Consider a single thread and how easily it can be snapped or broken when pulled from opposite ends. Then look at a braid, where each strand is no longer individual but is plaited to form a stronger, interlocking structure.
All tagged team
Focus Ring: Tension Versus Safety
While we want to create safety, we honestly can’t—at least for the most part. Jesus certainly didn’t play it safe. His ministry was risky from day one.
“I Think We Can Do This!”
Why am I confident that we can do it? We have each other, good resources, the willingness to do it, and more than anything else, I believe with all my heart that the Lord is with us.
Spaghetti, Marshmallows, and Ministry
While there are lots of lessons to be learned from this research, for us as church leaders, the big take-away here is that what matters most is group interaction.
Belonging and Connection: Might It be Simple?
As summer comes to a close, we reflect on the simplicity summer activities offer as we seek to facilitate connection and belonging within Christian community.
Diversity of Perspective
A truly multiethnic, multigenerational, and multi-perspective church values, discusses, encourages, supports, and implements ideas and dreams that flow from all echelons of the congregation.
Lead, Don’t Boss
Church leadership is so weird. As I observe church leadership teams, including my own, I think everyone feels it. Who is the boss? Um, maybe no one.
10 Questions with David Kneip, Associate Director
We announced this week that David is joining our team. For those of you who don’t already know him, allow me to introduce you to my new boss!
Reflection Roundup: Sacramental Hospitality
As the created world hosts humanity, we have much to learn from the soil, from the seeds. Stretching toward the light, cultivated hearts propagate God’s mission.
The Answer Is Not for Me to Be Less
The answer is not for your female ministers to be less; it’s for all of us to lead in such a way that only God’s name can be praised.
Leadership Structures for Local Congregations
In far too many places, the structure of leadership—the way in which decisions and deliberations are handled—creates obstacles for the congregation’s mission.
Not My Circus
What do we leaders do when it IS our circus—all three rings of it?
“Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
This is a book about how people actually think. It helps us to understand how we make decisions in the real world. (Nonfiction)
On Being Elders
In seeking to find the essence of what it means to be an elder for a local congregation, it is helpful to focus on three things—being, doing and process—framed in three key questions.
Relationships and Leadership
How might elders and ministers develop stronger relational ties with each other and their congregations?
Elders and Ministers: Working and Praying Together
Numerous factors suggest how critical it is for ministers and elders to work together collaboratively and to spend a great deal of time in prayer.
Let's Try That at Home
When an organization faces the normal shifts and changes that accompany any living body, both task and relational efforts are critical.
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership
When all is said and done, a critical component of leadership is how to relate to people! One way to explore this critical aspect of leadership is through the lens of emotional intelligence.
Who Decides Who Decides? Developing an Action Plan
Clear decision-making processes are vital for healthy leadership, but the conversations that help to set guidelines can often become complex!
Negativity Bias, Charitable Interactions, and Learning to See the Best in Others
Our brains weigh us down with negative assumptions that ensure we fall short of the merciful, charitable attitudes we would like to manifest toward others.