The Problem with Powder Kegs
Explosions are rarely a good thing, but never more so than in leadership. When a leader explodes … out of anger, frustration, unmet expectations, whatever … it’s more a reflection of the leader than whatever...
Category: Leadership
Staying Engaged When You’ve “Been There, Done That”
If you’ve been in ministry for any amount of time, you’ve been there. (And if you haven’t, hang on: your day is coming.) You’re entering into another ministry cycle with the same type of event,...
Lead Your Team to Be Average
Strap yourself in, kids. Uncle Danny is about to walk you through a sports analogy. [Editor’s note: if you’re new, trust us: this will not go well.] A few weeks ago I was having lunch...
We Don’t Talk About Burnout: An Allegory About Church Staff Culture
Janetta Oni is the Creative Director at the Summit Church. If you haven’t seen Encanto yet, then you’ve probably also avoided getting any variant of COVID-19, to which I say, “Where’s your bunker?” I’m a...
Your Realist Needs an Enthusiast. (And Vice-Versa.)
Let me start with a small confession: the older I get, the less excitable I am. I don’t necessarily like that. I kind of miss Danny in his 20s, who took on way too much...
How to Lead a Ministry You Don’t Love
If you haven’t been there, you will: You get hired for your dream job or at your dream organization. The job description is everything you’ve ever wanted, except for that one little add-on ministry at...
How to Lead a Grandfathered-In Volunteer Team
Q: Now that you’re gonna be a grandfather, do you plan on making these types of puns in future post titles? [Suddenly-disgruntled blog reader, Monowi, Nebraska] A: Probably. (And please, call me “Pops.” Grandfather was...
What’s Your Lane?
On the team that I lead, we will occasionally revisit the topic of our “lanes:” We know that on our team, we are responsible for a certain number of things. But just because one particular...
Give Your Team Permission to Call You Out
All of us have work habits that drive our co-workers crazy. Maybe you’re always five minutes late to a meeting. Perhaps it’s your incessant need to get things perfect before you get them published. Maybe...
Kill Your Admin.
Let’s be clear: no one is recommending homicide, bloodshed, permanently dispatching, offing, taking out, or issuing a one-way ticket to buying the farm. (Legal issues covered? Good. Let’s move on.) But whether you call that...
