The Author Anthony Robinson is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor who currently serves as President of Congregational Leadership Northwest. He travels throughout North America as a speaker, teacher, preacher, consultant and coach serving congregations and their leaders. Robinson has taught at several schools including Toronto School of Theology, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, and Vancouver School of Theology. He is the author Read More …
Leadership
Decoding the “I’m Not Being Fed” Complaint (#0284)
Steve Mathewson is the Senior Pastor of the Evangelical Free Church of Libertyville, Illinois and the author of The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative (2002). He wrote "What 'I'm Not Being Fed' Really Means" for the March/April edition of Collide. In the article he suggests five possible meanings people may intend when offering this remark: I really am not being fed The church is not meeting my needs You are not addressing my struggles and challenges I do not Read More …
Lead by Letting Go (#0283)
The Reverend Canon Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. is an Episcopal Priest, Director of Spiritual Formation and Anglican Studies and Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Previously he served as Canon Educator, Director of Programs in Spirituality and Religious Education, and Acting Program Area Manager at Washington National Cathedral. He is the author of seven books as well as numerous scholarly articles and Read More …
Are You an Antiquated Leader? (#0271)
Ron Edmondson is the co-pastor of Grace Community Church. He describes himself as "passionate about planting churches, helping established churches thrive, and assisting pastors and those in ministry think through leadership, strategy and life." To learn more or to connect with Edmondson, read his blog, friend him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter. Recently, he blogged about the characteristics of antiquated leaders: Keeps people in a box…People won’t stick around in a box Read More …
Avoiding Common Ministry Mistakes (#0268)
Scott Williams is the Campus Pastor of the Northwest Oklahoma City Campus of LifeChurch.tv, which launched three years ago and already has an average weekly worship attendance of over 3,500. To connect with Williams, read his blog, watch him on YouTube, follow him on Twitter, or friend him on Facebook. Previously, I have written posts based on or inspired by Williams on the topics of effective leadership and tweeting in worship (here and Read More …
Religious Under and Over Representation in the 112th Congress (#0262)
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life posted "Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 112th Congress" last month. This article explores the religious makeup of both chambers, compares the religious preferences of newly elected officials and incumbents, and provides historical data. Shown at right is a chart showing how varying religions are represented in the 112th Congress and in the American adult population as a whole. So What? While some variance between the Read More …
What Makes A Good Follower and Why Does it Matter? (#0259)
Brad Lomenick describes himself as "a passionate follower of Christ, and have the privilege of directing a movement of young leaders called Catalyst." To learn more about Lomenick, read his blog, friend him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter. Recently he shared a list of attributes of good followers: Good followers are great finishers Good followers anticipate Good followers criticize in private, and praise in public Good followers are Read More …
What Conflict Reveals About Leaders (#0258)
A lot can be learned by how people handle conflict. Skye Jethani recently interviewed Ken Sande: President and Founder of Peacemakers Ministries and the author of The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. Excerpts of that interview were published as "Preemptive Peace," which was published in the Winter 2011 edition of Leadership Journal. One question with considerable relevance to all leaders follows: Jethani: What does conflict reveal about who we Read More …
Atheist Billboards and Christian Responses (#0233)
Billboards are big business. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, they produced $4.4 billion dollars of advertising revenue in 2008. While religious billboards account for an insignificant portion of the market, they often generate publicity that extends to an audience far greater than those who drive by and personally view the sign. Take for example two recent billboards paid for by the American Atheists: This billboard ad (pictured above) appeared in Read More …
Vision & Strategy Trends (#0232)
Will Mancini is the founder of Auxano – a church consulting group with a unique approach to developing a church’s vision frame before providing traditional consulting services. He is the author of Church Unique: How Mission Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (read my review here). Mancini's first blog post of 2011 is packed with relevant information about trends in vision and strategy for churches. He sees eleven trends for 2011 and beyond: Read More …