Archive for Leadership Encouragement – Page 2

Digging in the Dirt with Leaders & Churches Part III – Followship in a Consumer Culture

by Grady King People want leadership. People don’t want leadership.  As long as leaders are doing what I think they ought to do, I will follow. If not, I will be present to some degree, but not necessarily support or follow.[1] It’s certainly not God’s idea of leading or following. Churches are in need of […]

Digging in the Dirt with Leaders & Churches

by Grady King –   It’s my life to be helpful to leaders and churches. It’s both blessing and burden.  Prayerful, humble listening, observing, and analyzing goes with the territory. So does “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4.15)—passage about relationships, character, maturity—of growing up in Christ. It’s not always comfortable and there is plenty of […]

Looking in the Mirror

by Grady King –  Others know it. He doesn’t. The way he comes across as a leader is hindering his effectiveness. His blind spots are obvious to others: controlling, defensiveness, over-talking, blaming and failure to take responsibility. In short, he lacks self-awareness and is at risk of being told by his elders, “We have decided […]

Leaders & Failure: Shadows in the Soul

by Grady King –  We don’t fail. We learn. These five words give hope thanks to my missional friend, Pat Keifert. What are you learning as leader from failure? Most church leaders I know fight a sense of failure. No matter the public rhetoric of trusting God, working hard even those good day experiences, often […]

Why Did You Do That?

by Amanda Box –    I saw a news story not too long ago in which a mother left her young children in the car unattended. I confess, all I know about this news story is the two minutes of video that I saw on the news, so that is precious little information. Possibly like […]

A View from the Pew

by Grady King – Since January of this year, I have been blessed and challenged to be in twenty-seven churches with Hope Network. From rural, to urban and suburban ranging in size from 50-1,000. Recently, on a Sunday, I got to sit and not stand.  It’s my way of saying I was not the preacher […]

Every Church Has a Story: Walking on Sacred Ground

by Grady King –   I went to high school with friends who were Creek Indian. Their burial grounds were sacred. They were no mere cemeteries—simply holes in the ground.  These sacred burial sites were a blend of Indian traditions, fused with Christianity and the spirits of the “old ones” were respected in this sacred […]

Holy Moments

by Grady King –   Seventeen men and women. HOPE Network retreat. Our friend and mentor, Lynn Anderson was absent. Not his desire, rather, his health. We miss him. A video call. Vintage Lynn. Someone said, “Lynn, give us a Psalm.” No hesitation, with supplemental required oxygen, in raspy genuineness, we heard ancient words from our […]

SORRY, DR. STIENKE

by Amanda Box –  Steve sat down in my office and began to talk about his small group. He talked about the past year and shared one meeting in particular when the air was thick with tension as a result of some controversial church decisions. The tension had been building for weeks. The next meeting, […]

The Cumulative Nature of Ministry

Grady D. King –  Last week I had breakfast with good, long term friend in ministry.  He got me through a very difficult season in my young preaching life over thirty years ago.  As we sat down at the restaurant I asked him, “How are you? One word, “Tired!”  He asked the same of me. […]

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