I am a control freak, like many women in ministry. When I began the women's ministry at my sweet church, I tried to do everything on my own, for many reasons. I enjoyed every aspect of ministry, of building something from the ground up. I was wired up with spiritual gifts in leadership, administration, and creative communication. I didn't want to burden anyone. And let's be ...

No matter how far up the ladder of ministry you climb, you will always find those eager to analyze and judge your work. So how do you respond?

Maybe whenever you see one of your critics coming, your palms begin sweating. The hairs on the back of your neck may stand straight in a salute. Your eyes focus on every object in the room and rest on the chemical storage closest—perfect! ...

As a leader—of myself, of my children, of a ministry—I find no greater source of angst than making difficult decisions. I wonder and pray and talk with others about whether or not plan A or plan B or starting this and quitting that is "God's will."

The phrase itself has become so overused—and misused—that I wonder if "God's will" is just "the best plan I could think of" dressed ...

As I duck out of sight of the gathering congregation, the church's AV guy hands me a clip-on microphone. Patting myself around the waist and hip region, what I already know will be the case is confirmed: my lady clothes (ironically worn just for pulpit occasions like this one) have no belt, waistband, or pocket on which to latch or in which to drop the microphone's ...

"I don't think I'm going to buy this book. I don't want it taking up space in our house."

You never would have heard me say that two years ago. I'm a book lover. I love books for how they help me learn, explore the world, consider ideas, discover new places, get inside the minds of people, and better understand my own mind. I love them for their potential—when I look at a book, ...

I used to think Alcoholics Anonymous was all stale prayers and smoky church basements. I considered myself a distant admirer of the program, but even as a counselor, I didn't want to get too close. AA was a good idea for some people, but surely it wasn't relevant to my busy life of "making a difference" in women's ministry.

Last summer my stereotypes ...

I know it's a little late to be serving up a 2011 retrospective. The new year? That was so three weeks ago.

Well, I would have done this earlier, but we've been making a big transition here at Gifted for Leadership, and quite honestly, it's taken me a few weeks to figure out where everything is. Now that I have found my way to the computer, I'm actually ...

The Bible I've owned since college is coffee-spill-stained, underlined in a rainbow of colors, re-bound with packing tape. Margin notes sit like altars erected along the journey, commemorating encounters with God.

A curious phenomenon: pages of the last third of this book are worn, dog-eared, dingy, graffiti'd with yellow highlighter and pencil. The first two-thirds, ...

I walked off the stage, the title to my presentation—Community in Leadership—in bold at the top of my speaking notes. I had just spent 40 minutes convincing women leaders of the power and importance of being intimately involved in community with others.

Ironically, or perhaps hypocritically, I was the loneliest, most isolated person I knew. Mentally, I knew leadership ...