams became the second president of the United States many news articles were written about him. One writer praised Adams for his many admirable qualities, going on and on about what a great man he was, giving special attention to his uncompromising integrity. Another writer simply referred to Adam's as "an old fielder." An old fielder was a very dependable horse who produced a ton of work, was very low maintenance … [Read more...]