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September 21, 2019

Can Anything Grow in the Desert? Testimony from a Pastoral Trainer in Kenya

Watch our video interview with Pastor Tasse, be encouraged, and learn more about MentorLink International’s resources for training leaders who lead like Jesus. A written interview is below, as well as links to the MentorLink courses. We encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel for future interviews. “ With explosive numeric growth but few trained pastors, Christ’s Church in the great continent of Africa has been described by African leaders as “a mile wide and an inch deep”—a description which can fit many congregations anywhere. Kenyan pastoral trainer Pastor Alia Tasse rejoices over the rampant church planting in Africa. […]

September 17, 2019

How to Speak the Right Words at the Right Time In Your Ministry

Strategy matters. Vision is critical. Structures and systems are vital. These are all important aspects of organizational leadership. But, they are trumped by what leaders actually say. Words matter. Lately I’ve been studying the book of Proverbs and thinking about the impact of words on our lives and organizations. I’m realizing that there have been turning points in my life that are a direct result of something someone said to me. When I was in 9th grade, my youth pastor told me, “You are a leader.” When I was in 11th grade, my English teacher told me, “You are a […]

September 5, 2019

5 Preaching Trends That Will Shape the Future

Continued from PART 1 here. 4. PREACHING TO THE HEART/AFFECTIONS (MARK) One of Jonathan Edwards’ great fears during the awakening that happened around his preaching was that the conversions of thousands of people to Christ weren’t real. That they were surface level, even counterfeit. His desire was that the gospel would change someone from the inside-out vs. the outside-in (through Religious Guilt or Cognitive Teaching, etc.,). He knew what Augustine said was true: that we are what we love, that the most powerful part about us wasn’t our thinking, but our feeling, our gut, and that true and effective preaching […]

September 3, 2019

5 Preaching Trends That Will Shape the Future (PART 1)

In a culture where everything’s changing, so is preaching. Sure…the message never changes, but the method has to if you want to be effective. What worked in preaching a decade ago is less effective today, not because the scripture or Gospel has changed, but because the culture has. The fact that 70-80% of all churches are plateaued or declining and the rash of deconversions we’re seeing are evidence that in many cases, what used to be effective isn’t anymore. This is a post I wrote with Mark Clark, Lead Pastor of Village Church, a church that reaches over 5000 people each weekend […]

August 27, 2019

Navigating the Life of a Pastor’s Wife

The life of a pastor’s wife (PW) has, for the longest time, been popularly known as a life of self-sacrifice, of discouragement, disillusionment and hurt. With Pastors’ Wives conferences or retreat themes like “From Bitter to Better,” “Embracing My Role as a Pastor’s Wife,” “Enjoying the Ride,” “Overcoming,” “Responding to Trials,” etc, it would thus seem that for most of her life, she is in an embattled situation, facing problems and difficulties on a regular basis with members of the church, other women and even with herself – situations that make it difficult for her to enjoy her life and […]

August 22, 2019

The Emotions of Pastoral Succession

resharing with kind permission from Carey Niewholf Succession has emerged as one of the major issues facing the church in the next decade. Businesses are not that far behind in struggling with succession. Most senior pastors (especially founding pastors) hang on too long. The question is why. In a candid and disarmingly honest interview, Amplify Founding Pastor, Lee Kricher, and his successor, Jason Howard, talk about how they paved the way not just for the next generation of leader, but for the next generation of church, allowing the model to change while the leadership changed. In the midst of it, […]

August 9, 2019

Delegation & Accountability

In order to be an effective leader, one must learn to properly delegate responsibilities and hold others accountable to their commitments. Since we cannot do all of the ministry by ourselves, especially as our ministry grows, we will need to delegate some of our responsibilities to others if we are to get the work done that the Lord requires of us. Learning how to delegate effectively and then hold others accountable will produce action and not excuses. Delegation “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this […]

August 6, 2019

2 Questions that Lead to Health

reshared with kind permission from Breeze Church. I don’t know about you, but where I live it has been HOT. I’m wondering how your summer is going? For church leaders, summer is often a change of pace. Many of us take time off. Others of us shut down our regular ministry programming and do something different and perhaps less involved. Summer is often a good time to take stock, evaluate and think strategically. So, here’s the question: How healthy will you be next summer? A year from now will you be closer to Jesus, have better boundaries, have more margin…or […]

July 27, 2019

Zimbabwean Pastors hunger for God’s Word: GProCommission Update

Pastor Calson’s life changed dramatically after he attended Leadership International’s Biblical Foundation courses in 2000. Now he labors full-time giving others the same blessing he received. “Pastors hunger to learn more about God’s Word,” Pastor Calson says. As Leadership International – Zimbabwe’s national director, he travels through Zimbabwe and surrounding countries teaching pastoral leaders how to interpret the Bible according to what God intends. He has a heart for pastors in rural areas, where congregations might be meeting in a classroom or under a tree and training is especially scarce. Just holding the study Bible they receive with the training […]

July 18, 2019

Three Lies Pastors Believe

reshared with kind permission from Josh Reich. All of us believe lies in our lives and those lies shape us. Lies that we aren’t good enough, strong enough, that I owe God, that we can be in control, that God doesn’t love us, that we aren’t lovable or worthwhile. Lies like these, shape us. And if we don’t face them, these lies will determine the stories we tell and live. Pastor’s believe lies as well. I know that might be a shock, but it’s true. And like lies in our personal lives, if we don’t face them, name them and […]