January 21, 2020
Author Bob Tiede shares the power of focusing on one year as the vision for your year.

What Is Your “One Word Focus” For 2020?

Did you know that a “One Word Focus” for 2020 could dramatically increase your effectiveness in the coming year? There is incredible power in having a single focus! Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page have written an incredible book:  “One Word That Will Change Your Life.” They share: “87% of us make New Year’s Resolution every year. Although these resolutions are meant to be good and well-intentioned solutions, unfortunately they are built on a flawed assumption of more effort,  willpower and goal setting. We set to-do goals instead of to-be goals.  Success is measured by what we accomplish instead of who we become. […]
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January 14, 2020

Fight Your Fears

reshared with kind permission from Author and Pastor Joshua Reich. All of us have fears. It might be the dark, failure, snakes (that’s one of mine!), heights, being alone, or being in a crowd. How do you know if you fear the right things? If we aren’t careful, we can be afraid of things that aren’t worth being afraid or we can let fear dictate what we do and don’t do. One pastor said, “What you fear establishes the boundaries of your freedom.” What you fear establishes the boundaries of your freedom. -Erwin McManus CLICK TO TWEET One way to know […]
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December 4, 2019

A Leaders Defection: The Goodby Kiss Part II

Dr. Richard’s article on Christian leaders defection and our response reshared and cont’d from PART I. The clincher for me on the issue of eternal life is the very meaning of eternal in that life. If eternal life can be lost for any reason at all, it is not eternal by any definition. In addition is the question of proportionate contribution. To the extent to which one contributes to salvation, to that extent it can be undone. Contribute much to it, undo it easily. Contribute a little bit, undo it eventually, with one too many sins. Contribute nothing, and simply […]
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December 3, 2019
Baby monkey clinging to his mother, showing the monkey example of grace.

When Christian Leaders Defect: “The Goodbye Kiss”

Dr. Ramesh Richard shares his wisdom and insight on how to reflect and understand as well as react when high-profile leaders defect from the faith.  God has patiently put up with a history of leaders who defect—of whom I am one. I defect often. Although I am more aware of my sins of commission than omission, my every sin denies and defies allegiance to the Lord I love. I must return to the One I belong by confession, quickly and regularly, about attitudes and actions not aligned to His standards. Short History Two higher-profile defections in 2019—a mega-church pastor and […]
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December 2, 2019
multiply

Pastoral Training efforts multiply in Latin America

Gloria and her husband Hosman have trained pastors for nine years. They currently aim to train at least 100 per year. But their training emphasis has shifted. Now they not only train pastors to lead local congregations, they train them to replicate their training. By doing so, they exponentially accelerate the training of pastors. Gloria and Hosman face the same challenges that many around the world face: pastors who lack time (many are bi-vocational), money (the church can’t pay them), resources (e.g. transportation), education (even basic) and experience (they don’t know enough to know what they don’t know). So they […]
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November 13, 2019
leader

So You Want to be a Leader?

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48 It seems like everyone wants to be the boss these days.  Whether you are running for President of the United States, want your boss’s job, want to start your own company, or want to lead a church, leadership comes with a price. Many people often do not count the cost of leadership and what being the boss really means. They simply see leadership as an opportunity to “call the shots” and tell other people […]
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October 24, 2019
designer

Designer Shoes

This article “Designer Shoes” is reshared from RREACH. Searching for worship music and sneakers on the internet, a young man started noticing a strange occurrence. Several Christian pastors wore rather expensive sneakers in the pictures on their church websites. The shoes ranged from $600 to $3,000. This trend alarmed him, and he asked a question, “What is OK as far as optics … as far as pastors wearing hype or designer clothing?”. His Instagram post started a blaze of comment from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times and several other media outlets. Public criticism is an occupational hazard of Christian leadership. […]
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October 22, 2019
pain

Pain: The Gift of Leadership

Guest Post by Dianne Ogle, reshared with kind permission from Leadership With Questions Is there such a thing as being thankful for pain in our life? As Samuel R. Chand says in his book Leadership Pain “Reluctance to face pain is your greatest limitation. There is no growth without change, no change without loss, and no loss without pain. Bottom line: if you’re not hurting, you’re not leading.”  If we are really honest with ourselves, it is through pain that our growth and development flourishes the most IF we yield into and ask ourselves tough questions. What can I learn through this season of pain? […]
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October 17, 2019
system

Healthy Church Systems

Many leaders and couples get into church planting or leading in a church because we care about people and want to see their lives changed; marriages healed, past hurts redeemed, addictions broken. This is why we labor, pray, vision cast, have meetings, preach sermons and sacrifice like we do. But how does that happen? The work of the Holy Spirit is one, but the other part of that is through relationships and systems. God is a God of systems and relationships. We see in Genesis 1 both of these. God creates man and woman in His image, and we see […]
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