Another Board meeting has just ended, and while things are okay, you find yourself with a persistent, nagging thought. You’ve heard the Board recount yet again the wonders of your predecessor, the founder. You ask yourself, “Am I just wasting my time here?” The real question is whether you can lead the organization from start-up … Continue reading Start-Up to Sustainability

In a world where the pace of business is increasing and the shelf life of hard skills is decreasing, providing quality professional development for your team makes good sense. It’s not a perk or add-on anymore; as LinkedIn’s 2018 Workplace Learning Report showed, it’s expected and is a key factor in your team members’ choices … Continue reading Stewarding Professional Development

“Did my donation matter?” The first time I heard this question, it startled me. The second time, this question caused me to pause. After the third time, I started to dig deeper. How could a donor that once felt so compelled to financially support a nonprofit organization now question if their donation even mattered? I … Continue reading Awakened to Abundance

Few of us would deny that our world is in the midst of a reformation – a radical change in values and dividing polarities. Whether it’s the tension between relativism and fundamentalism, liberty and security, justice and mercy, love and truth, or diversity and unity – these are the paradoxes of our time. These tensions … Continue reading Whole Leader Reformation

Do you sense it? Something big is going on. The world is changing. Technology has transformed our lives. It has altered the way we expect to engage with each other, with the companies from which we buy, and with the donors who support our ministry. And it’s changing at a pace we’ve never seen before. … Continue reading Bright Spots

Out there, just over the horizon, a storm is brewing. This storm is not a political storm. It is not a cultural war. It is a storm brewing deep within the soul of many leaders who serve in the marketplace or ministry arenas. We cannot see the storm now—at least our own storm—but it is … Continue reading Leadership’s Perfect Storm

Bible translation would seem like a likely place for generosity and openhanded collaboration. Getting all of Scripture into every language is a clear goal shared by the global church. But like every sector, it’s also a place of fragmentation. One foundation executive in Tennessee recently shared how one year, three different agencies approached him for … Continue reading Rooting for Rivals

Let’s be honest. Millennials get bad press. They are vilified by the media. Time Magazine called millennials “The Me Me Me Generation.” Millennials are supposedly the laziest, the most entitled, job hopping, disloyal, and narcissistic generation of all. Wow, who wants to be a millennial after hearing this? Surely, every generation has its blind spots, … Continue reading Engaging Millennials

Lance entered the coffee shop and slumped down in a chair across from Bill, who already had two coffees waiting for them. Bill spoke first, “Well, it must have been a bad board retreat if you had to call me the next day.” “It was horrible,” said Lance. “Some of the board members got fed … Continue reading Five Types of Strategy

What’s the secret to getting major gifts for your ministry? It might not be what you think? My Giving Journey I grew up as a pastor’s kid. There were six kids, and I was fifth out of six. My dad always pastored small churches so it meant that the offerings were small and that we … Continue reading Growing Generous Givers