Leaders

We all complain far more than we should and far more than we probably think we do. If it’s authenticity that we seek ‒ the reality is that we who are in Christ have far better lives than we deserve.

Gratefulness expressed to others is not only biblical, but it brings with it many practical personal benefits as well. Science is now telling us what the Bible has for centuries: showing gratitude, saying thanks, and affirming others is really good.

This journey of missions and raising kids is a journey laced with grace. To communicate that grace to your kids is the biggest gift you will ever give them. Much of our past has been put into photo albums, blog posts, and memories of the heart. There is no doubt this life of pilgrimage comes with unique challenges, peculiar pains, unspoken losses – but for all those, there is always and ever Grace.

Everybody can spot qualities of lousy leadership when is it directed at them. When the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest among them, Jesus said, “Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? … But I am among you as the One who serves.” (Luke 22:26-27) Michael describes ten characteristics of lousy leaders, those who are not servant-leaders.

When you lose a great staff member, it’s like climbing a tall staircase to nowhere. You did a lot of work in training and creating a staff culture that is productive; then, it’s gone. Jay has heard all the reasons why people leave seemingly great ministry positions. Here are ten of them.

There is no reality in you that will kill this evil kind of “Kryptonite fear” (and tendency to shrink back) more than an ongoing encounter with Love Himself. He is more beautiful and kind and patient and all-knowing than you can understand and it is only a closer proximity to Him that will fuel a hotter degree of “bold” in your leadership empowering you to stand and speak against the work of the devil in these days.

Everything we do in life and leadership must flow out of being in relationship with God! Doing comes from being: Being in relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is above all, and it is out of this relationship that we do.

We all need to cry out for God to transform our hearts and give us hearts like His, hearts of genuine love for others and deep respect for each individual as a unique creation of God. Servant-leaders acknowledge daily that their hearts need God’s transformative power.

In an age of platform-seeking celebrities, it’s easy to overlook this reality. Both inside and outside of the church, nobody is the person they are without the investment of others. A glimpse in the rear-view mirror of life will reveal that the mysterious hand of God’s sovereignty often worked through the love, investment, and sacrifice of others. We are who we are because of other people.

This is a return to something people understood before the global and digital age distracted us. Something in all of us wants to be connected to a place and the people who live in it. Those in our neighborhood and city are longing for it. From cafes to civic clubs to neighborhoods a collision of something beautiful is happening in our world that we, as followers of Jesus, cannot afford to miss.

Because all of us are prone to idolatry, we are likely more prone to one expression of sin than the other. If you are prone to laziness, you likely enjoy comfort and leisure more than accomplishment and the grind. As I have offered four ways to fight being a ministry workaholic, here are four ways to fight being lazy in ministry.

How bad was my living nightmare? No sleep for two weeks, and being terrified of the quiet at night and the sunrise next morning – that’s how bad! Anxiety and depression hits leaders disproportionately. A leader who suffers with this affliction, especially in isolation, is a person at risk. However, biblically, this kind of weakness can lead to finding great strength in God.