I often hear complaints from development and advancement directors and teams working with faith-based nonprofit organizations, schools, and missions. “Our board doesn’t get involved.” “Our board doesn’t contribute.” You’re bored… with your board. At times, this can be completely confounding. The Christian mindset is to build one another up, to defend the widows and the […]
To Delegate is to Disciple | Leading Well Through Mentorships
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can.” As leaders, we carry the amazing responsibility of raising others up to stand on level ground, and even to push them above and beyond. In so many areas of our faith, we are encouraged to think […]
Growing Pains
May I be blunt? I don’t really have any interest in you learning for the sake of learning, though I’m the first to admit I have a teacher’s heart. I’m more interested in what you and your team are going to do with the skills, tactics, and tools we discuss. Keeping this in mind, let’s […]
Discipline Can Be Deceiving
From the outside, as I hiked with several leaders after a long and productive day, it likely looked like I was a diligent, structured, disciplined person. I say this because several people commented on just that. However, that was merely a reaction to evidence available at the moment. I love discipline. I admire it. I […]
Growing as a Leader | Doing More With Teams
As leaders, it’s imperative we deal with both success and stress in healthy ways so as to not discourage future generations of leaders. One of the most common questions clients and colleagues ask is, “How can I do more with a team?” I’d like to suggest today it’s not what the team can do, but […]
Building the 200
As we grow increasingly intentional in 2020, I want everyone to call to mind those on your list of people you’re shepherding. Ideally, you call to mind your master list of the 100 to 200 people you’ve focused on relationally this year. As development directors, the most we can interact with yet still create and […]
Going Virtual in a Viral World
We are living day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, or so it seems, when it comes to event planning in our current pandemic circumstances. It’s springtime and for many leaders this season is synonymous with the big event. The large gathering. The fundraising mothership. But, we can’t. So what can we do? […]
Redefining Success | Navigating COVID-19
Many of you have reached out with the same basic, but ever so complicated, question: What do we do now? Although many things remain to be sorted out, we have three important steps for you and your organizations to take today for a stronger tomorrow. Update Timelines At this point we have no way of […]
The Process of Bearing Fruit
These are challenging times. It’s important, and I believe helpful, to call to mind those who came before us and have stood where we stand. While we’ve no proof that any of the disciples were ordered to shelter in place due to a virus, we DO have proof that they faced many trials of all […]
Development is Threefold…Not Billfold
What We Can Learn From Jesus + Einstein “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” This quote from Albert Einstein resonated with me earlier this week, and has encouraged the advice I share with you today. Whether through parables or five alphanumeric symbols, e = mc2, great men know it […]
3 Ways to Show Vision Through Hospitality
Calling all Marthas! Jesus gave credit where credit was due for Mary’s focus on the importance of time spent with our Savior. I’ve considered, however, from time to time, the number of people who give the Marthas of the world a bad name. There’s something to be said for the gift of hospitality. We all […]
The Giving Board
Create. Motivate. Activate. The relationship between a leader and those who serve alongside the leader can be quite impactful, but sometimes difficult to navigate, especially when it comes to money. Let’s face it – confronting those who choose to serve, who give of their time …to also give of their finances… is not always easy. […]
Leading Through Storytelling
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And He told them many things in parables… Matthew 13:1-3 In countless ways, Jesus was and continues […]
3 Strategies to Combat Your Leadership Weaknesses
In order to heal, a patient must first acknowledge he is sick. Jesus, in His wonders and miracles, frequently sought ownership in the hurting and a desire for relief. When Jesus noticed him lying there, knowing he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get […]
The Power of 100 | Knowing When to Shift Gears
Driving a manual car is a dying art. What was once standard – a manual transmission – is quickly being replaced by automatic defaults. While the newer models offer ease for city life, there’s something lost on the engine doing all the thinking for us. Once upon a time, learning to drive was learning […]
Leadership Wellness Exam
Self-Checks Prevent Your Team from Checking Out As a leader, your health impacts your team’s health and the health of your ministry. I want to help you in taking an honest look at where you stand with the basics of self-leadership. I say honest because it’s not enough to know the right things to […]
Intentionality Precedes Progress
Tips for Effective Follow-Up People are constantly looking for ways to be more effective. I’ll give you two words to instantly increase productivity in your ministry: follow-up. Focused, intentional follow-up gives purpose and shows priority. The Getting Things Done method, penned by David Allen, is a great inspiration to me. Here are a couple tips […]
Leading People to Decisions
Are You in the Driver’s Seat? Meeting with people – check. Share your message – check. Challenge people to think and pray about their giving with focused follow-up – check. Now what?! For leaders and/or those who are in the development director role, delivery of information is only part of your responsibility. It’s the GPS. […]
Busy vs. Productive
Shepherding Your Time as a Leader Are you extremely productive at unimportant things? We are so capable of being so remarkably busy we can fail to consider the true importance and value of focused work on the right things. It is only through careful prayer and thought that we can hope to clearly see the […]
Hiring Well Is Better Than Hiring Often
The How-To’s of Hiring I have great admiration for those who hire well. A mentor of mine, Woody Faulk of Chik-fil-A, has great advice for building staff: “Don’t just hire whoever washes over the bow of the ship. Go out and find great people and slowly, carefully recruit them when you know that they […]