elementals: quick reads to sharpen your leadership edge.

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Divine DNA...and You

Over the last few decades, there’s been a shift in evangelicalism in particular from the hyper-individualistic message of “personal...

How Are Your Systems?

Designing, developing, and improving church systems is the unsexy work very few church leaders get excited about. But the reality is:...

Do You See Me?

The other night my wife and I watched “Encanto: Live at the Hollywood Bowl.” Don’t ask why. And please don’t judge: I’m not really a big...

Dogpaddling with Dolphins

I’ve been on both sides of a lead pastor transition. Years before serving in the lead pastor role at our church, everyone on...

The Secret of Servant Leadership

Of the four essential elements that every leader must exercise—Integrity, Passion, Servanthood, and Imagination—Servanthood seems like it...

A Continuum of Transformation

In a previous post titled Helping People to Become Inviters, I talked about giving the people in our churches more resources for becoming...

The Power of Systems

How about a quick video to get you thinking today? First, let me set this up with a little background. When church leadership teams go...

Changing the “Routine Paradigm”

At one time I had my Christian life neatly prioritized. It was: first, God. Second, family. And third, work…specifically, my work as a...

Leadership Is Crucial, But...

Leadership is crucial, but not all leaders are the same. Over the last few decades there has been an emphasis on church leadership, with...

Are You Leading In?

One simplistic definition of leadership is moving people toward a shared goal or dream. I’ve written before about the 3 areas of...

Top 5 Things Pastors Should Stop Pretending To Be

I believe that a pastor’s main duty is making sure the mission of the local church is carried out, which is primarily guiding...

Searching for Significance

In the decades that I’ve been following Jesus, I’ve met numbers of people who have questioned how they’ve spent their time after...

Are Leaders Born or Made?

Some years back I had lunch with a young man who had immigrated to America at fifteen to escape an abusive father and a broken family...

Leading Through Personal Difficulty

David’s army had just won a military victory over a coup led by his own son Absalom, killed in the battle. David turned what should have...