November 2016
Please Don’t Make Me Feel Used
“I don’t know if you’ll be able to help me with this, Cara,” Amalia* said in a voicemail, “But I’d love your insight on something.” There was a pause. Then she asked me to call her back.
I was so grateful when we finally connected. An acquaintance had reached out to her to get to know her better, asking to hang out. Amalia, who is a ...
Did I Hear God Right?
I first stepped on African soil nine years ago. I traveled to Ghana, West Africa, for a short-term mission trip, and my heart was changed forever. After my amazing experience, I longed to be a full-time missionary. When the timing seemed right, I left my career, sold my car, gave away most of my possessions, and moved to Ghana. I loved every second of being a missionary, I ...
5 Essentials to Build Trust in Your Ministry Team
“Trust is the currency of leadership.” This popular axiom is especially true in the highly relational context of church leadership. To be effective in ministry, you need to earn the trust of senior leadership, peers, volunteers, and most importantly, your own team. Yet, trust is not easily obtained. It’s a byproduct of healthy leadership—an intangible ...
How to Teach the Bible So Others Understand
My phone flashed with a text as I began my day. “Hey. Can I come borrow some resources from you?” It was my friend Lisa, and she was preparing to teach a message to a large women’s study. I could tell she was nervous. “I’m teaching on the sovereignty of God and I’m overwhelmed. I’ve read Tozer, Wright, Lewis. Can you recommend anything ...
Three Days Post-Election: Pause Before You Pastor
We are just beginning to unpack the extent to which the nation and church is divided and polarized. There will continue to be an outpouring of analyses, rants, articles, posts, celebrations, and laments about this unusual election, and to be completely honest I am not sure what to do with all of the noise right now. So I asked myself what I can possibly do during this time ...
Moving Forward After a Difficult Week
The shocking election results have created much conversation in Christian circles, especially among women leaders. Some are feeling grief, shock, and even fear. Moving forward in a healthy way requires that we first allow ourselves to experience those emotions, sitting with them even when it’s uncomfortable. In this difficult week, we turned to women leaders to share ...
Rise Above the Double Standard
In a previous ministry, I had a fairly standard and polite disagreement over email with a coworker. It wasn’t heated or contentious, just a discussion about how to use a Greek word. I copied the others from our earlier meeting to keep them in the loop.
“Tough emails, huh?” one observed hours later.
“Which ones?”
“The ones during your catfight ...
Bring Your Full Self to the Table
Do you ever find yourself wondering how you ended up in full-time ministry—but can’t imagine yourself doing anything else? Have you ever looked back at the threads of your life and marveled at the seamlessness of God’s handiwork and precision, time and time again?
These questions are at the heart of Insil Kang’s story. A 30-something Korean-American ...