elementals: quick reads to sharpen your leadership edge.

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What's Your Attitude Indicator?

So here’s an idea as we move into the Thanksgiving holiday… Paul’s short letter to the Philippian church underscored his belief that...

The Secret of Servant Leadership

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

Are Apologetics Dead?

Don’t get me wrong: apologetics are important. From the launch of the Church in Acts 2, Christians have proclaimed the uniqueness of...

Ron Sider, Justice & Generosity

Recently I learned of Ron Sider’s death at 82 from sudden cardiac arrest. Fifteen years ago I had him speak at our church and took him...

“Values, meet Strategy.”

In the early days of our church, founding pastor Steve Sjogren coined a simple phrase for people to use in basic “servant evangelism”...

Where the Revolution Begins

Ernest Gordon was a Christian, author and former dean of Princeton Seminary who died a couple of decades ago. Gordon was the inspiration...

How To Dream...

After years of working with churches, we’re finding that the Imagination element is typically the least exercised of the four critical...

Spiritual Vitality...and Age

Years ago we identified 4 critical elements all healthy churches practiced, regardless of size or stripe: Integrity: systems, processes,...