Christian Leadership Alliance
All Christians are called to be faithful caretakers of the things of God (Gen. 1:26-28). However, in our evangelical circles, sometimes we neglect to guide women positively in their kingdom-building efforts. To combat this, church leaders must incorporate women meaningfully into the life of the church and efforts outside their local assembly. One of the … Continue reading Women as Philanthropists
Most successful organizations, whether for-profit or nonprofit, operate with a strategic vision. A vision is simply a clear image of what an organization aspires to be or achieve in the future. Here is a strong example from World Vision: “We are a Christian organization working to help communities lift themselves out of poverty For Good.” … Continue reading Communicate Compelling Vision
The influence of the Protestant church in America – even in the Southern states, the so-called Bible belt – is waning. Churches across the country are closing their doors, dying, or are being “adopted” by nearby larger churches. Parachurches, too, are struggling to ascertain their own future in deeply uncertain times. The Nones That is … Continue reading Remember My Name!
It is no secret that the year 2020 has been hard. In an economy rocked by the pandemic, nearly 40 million Americans were out of work at some point, and almost everyone’s jobs, businesses and traditions have been disrupted in some way. Given this upheaval, you may be surprised to learn that we are coming … Continue reading Help Your Team Thrive
What do you think of when you hear the word stewardship? Often, we can equate the concept of stewardship merely to financial management. But the longer I serve in leadership positions, the more I realize the importance of having a stewardship mindset regarding people. Think about it this way: Imagine that you went to a … Continue reading Nurturing Your Team
What do today’s faith-based nonprofit leaders see as the future leadership needs of their organizations? A few years ago, I was deeply involved in a comprehensive survey designed to try and address some of these questions. The answers we found may surprise you. They will certainly inform you. And I believe these findings are applicable … Continue reading Who Leads Next?
As a leader it can be hard to tell ourselves the truth, or even know the truth about ourselves. But it is incumbent upon a leader to do the hard work of self-discovery, and not to let our position become the reason for insulation from the truth. Know who you lead. Most leaders would agree that … Continue reading Leading Yourself
Every church or nonprofit ministry experiences all the stages in the organizational lifecycle. They are launched at a certain point in time, grow, plateau, decline, and eventually merge or are shut down. Some nonprofits experience this over the course of 10 years and others over 100 years. Some may decline rapidly after a scandal and … Continue reading Organizational Lifecycle Lessons
Managing a team today requires us to cultivate an environment that values learning, where leaders have a positive motivational impact on the individuals within their team. James Champy, author of Reengineering Management (HarperCollins, 1995) stated, “we must hold fast to our faith in human beings: the knowledge and belief that we are all eager to … Continue reading Know Your Team!
Donor development contains a built-in tension that’s not easily solved. People want their donations to impact lives. In fact, donors would be happy if 100% of their contributions went exclusively to the programs and services that benefit recipients most. That’s a problem, however, because we hear from donors that they are frustrated by two things: … Continue reading Navigating the Fundraising Maze
