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Reverend Gail Song Bantum is the Worship and Executive Pastor at Quest Church in Seattle, Washington. She is passionate about leadership development and leads seminars in diverse contexts. This is what she had to say when we sat down to talk about leadership:

As women, and particularly Christian women leaders, we talk a lot about identity and living our calling. What are some ...

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The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) reports that one in six American women is a victim of attempted or completed sexual assault in her lifetime. Forty-four percent of victims are under the age of 18. The fact that these offenses are being perpetrated so regularly within the church should serve as a severe beacon to the Christian community. Now is the time ...

He didn't say, "Take up your sofa, the really light comfy one, and follow me." He also didn't say, "Click 'like' and follow my entertaining tweets from the comfort of your own home." Just like he didn't say, "Here's an Instagram of a dead person I raised. Share if you think I'm awesome."

My Jesus is not virtual. I sometimes wish he was. I could be all up to date with his stuff ...

"Politics is a fact of life," the leader said. He meant, "Politics is a fact of life in this church-related structure." He added, "Maybe you need to be more of a politician."

A few days later, Henry Blackaby stood before us, addressing a chapel service. "We don't need politicians in the church," he said. "We need statesmen."

To see how a statesman thinks and acts, look at Caleb. ...

Here at GFL, we love our congregations' sound guys and gals (henceforth, simply the gender-unneutral Sound Guy.) If we're preachers, they help us bear the word to listening ears. If we're children's ministers, they help us to amplify little voices.

Basically, without them, we'd be lost.

When we asked you, our readers, to share your own ministry leadership bloopers, we heard ...

I remember hearing when I was a little girl that church was a "hospital." It was a place for people who were sick and for those who needed healing. I believe this concept was adapted from Jesus' words recorded in the book of Luke: "Jesus answered them, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor–sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those ...

By all measures, Tom* was an A-list pastor. He had charisma, humor, and huge musical skills, and he grew the start-up church into a robust congregation. Around year 8, a few of us began to notice subtle changes. Tom's sermons got a bit flat and curiously unreflective. He then became controlling, in one instance telling my husband that he was not allowed to get mad at him. ...

Noemi Saucedo Chavez is co-pastor of Seventh Street Church in Long Beach, California. She has a heart for women and the Latino church and is committed to raising up the next generation to serve their community and the future church. Noemi is also an influencer among 30 under 40 in Long Beach, a group of young leaders in the city. I sat down with Noemi to discuss leadership, ...

Leaving church one afternoon, I was talking to "Nancy," a leader I served with. A new leader, "Sally," stopped to ask Nancy a question. Sally had just completed her training session and noticed one of the requirements of all leaders was to have a relationship with Jesus so they could help lead other women to Christ. Sally mentioned to Nancy she did not have a "real" relationship ...

We all have moments, as leaders, when we want to give it up. Maybe you just want to hide after someone critiques your event or questions your decisions, when you're weary from holding others up as they fall apart, or when you feel dry and disconnected from God even as you give it all to serve him.

When those moments come, all I want is a one-way ticket out of my zip code–and ...