Imaginatively Missional
Get Into the Spirit of Giving this Thanksgiving In partnership, we can provide quality theological education and training opportunities where most needed. As you are considering your end of year giving, we would be honored to partner with you in God's work around the world. Here is what some leaders say about our training: Your …
History seems to repeat itself in a continual cycle of recapitulation. While there is a temptation to think of our particular period of history as unique, a student of the past quickly recognizes common characteristics and patterns that appear familiar across time. The study of leadership theory is no less the case as we look to the past to …
One only needs to consult an online job board to observe the vast number of staff openings in churches across the United States. As do others, I receive regular requests from headhunters for recommendations of people to fill this or that ministry position. However, a question has been raised, at least in my mind, regarding …
Continue reading "The Solution to Your Church Staffing Needs"
I had coffee this morning with a friend who is a fellow co-laborer in ministry. As we bantered around various social issues confronting Christianity–gender identity, social justice, and the like–as well as the reality that COVID has led many to conclude they no longer have a need for the church, I was struck again by …
The ordination of three women at Saddleback Community Church has raised the issue of women in ministry in new ways. The recognition of the gifting of women to teach and pastor has long been a point of contention in the American evangelical church. Stemming from Western Christian cultural practices which viewed women as the helpmate …
During my doctoral studies in the early 2000s, Paul Hiebert shared a story that I have never forgotten. Dr. Hiebert was a master at using illustrations and case studies to highlight essential missiological principles. His years of experience in India and as a world renowned missiological anthropologist made those attending his classes sit on the edge of …
It seems to be a regular occurrence these days. Another evangelical pastor falls into moral failure. Carl Lentz is the latest causality. The celebrity pastor of Hillsong Church’s New York City branch is a further example of the dark side of hierarchical leadership where a pastor-centric ecclesiology places a charismatic person as the lead of …
Leadership sets the tone for the direction of a movement. In fact, one might argue that a movement will rise or fall largely on its leadership. To understand the effective movement leadership that we see in the New Testament is to understand the theocentric focus of the leaders. This leadership imbues a profound sense of …
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “paradigm shift.” But do you know where it comes from? Coined by author Thomas Kuhn in his 1962 classic, “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”, the American physicist and philosopher noted that “paradigm shifts arise when the dominant paradigm under which normal science operates is rendered incompatible with new phenomena, facilitating …
Continue reading "Something New is coming – Are you ready for a shift?"
Editor's Note: We are delighted to repost a blog written by our friend Alan Hirsch. In light of our recent interview, Leadership in Crisis, we invited him to explain APEST further. If interested in learning more about APEST, please visit 5Q Central. The habits of institution that we have inherited through the European formulas are …
The global west is now on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19. The epicenter of the novel coronavirus has shifted from our distant shores to our communities. After a sudden two-week blitz in the United States of implementing extreme social distancing measures that included closing stadiums, canceling large events, shutting our borders, closing …
When I was in my second year at Texas A&M University, our architectural design class took on a project to work with a local vineyard on a design for a new facility outside of College Station. As we began the design process, we had the vinter make a presentation on the science of winemaking. We …
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