2011
The “Gender Ghetto” in the Church
In a recent article in the Huffington Post, Cathleen Falsani asks readers to list three of the top evangelical women leaders under sixty. Falsani contends it's hard to do and the title of her post suggests the reason why: "Jesus is Still Surrounded By Too Many Men." To lend readers a hand with the question, Falsani suggests that author and speaker, Margaret ...
Leading Absent
"The test of your leadership is not what happens when you're there, but what happens when you're NOT there." Ken Blanchard
Just reading that quote makes me a bit anxious. How about you? Have you ever found yourself creating exhaustive notes for your team or maybe even your family in preparation to be away for a few days? Have you ever feared what's ...
John Stott Remembered
Gifted for Leadership's parent site ChristianityToday.com has run several stories following the death of John Stott, long-time theologian and evangelical leader.
According to their recent article, "Global Reactions to John Stott's Death," "His death has elicited a broad range of tributes from Christian leaders throughout North America. But acknowledging ...
5 Things I’ve Learned in Ministry
Next month marks my one year anniversary of working in paid ministry. It's been a year full of joy, surprises, and challenges of all kinds. Here are five things I've learned in my rookie year:
1. If it was easy, it wouldn't be leadership.
I wasn't expecting every decision that I made to be so difficult. Despite my years as a volunteer in ministry, I was shocked by the number ...
Is Michele Bachmann the Right Person for President?
GiftedforLeadership.com writer Margaret Feinberg recently contributed to The Washington Post in a roundtable discussion on the issue of biblical submission, servant leadership, women leaders, and the changes taking place in conservative Christianity. Her article looks at questions including:
How do modern evangelicals understand biblical teachings on women's roles? ...
Trouble with Authority
It didn't take long to face opposition once I started a career in ministry. Of course, I had a lot of strikes against me from the start. First of all, I was young, fresh out of college, and in my first-ever paid ministry role. On top of that, I was a woman, the only woman serving with the pastoral staff. And, probably most significant, I was hired to launch a brand new ministry–church-wide ...
And Then There Were None
Groups. We've all been in one where the numbers keep whittling down until it's just you and the leader left.
When you're the one leading, what do you do if people start leaving yours?
1. Don't freak out. This does not stamp you with the World's Worst Small Group Leader award.
Breathe. Chances are the reason they left has nothing to do with you. Sometimes ...
Five Tips for Creating a Mentor Program
Things change continually in ministry, for better and worse. One area that seems to have improved drastically over the past 15 years or so, though, is the emphasis placed on mentoring and its role in creating fully engaged employees.
Being good stewards of resources goes far beyond just dollars and cents. Mentoring allows us to be good stewards of one of the greatest ...
Developing a Divine Appetite
As leaders, it's so easy to get distracted by the demands on our everyday–the deadlines, the unforeseen circumstances that sap our time and energy. In the midst of our packed schedules, we can find ourselves chasing after that which is most pressing rather than that which is most necessary. We need to be intentional about pursuing God and seeking his voice in our lives. We ...
I Was a Reverse Discriminator
It would take a lot for me to change my mind about allowing men to be alone with my children.
Seven years counseling women recovering from all kinds of horrors experienced at the hands of men, a season that coincided with my first seven years of motherhood, instilled in me a firm belief that men should not be caregivers for kids. At least not for mine.
Yet this month, ...