Tag Archives: Leadership

Leaders and Transformation: The Place of a Rule of Life

Two weeks ago, I reviewed with our New Life Fellowship pastoral staff team our “Rule of Life.” First drawn up in 2007, it has been the abiding document to order our life together for over five years. I read through the document paragraph by paragraph, giving history, context, and theology around important sections. Our new staff asked many very good questions. I walked away convinced, more than ever, of how important, and powerful, this tool is for each church leadership team. How can we lead others to transformation in Christ if we are not experiencing transformation ourselves? I share this document with you with the hope and prayer you will consider thinking through some of these issues for yourself and your leadership team. I invite you to read the entire Pastoral Staff Rule of Life on our website. I am including here a few paragraphs that are particularly significant. NLF Pastoral Staff Rule of. Read more.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Applications for Leadership

I recently finished Eric Metaxas’ Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. It was, by far, the best biography on Bonhoeffer I have read. After pondering his life, the following were three key questions I asked myself: 1. Do I really have the courage to follow Jesus wherever He leads? Between his natural talents and upper-class, family connections, Bonhoeffer could have done anything with his life. Yet he became a pastor and theologian. When Hitler came to power in Germany, passing legislation that German Jews without Aryan blood be removed from the German Christian church, Bonhoeffer immediately saw the contradiction. He was one of the first to speak out: “Only he who cries out Jews can sing Gregorian chant.” We must “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31). As a result, he lost his position, his security, his reputation, his opportunity to marry the woman he loved, and his life out of. Read more.

Gordon MacDonald – Wisdom after 50 years of Leadership

I did a year-long internship at Grace Chapel when I was a seminary student many years ago. I did that in order to learn from Gordon MacDonald, the senior pastor at the time. Over the last 30 years, God has used Gordon as a key mentor in my life. (He is now 72 years). Last week, at the Germany Willow Creek Summit, we had a great deal of time together. The following are the key points of the message he delivered last week at that conference. His text was: ‘”I have fought the good fight, finished the course…”(2 Tim.4) Here are some things MacDonald said you can anticipate as a leader over the long-haul: 1. You can anticipate periodic brokenness and rebuilding. “I have been broken so badly (in leadership) it is a wonder the pieces ever got put back together again. You have a choice you must make every day. Most people will. Read more.

Reflections on the Interior Life: A View from the Monastery

We recently hosted a Trappist monk at New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, NYC named Father Williams . What made him such a gift to us was not his eloquence, his well-crafted sermons, his cleverness, or capacity as a leader. His prayer life, his walk with Jesus, his interior life with God built over many years pulled us toward Jesus in a very different way. It was transformative to be around him. He spoke as one “with authority,” (even though he uses an I-Pad!) The following are a few of my personal summary insights out of our time together that I have been reflecting on: There is no greater gift in the universe than to have a desire for the Triune God. Loving God for His own sake is God’s heart for us. God takes us where we are, not where we are not. Contemplation is awe and wonder in the face of God.. Read more.

A Mini-Interview with a Trappist Monk – for pastors/leaders

The following is a six minute interview with Father Meninger, a Trappist monk for the past 52 years. We have just finished 4 very enjoyable days with him at New Life. Perhaps the greatest challenge for us as leaders is to drink from an interior life with God sufficient to sustain our activity/work for Him. Lessons from the Trappists, one of the most contemplative monastic orders, enable us to step back and examine our leadership from a fresh perspective. Enjoy this brief interview or, for more in-depth insights, click here for a full 40 minute sermon in which I interview Father William.

Welcoming Prayer and Leadership

When we are forced to acknowledge our very limited real control over what happens to us, a “thin” place opens up – one that is filled with spiritual possibilities and gifts. David Benner says it well: “Surrender is simply inner acceptance of what is. There is probably nothing more difficult for humans. But there is also nothing more freeing.” While many demands scream for our attention, I remain convinced the most important thing we do, especially as pastors and leaders, is to surrender our will to His. Towards this end I have been experimenting with a well-known practice known as Welcoming Prayer. It provides a framework for how to respond to something emotionally upsetting with a spirit of surrender. Cynthia Bourgeault describes the three simple movements or steps as follows: 1. Focus on the difficult emotion (e.g. anger, fear, depression, shame). Face it directly and feel it in your body. Don’t try to change. Read more.

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