The financial crisis that rocked the global economy has made many people long for bold, decisive leadership. But Malcolm Gladwell says we need precisely the opposite.
"Living to make my mark is too small a thing for me to give my whole life to." Unfortunately many pastors are too focused on their own achievements rather than surrendering to God.
Many churches expect their leaders to be models of virtue and righteousness. Many pastors expect this of themselves. But those high expectations have a dark side - they can lead us to hide the truth about ourselves when that truth is less than perfect.
Helping the victims of injustice may be compassionate, bur pursuing real justice means changing the system that perpetrated the injustice to begin with.
At a Catalyst Conference a while back, Andy Stanley introduced the provocative concept: "To reach people no one else is reaching, we have to do things no one else is doing."
Most churches pursue spiritual formation in a didactic way. We assess a person's strengths and then expect them to engage a series of classes that will, we hope, lead to maturity. But, what if we could customize a discipleship journey for each member of our church?
Jon Tyson describes the story of American culture as "the pursuit of happiness by getting more through comfort." How can this story be transformed by the gospel?
It was a chronic problem for the people of Israel. They honored God with their actions and rituals, but their hearts were far from him. Have we fallen into the same trap?
"Everybody is a volunteer." Since anyone can leave at any time depending on the authenticity of our moral authority, that is how we should see those we lead - even the paid employees.
