Tag: Leadership Blog

The long view, a generational view, is the kind of view that provokes patience and compels us to initiate collaboration with the generations before and after us in accomplishing Kingdom work. God has included in the assignment of each generation, the intentional sowing into those who are coming up after us.

I still laugh at when my dad built a birdhouse and put it up in his back yard. Thoughtfully, he stuffed the cute little structure with twigs to help the birds with their nest-building. Watching one day he saw a bird go inside the birdhouse and come out with a twig in her mouth, take it to a tree and return, only to get another twig. That resourceful mother bird had found a great cache of perfect twigs to build her nest somewhere else!

We're not to "think of ourselves more highly than we ought, because God has given everyone "the measure [metron] of faith," and we're to stay within our own measure. “We have many members ... but all the members do not have the same function ..." (Rom 12:2-4). Christ delegates to us the authority to follow His call within our own metron, but not outside those boundaries.

Most of us would like to think we are open-minded about our hiring, promotions, development, team-building, etc. And I would never suggest hiring someone based solely on their gender, ethnicity or other external factor. But even healthy leaders can fall into the trap of familiarity, when the talent and competence they need may be lying untapped in the unfamiliar.

As leaders, we are responsible for the vision of our organization. But how do we know what is a healthy or unhealthy vision? In this interview, Jenni answers that question and more.

Here are three constructive things we can do at a moment’s notice … without “taking sides” on polarizing topics.

In light of recent violence in worldwide news, here are two simple leadership skills that will help us to communicate respectfully.

We have three grown kids, one grandson, and one grandchild on the way. We love all of our kids and they love us. As I reflect over my parenting years, I’d give myself a solid “B+” in the parenting department. But, I also would have parented differently in several ways.

Change is so complex and depends on timing, who is involved, how the process is designed and how the spiritual aspect is integrated (at least with Christian institutions). The Space for Grace Learning Centre has many articles that provide useful tips on understanding Organizational Development change processes and how to manage or support such processes.

I hope you realize that you have less time ahead of you than at any point in your life. So, let’s talk about time.

As a senior leader myself, I know I play a unique role in our organization, but I also know I’m not the end-all. In fact, by God’s design, each of our giftings is accompanied by built-in limitations. We need each other, and we’re better together. Here’s why I think having appropriate staffers participate in board meetings is healthy for your organization.

While not difficult to understand, reconciliation can be a difficult word to put into practice. It can be very difficult to get two family members who are at odds to be reconciled. And it can sometimes seem very difficult for us (or for others we know) to be made right with God.

None of us can forget that we aren’t just the list of tasks we do, we are the collective difference we make for those we serve.

I don’t feel qualified to speak to the general group psychology of the entire generation of Millennials, but I have spent most of my time for the past decade or so around Millennial Christians, and I think the nasty caricatures of them are just not true.

A pastor recently contacted me to ask if there was any hope for his church to survive. The few people in his church were aged, and the church was slowly but surely declining in numbers. My answer shocked him. I said there was great hope for him and his church ‒ because the Father was already at work in his town.

There are times in our lives when we are hesitant to say something out of fear. Not fear of being "shot," but fear of being "shot down," fear of being ridiculed, fear of being embarrassed. As a result, given the opportunity to take a stand for Christ, we choose silence instead. It seems "safe" considering the circumstances. May God help us to replace our fear of men with the fear of God.

We know healthy leadership requires good character, but how do we deal with those headstrong, sinful habits?

China is experiencing the most massive urban migration in the history of the world. The relocation of nearly 300 million people from the countryside to the cities has helped raise millions out of poverty, contributed to the rise of a new middle class, and, along with the one-child policy, brought about irreversible change in the Chinese family structure. It is this transformation of the church into a dynamic urban movement that constitutes the real story in China today. How the church weathers this urban transition will have far-reaching effects not only on the church in China but upon the global church as well.n Leadership, Brent Fulton

As leaders we cast vision. The problem is that we can easily cast visions from our own minds, not the mouth of the Lord (Jer. 23:16).

If even Jesus, the Son of God, could do "nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father do," how much more so do we need to depend on living in the Presence of God, sensing what He is doing in the situation and partnering with Him to carry it out. Yes, the Lord uses our talents, gifts, intellect and skills. But we can't trust those things for the answer. We need to allow Christ to build His wisdom as we wait in His presence.