Your best leaders are probably hiding in plain sight. How can you spy them? Beginning on a philosophical level, you might be off to a good start by upending the rubric through which we typically think about good leaders. We judge a book by its cover far too often. James says, “Hasn’t God chosen the…
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One of my favorite books on leadership, communication, and change is Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols by Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez. In the foreword, Patti writes, “Watching the way humans respond to change of all kinds, I’ve learned the hard way that coming up with ideas is easy and getting…
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A while back, I came across a quote. I’m not sure where it originated, and I may not have the wording quite right, but it’s stayed with me: The human heart was not designed to be famous. As I’ve worked with ministries over the years, this idea has impacted my observations of leadership. There’s a stark…
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Have you ever encouraged your congregation to take action—inviting friends to church, getting involved in ministry, or serving in a specific role—only to see little follow-through? It’s a common challenge in many churches, and the disconnect isn’t always due to a lack of desire. Often, the issue stems from how we frame participation in ministry.…
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Most nonprofits are initially built around someone’s vision to accomplish something that seems impossible. When people start organizations, when they pioneer down the path of this new venture, there are no restrictions in their mind. There’s simply a burning desire in their heart that says we’re going to make this big difference in the world,…
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Over the years in ministry, I’ve heard people tell me time and time again that hurt people hurt people. In my younger days, I think I passed it off as just something that you say to get over moments of frustration. But as I reflect on it now, I realize that it’s very true. Ministries…
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I am, by nature, an Idea Person. I see the whole world through the lens of possibilities. The way I view people, organizations, and opportunities all revolves around the potential to do something better. Nothing feels too big or too impossible. In my world, every problem is something that can be fixed if we are…
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When you hear the word “Inspire”, what comes to mind? Do you have the picturesque image of an artist painting the sunset meeting a dark and vast mountain range? Or perhaps you visualize someone sitting at a spot-lit piano on a blacken stage on the verge of a masterpiece. Maybe it takes you back to…
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Have you ever had one of those moments where you completely forget someone’s name? You can remember all sort of other things about them, but you can’t remember their name. I was in a meeting with a client recently and we were talking about their mission. It was interesting because we were talking about all…
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I was recently in a board meeting for a church that we’ve done some consulting with. In this meeting, we had multiple discussions about all the great things the church is doing, areas the church could make some adjustments, and how to achieve greater effectiveness. One of things that we had spent the most time…
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