I spoke this morning for a small, struggling church here in Denver. Early in my ministry years, I tended to be almost exclusively focused on growing the church -- the church I happened to be serving at the time. My "kingdom perspective" was quite limited. Over the last ten years or so, God has expanded my concern for the larger kingdom, including small, struggling churches. The reality is this: there are many small, struggling churches here in the United States. The reasons are as varied as the churches themselves. Division, dishonesty, changing neighborhoods, lack of vision, lack of money. The list could go on and on. In fact, it does. Small churches are not more faithful than their larger counterparts; likewise, larger churches are not more successful than the small ones. Each serves a different purpose in the kingdom. If the focus is being healthy, then even a small church…
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In business, we often hear people talk about "empowerment." The idea is simple: as a leader, you have given power and discretion to your followers to make decisions on their own. Rather than becoming a bottleneck, an empowering leader allows the gifts and talents of his or her team to flow throughout the organization. How can you tell when empowerment is happening? One symptom that empowerment is a value and not just a buzzword is this: not all the best ideas belong to the leader. This not only relieves the leader of having to be an idea factory, it also allows the team to grow and expand. The opposite of empowerment is control. Are there things that a leader must control? Absolutely. But not everything. Where do the best ideas in your organization come from?
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I'm a big Southwest Airlines fan ... good peanuts, bags fly free, and a healthy sense of humor. Southwest recently celebrated their 40th anniversary of being in business. Spirit magazine published this great article, "40 Lessons to Learn from Southwest."
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"If you want employees to take a vested interest in the bigger picture, treat them like stakeholders. When you create an environment in which “jobs” are regarded more like “investments,” employees will show up with passion, productivity, and focus, making your company more profitable." Paul Spiegelman writing in INC. magazine.
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"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously." -- Hubert Humphrey, 38th U.S. vice president
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