Editor's Note: February is Black History Month, and that's important for all of us. Together we celebrate, especially in February, the amazing contributions African Americans have made to our society. Julia A.J. Foote is a perfect example. She was a trailblazer for all the women God has gifted to lead. Enjoy this reflection on her life and what her legacy means for ...

Many leaders have mixed feelings about Lent. Perhaps you’ve noticed that some of your congregants use Lent as a way to gain God’s favor rather than repenting of sin and consecrating themselves to God. Such misguided theology can make Lent a burden rather than a tool to make us more Christ-like. What about you? Have you lost sight of what Lent is all about?

For ...

Image: Jazmin Quaynor/Unsplash

I used to belong to a church that no longer exists. We were founded on a vision of being a multicultural worshiping congregation that was empowered by the Holy Spirit to do innovative outreach in the community. For me it was a dream come true. However, after I had been a member of this thriving church for 12 years, it folded. It’s hard to pinpoint the ultimate reason ...

For the first year and a half that Marcy* was in seminary, she struggled with guilt. Marcy was a full-time student at an evangelical seminary, but she was also a staff person at a para-church ministry. She worried her financial supporters wouldn’t understand, and she described their skepticism this way, “They think I’m wasting my time frivolously doing ...

When my husband and I planted a church, our entire focus was on what we could do for others. We wanted to win people to Christ, disciple them, and send them out to do the same. We became single-minded, and we worked harder than I ever thought possible.

This was all good, but somewhere along the line, I lost perspective on what I needed. I was so consumed in what others ...

On a street corner in Ontario in 1915, a young woman jumped onto a chair, raised her arms to heaven, closed her eyes, and stood motionless for a time. The crowd around her grew, along with taunts, questions, and jeers. After a while, a man reached up to touch her arm, seeing if he could cause the “statue” to move. The young woman opened her brown eyes, glanced ...

Image: Teresa Robinson/Flickr

Many leaders mistake mission and vison, but they’re not the same. Martin Luther King Jr. had a vision—a dream—to end segregation. His mission involved various methods like marches, speeches, and boycotts to help make that vision a reality. The mission is the work to be done in order to reach the vision. Does your church or ministry have a clear vision ...

Image: Kevin Labianco/Flickr

What do you do when you realize your church talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk? It’s an all-too-common realization, and one I’ve had myself. I agreed with all the church’s stated values, I affirmed their mission, but in reality, those written statements weren’t backed up by any action. And that made ministry effectiveness very difficult. ...

The job description was a good fit. Looking over the church’s literature and noticing the symbols around the building, she felt comfortable as she walked into the interview. She agreed wholeheartedly with the values communicated during the interview, plus the vision was inspiring. Impressive, she thought.

But as this newly minted seminary grad set about the work ...