Leadership

In 1955, an African-American Christian woman refused to surrender her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Many see Rosa Parks as the mother of the civil rights movement and consider her act one of courage. But Rosa called her decision an act of faith. She believed God would give her the strength to endure whatever she had to face. This simple act of faith helped ignite a movement of change. As a person of faith, there will be times when you will have to step outside of what is comfortable in order to do the right thing. When you do, here is what Rosa Parks would tell you: "You must never be fearful about what you are doing if it is right." Professor at Warner University masters in business administration (mba) presenter at the WFX National Conference former president, Church Planters of the Rockies helped start 2…

Bittersweet but blessed. Our youngest daughter, Hope, is starting her freshman year at Hope College and will write the next chapter of her life by making more of her own choices and decisions - something parents are to prepare their children to do (knowing that doesn't make it any easier on moms!). We know that she will not return home as the same young lady that graduated high school. She will be different. She will have made different friends and studied under different teachers. She will be changed. In life, change is inevitable - how we are changed is our own choice. Each birthday reminds me that I am one year older. That's inevitable. How I choose to eat, think, and exercise will determine the quality of my life. That's my choice. The gospel is all about God's power to transform our lives through the finished work of Jesus on…

All too often, discussions about leadership tend to revolve around strategies, systems, or tactics. You'll find great advice on how to ... run a meeting develop a schedule or timeline create to-do lists organize your thoughts brainstorm eat right exercise more These are not bad things, with the possible exception of exercising more! Even that wouldn't hurt most people (including me). But most of those start from the outside and are external in nature. Effective, sustainable leadership is more than an external system; it comes from the inner spirit - the heart, soul, and mind. Many would-be leaders assume its the tactics that make well-known leaders effective. Good and great leaders certainly use best practices and support their efforts with well thought out actions. What these would-be leaders don't see is what's on the inside. The inner workings of leadership are not as flashy or tweetable as a strategy or…

As the senior leader in our organization, I am a firm believer in delegation of tasks and the development of talent. For us to grow and expand, I must be comfortable with a shrinking knowledge of every detail regarding every activity that we are involved in. Someone must know — but it doesn’t (and shouldn’t) be me. To help streamline our operations, we also outsource various functions such as facilities management, payroll, and even video work. This allows us to keep our costs down while also focusing on our strengths. While there are many things you can effectively hand-off or outsource to someone else, there are things that you cannot. Brushing your teeth. Asking your girlfriend to marry you. Naming your children. It’s possible you might become so rich that you could afford a personal tooth-brushing assistant; however, I’d recommend you not outsource the other two. And even if you could afford…