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Category Archive: Personal Leadership

7 Disruptive Trends That Will Rule 2021

Posted by on January 19, 2021

I have talked a lot about disruption in my book Church Scattered and with a lot of clients. The major truth that must be understood is that there is no going back to the way things used to be.

We can continue to live in denial and long for the good old days but that will not help to lead our people through this critical and stressful period of change. Leadership through disruption means maintaining what is essential from the past and integrating that with what is critical for now.

This post by Carey Nieuwhof is a must read for church leaders: “Just when you thought the world couldn’t get any more turbulent or surprising, the opening moments of 2021 still have everyone trying to catch their breath.

So what are the leadership trends you should be tracking in 2021?

For years I’ve done a series of church trends posts. You can read the 2021 Disruptive Church Trends post here (along with backlinks to the Trends Series over the last five years). While those trends are aimed at church leaders, the implications are broader than that.

Last year, I added a more general Leadership Trends post, focusing on a broader swath of issues facing all leaders, businesses, entrepreneurs, non-profits, professionals—essentially all of us who lead.”

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Why Words Really Matter Right Now

Posted by on October 26, 2020

The Christian life requires us to speak words that contain both grace and truth. If you go to one extreme and only say encouraging things without combining it with truth, then it is really not grace anymore.

One the other hand if you only speak truth without any awareness of saying the right thing, the right way, at the right time, then people will never receive what they need to hear. This post by Ann Voskamp is incredible and well worth the read:

“It’s a loud, deafening war of words out there and when I stand in the farm woods these days, looking up into the outstretched arms of trees, I have to wonder:

When a leaf falls in the woods, and there is actually someone to hear it, why does it sound so much like the quietness of grace?

It’s like all the trees of the woods are asking the people in the streets: How can you all sound alot more like grace?

Because: The way words are spoken matters to the One who is the Word, who is the Way.

What we say and how we say it matters, because we are the people who believe that is was the Word that created matter. Words create actual matter — for good or for evil –in the world.”

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Don’t Burn Bridges

Posted by on September 20, 2020

The secret to representing Christ to the world is to always know the right amount of grace and truth in every situation. We should never in any interaction violate one truth in scripture to support another truth we feel even more strongly about. If we blow people up on social media then so much for loving your enemies. This post by Sam Luce gives us the right approach:

“Remember when Facebook was for sharing photos of your children and videos of otters holding hands? Me neither. Social media has become a battlefield of conflicting ideas. A minefield of potentially explosive issues. It has gone from a digital scrapbook to a digital equivalent of a dual. Every post seems to be about the defense of a person or idea and with those who disagree hurling horribly generalized caricatures of who they think you are based on what party they think you are a part of.

As Christians, we have to guard against this. Some of the most scathing reprimands of scripture are towards those who can not control their tongues. In James 1 where we famously quote the passage that states “True religion is taking care of the widows and orphans.” This is a feel-good statement that is completely true and we love it. You know what it says in the verse right in front of it. James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle (control) his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

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My Single Biggest Regret From A Lifetime Of Ministry

Posted by on July 12, 2020

Regrets mainly come not from mistakes made but opportunities missed. This post by Joe McKeever will take you to a place every pastor has already been before if you have been leading in a church for at least 10 years.

What I need you to hear is that this issue impacts every leader I have coached my entire life, especially trying to lead myself. So this is not a pastor problem but a Christian leaders problem and that should help you to see we all face this challenge.

With that said, you are leading in an environment where the unrealistic expectations of the people you lead are extremely demanding. That means you have to have the spiritual maturity to say No to many things and learn to live your life before an audience of One.

“The first entry in the book is dated October 9. However, the paragraph above that reads:

The month of October got off to a poor start around the McKeever household. I announced to Margaret that until October 27, there were no open days or nights. The month was filled with church meetings, committees, banquets, associational meetings, speaking engagements at three colleges, a weekend retreat in Alabama,and a few football games. She cried. Once again, I had let others plan my schedule in the sense that I’d failed to mark out days reserved for family time.

I ran across that book today, read that paragraph, and wept.”

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Nothing Is Certain Anymore-Nothing That Is, But God’s Love

Posted by on April 12, 2020

This global disruption by its very nature changes everything that we used to take for granted. We are no longer sure we are going to have a job or even if we will live or die. The truth in reality is that this is actually our every day reality. However, we get busy and are not grateful for all the blessings we enjoy daily. This post by J.D. Greear is well worth reading:

“We are living in times when nearly everything we thought was certain is suddenly uncertain. But in the midst of that uncertainty, one thing remains: If you turn to God, you never have to wonder what he thinks of you or if he’s going to help you with your worries, big or small.”

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How To Know If You Have Made An Idol Out Of Politics

Posted by on February 23, 2020

If you as a Christian leader have more of a passion for the kingdom than you do America, you could be the target of persecution. The gospel has always been the primary mission of the church and not the government. Yes, we are to be salt and light but to what end? I am sorry if I care more about finding the elect than elections. This post by Joe Carter is worth the read:

“Have you considered you might have made an idol of politics?”

Here we go again, I thought. I wasn’t surprised by the question. Idol-hunting, after all, is a favorite pastime of my fellow evangelicals. But I was caught off guard by the candidate for the potential idol.

It’s certainly possible I’ve made an idol of money. And I’d reluctantly confess that I’ve often made an idol of comfort or security. My wife might say I’ve made an idol of my smartphone, since I always seem to be staring at it in adoration and obeisance. But an idol of politics? How is that even a question? I hate politics. I consider politics to be, at best, a necessary evil, not something I would put ahead of God.”

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How Successful People Start Their Day-And Their Year

Posted by on January 6, 2020

William Vanderbloemen is a great leader who has built a very successful business that is also a ministry. He understands all of the tensions between merging work and faith and has a lot to teach leaders about how we can more effectively lead ourselves. This post is excellent:

“Early in my career, one of my mentors told me, “How you start your day affects how the rest of your day will go.” I’ve learned a lot of lessons over the years that have proven true, but this one may be the most solid.

As we start 2020, I think this idea applies to starting your new year, too: how you start your first full week of 2020, what habits and reflection you put into January will affect the rest of your year.”

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The Non-Negotiable Virtue In Leadership

Posted by on December 13, 2019

Great leaders many times can be average to good in their public leadership gifts. However, they must be excellent in what happens in private. Character matters today more than ever and people will not follow someone they do not trust. This post by Matthew Hall drives home this point:

“Leave out one ingredient and the whole recipe falls apart. Some things are just essential. When it comes to leading others, the task is impossible without trust. That’s because trust is at the heart of leadership. If you’re called to lead, you’re called to steward the trust others place in you. Students want to be able to trust their teachers. Spouses want to be able to trust one another. Church members want to be able to trust their pastors. And employees want to be able to trust their managers.”

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Top 10 “Basic” Relationship Skills

Posted by on December 1, 2019

Great leaders have both competency and character and that is why they are effective. Today more than ever, there is a third “C” and it is chemistry. Simply put, it is the ability to lead and work well with other people. Leadership today is far more relational than positional. This post by Dan Reiland is great:

“Getting along with people can be more complicated than it appears. If it were easy, everybody would be good at it!

How you treat people, how they treat you, what makes it work well, and why it doesn’t work when it doesn’t is always important to consider. Conflict is part of human nature.

When the challenges and stress of leadership are added to everyday relationships, conflict is heightened.

The speed and pressure of leadership increase the potential to overlook even the most simple and basic relationship skills. That always gets a leader in trouble.”

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A Toxic Person Is Not Your Fault

Posted by on November 25, 2019

How cruel would it be to walk into a room of blind people and ask them how they enjoyed the sunset today? They cannot see and in many ways its just as unrealistic to expect a toxic person to respond to reason or truth. I must assume responsibility for changing myself but never for changing them. This post by Gary Thomas is excellent, but my only addition would be that God is able to change anyone so never give up:

“If you adopt a wolverine and pour all your love into that animal; if you treat it like a puppy, hugging it and feeding it and playing with it; if you give it the very best care anyone has ever given to a wolverine, the day will still come when that wolverine will attack you, because no matter how kindly you treat a wolverine, it is still a vicious, wild animal, and in the end, its nature will win. It is the same with a toxic person.”

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