Our theme is “Seek First.” How has seeking God first influenced the way you lead?

I appreciate the question. My earliest memory of a relationship with God was as a boy in Sunday School and Worship at Memorial Baptist Church of Rialto, California. I was in church regularly because I grew up in a Christian home where the Bible was taught and demonstrated by the witness of my parents. Attending Bible study and worship was part of our rhythm and schedule. In the normal course of these rhythms, I came to understand I needed forgiveness for my sins and to ask Jesus to come into my heart as Savior and Lord.

This began a pursuit of knowing and serving him for the rest of my life. When I was 15 years old, I answered what I perceived to be a calling into vocational ministry. I have been preaching now for the last 50 years in some assignments as pastor, then as seminary-university president, and now as CEO at faith-based nonprofit Buckner International.

What we believe is what we do.

What we believe is what we do. Or said another way, theology breeds methodology. Like riding a bike, I cannot unlearn what I know about Jesus and how he wants his kingdom to come near.

As a ministry leader, I think about all things ministry in terms of what I know about the Lord. He influences my ethics, my mission, my vision, and my daily tasks. I am the servant; he is the Master. Therefore, I have a long habit of trying to listen and obey him.

Team Leadership Principles

I lead through participatory management and consensus building with my Executive Leadership Team. That is because I believe God has gifted each leader with skills, abilities, insight, wisdom, and leadership gifts, and I create spaces for them to lean into the critical topics of our ministry. I have lots of ideas and some solutions, but I don’t have all the ideas, all the solutions, nor do I always have the best ideas. So, I listen to them, I listen for the voice of God, and I lead by “the best idea wins.”

I don’t always have to have the best idea. When we come to an impasse or I must decide or weigh in, I gladly step into that space and provide timely leadership and direction as needed. I bring a vision of where I want to go with the ministry, but I test it out with my peers to gauge whether I have persuaded them. If not, I try again or go a different way. The first thing a leader must do is win followers, beyond title and position. I provide a blog where I offer the latest idea about leadership and ministry as well.

What practices help you stay in daily communion with the Lord as you lead?

Dr. Jeff Warren, my pastor at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas, often says, “If you want to hear God’s voice, read the Bible out loud!” Nothing beats tuning my heart to God’s heart beyond reading his Word, studying his Word, preaching his Word, and teaching his Word when I have the opportunity.

Prayer is my way of talking to God. We pray throughout the day and on every occasion when we want to engage the Lord in our midst. I listen to Christian music, sermons from Chuck Swindoll, David Jeremiah, Robert Jeffress, and John MacArthur on KCBI Radio while I am in the car. Also, I listen to Jim Cymbala, Erwin McManus, and Rick Warren on podcasts. I listen to other followers of Jesus and through all these channels, I listen for Vox Dei, the Voice of God.

The Lord says things that are aligned with his Word. So, it is easy to hear him speaking every day, if we listen. When I hear Vox Dei, I also spot it in the voice of my peers and colleagues, or not.

What are you most encouraged about in the work of Buckner today?

We have incredible opportunities for growth and expansion. The needs among vulnerable children and families continue to grow, and Buckner International is uniquely positioned to meet those challenges to protect children, strengthen families, and transform generations.

We have been doing this since 1879, and we also have over 75 years of experience serving senior adults at the sunset of life through our operation of senior living communities across Texas. Buckner serves the vulnerable across all phases of life.

In 2008, we began a proactive program called Buckner Family Hope Centers®, designed to serve families who are struggling. We seek to help them become healthy, independent, and thriving. This service line keeps families strong and keeps the children in those families where God put them. We also provide reactive services if a child must be removed from his or her family. And we serve single parents who need help rebuilding their families.

Accelerated Growth

In 2023, I began to sense that it was time for Buckner to begin to define growth as expansion rather than a focus on quality and excellence alone. I still want quality and excellence but was ready for us to plan to grow beyond where we currently serve. We have been growing, we continue to grow, but now it is time for us to imagine growth beyond where we have been, not for our sake but for the sake of those we serve and have yet to serve. We have taken most of 2024 to prepare for growth, and in 2025 we are finalizing plans for accelerated growth.

When I first came to Buckner in 2007, it appeared Buckner was in between sustaining success and realignment. Over the years we have moved through realignment and now position ourselves for accelerated growth. The STARS model developed by Dr. Michael Watkins in The First 90 Days (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013) has helped me think about where we are as an organization and where we are headed.

How would you describe the culture at Buckner, and how do you seek to build a cohesive team?

Overall, we have a healthy work environment. For the 3^rd year in a row, we achieved a “Great Place to Work” certification indicating we have a very strong and vibrant work environment. Even so, we are leaning more into this area to develop our Employee Value Proposition, which indicates what a person receives when they choose to work for Buckner in addition to compensation and benefits.

We are also leaning into the “employee experience” to develop a point-to-point experience that is positive, Christ-centered, healthy, and full of blessing and fulfillment. My goal is to serve our employees and associates as our first customers – and to serve them well.

Your newest book is Never Alone. What is its core message and why does it matter in this cultural moment?

Never Alone: The Power of Family to Inspire Hope (Iron Stream, May 14, 2024) starts with a question: Do we still need families in the 21^st Century? I ask this question because it’s as if society is raising the question today. Of course, the answer is a resounding yes.

I reviewed what the future would be like without a family. Fair warning, not very good. Then I surveyed how God has used the family to protect, provide, and bless generations.

My central thesis is that when God decided to organize the humanity he created, he chose the family as the basic organizational unit. He did in the beginning and continues to do so today. No community, society, city, state, or nation is stronger than individual families. This is God’s plan to bless the planet. Yet, families are flawed and in need of redemption.

I reviewed nine families in the Bible and exposed their successes and failures, extracting key lessons and practices to avoid or imitate. Everything we do at Buckner points to the need for strong families, so I thought it best to write about the family and encourage families, pastors, ministers, seminaries, and Christian universities to focus on families too.

What encouragement would you share with other Christian nonprofit leaders as they seek first God’s kingdom?

The kingdom of God that Jesus came preaching is the one thing he challenged his followers to seek, chase, run after. What does that look like when we lead churches and nonprofit, faith-based organizations?

What does it mean to pursue the kingdom?

It is easy to mistake our ministry for the kingdom. Or even worse, to build our on kingdoms thinking this is God’s kingdom. Nothing could be further from the truth.

So, what does it mean to pursue the kingdom? What does it mean to pursue God’s righteousness? I hope to answer these questions in my message on the mainstage at Christian Leadership Alliance’s Outcomes Conference, April 29 – May 1, 2025.

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To learn more about Buckner International, please visit www.buckner.org

 Learn more about Outcomes magazine.

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