Visionary leaders are people who see farther, more and before others. The quality that makes a visionary leader worthy of following is character. As a freshman in college I heard Dr. Jerry Falwell say, “Character is what you are in the dark.” I have pondered that statement many times when faced with the urge to live a life of duplicity.…
Visionary leaders understand that “Leadership is a team sport.” A leader with vision minimizes their impact if there is a failure to communicate that vision. In Vision Part 1, I addressed The Upward Component of the Biblical leader Caleb. He was a man with a big vision who depended on and obeyed God. In Numbers 13:30 and 14:7-9, we see…
Leaders without a vision are not only aimless but can be dangerous because others are following them. Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in their book Leader: Strategies for Taking Charge said it this way, The absence or ineffectiveness of leadership implies the absence of vision, a dreamless society, and this will result, at best, in the maintenance of the status…
One of my greatest blessings is working with people who are my friends. It is also a blessing when you can say that about a director of your ministry. Dr. George Theis was a former Director of Word of Life Fellowship and he was my friend. On July 2, 2014 he went home to be with the Lord. As I…
I always thought people who had been in ministry for forty years were old, until my wife Betsi and I joined their ranks. Now I have changed my mind. I am formulating a new perspective about us, one that not only appreciates the past but looks to the future. Forty years does not sound nearly as long when you say…
The first time I climbed these two Adirondack Mountains, I went alone. It was a day of personal reflection, and I never remember considering the leadership principle of teamwork. The summer had been hot and dry, so crossing the small and lazy Indian Pass Brook was uneventful. I was on my way to “Street and Nye,” numbers twenty-two and twenty-three…
The title is a “redneck colloquialism.” A few of you reading this blog instantly “got it,” but for the other 99%, let me explain. Dancing with the one “what brung ya” means sticking with the same dance partner, success story or game plan that got you where you are. For example, if you were one of the teams who advanced…
I was only twenty-one years old as I stood reading a copy of the letter from my Executive Director. It was addressed to one of the key supporters of our ministry whom he wanted me to visit. Reading the last line I said to my wife, “I’m not going on this trip. I’m afraid I will not live up to…
“Why do you do this?” I had just finished teaching a Leadership Seminar in Wagga Wagga, (meaning town of many crows) Australia to a group of youth leaders and opened the floor for questions. “What do you mean?” I responded. “This!” His hand gestured widely: “Why do you do this? Why are you here teaching us…doing this?” I paused for…
Networking… partnering… cooperating… uniting or rallying…what term do you use? I am referring to you or your ministry connecting with other people or ministries for the purpose of reaching more people with the Gospel. Most of us have come to the realization that our “ministry silos” have been about as successful as the tower of Babel. We have not retained…