The Futurity of Present Events-What’s Next for American Churches?  This comes from Leadership Network, an organization I highly respect.  This post includes a short video that updates the progress of LN over this past year.  It also includes three prominent trends that Dave Travis sees for the future of American churches.

3 Suggestions For Leadership Transition  This is another gem from Ron Edmondson.  Ron is in the midst of a leadership transition as he has taken a new church in Kentucky.  Ron’s principles can be applied anywhere leadership transition is taking place.  Leadership transitions are always a fragile time in the life of an organization.  These principles are foundational to getting you through it.

Talent Management Infographic  This comes from Talent Technoligies and is a diagram that illustrates how organizations do at hiring and keeping good talent.  What stood out to me was the need for getting the right people, developing the right people and engaging those people in core activities within the organization.  Take a look.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution: A Book Review  This a good book review by Bob Morris on the latest from the Franklin Covey Group.  I am just now being exposed to this book within my national team arena.   Execution has been highlighted as THE critical component that often goes missing in practical leadership.  This review will give you a good overview of the book-I also suggest you buy it for yourself and your team.

10 Things Brits Do That Drive Americans Nuts  I received a link from a British friend of mine today that I had to pass along to you.  In light of the upcoming holiday weekend, you need a break from leading-read this and enjoy-especially if you have ever been to the UK or have some UK friends.

There you have it-5 posts that I hope will encourage and stimulate your leadership!

Enemies to Finishing Well as a Spiritual Leader                                                 1. Isolation  This may be the biggest enemy I see of well intentioned leaders who fail to finish well.  Leaders must seek out and remain in community.  I would actually suggest finding community on more than one level.  It can be difficult for a leader to find safe, honest community.  One level must be among peers who are committed to each other to honesty and safety.  Another  profitable level, if that leader is married, could be to develop community with other couples that love and serve one another.  You may need community both inside and outside the organization.  As leaders move up the organizational ladder there is a always a pull towards isolation-and isolation is deadly.  We must know and be known to end well.  To live in isolation  is ultimately the posture of the secluded and deceived.

2. Anger and Cynicism  It is easy as a leader, especially for older leaders, to become angry and cynical about their organization or the people around them.  This can be especially true if the leader’s envisioned path does not work out just as they thought it would.  There is no such thing as an unwounded leader.  We all go through organizational bumps and bruises-but how we respond to them can make all the difference.  If we turn towards anger, bitterness and cynicism we will shorten our effective leadership lives and finish poorly.  This is the posture of a cynic.

3. Power Hoarding  I know of a leader today that seemingly can’t let go of their position and power.  A friend once told me that an occasional “clean white board” is necessary for staying fresh and finishing well.  It’s not that I am against continuity or longevity, but we should regularly ask if we have outlived our usefulness in whatever role we find ourselves.  A “clean whiteboard” forces us to fresh learning and new dependence-which can be a great friend in helping us to finish well.  To hoard power and not be able to relinquish position may serve to shorten our effective leadership lives.  This is the posture of an oligarch.

Imperatives to Finishing Well as a Spiritual Leader                               1. A Surrendered Life  As spiritual leaders we must always be conscious of our broken, flawed lives.  There are no omni-competent leaders.  A spiritual leader is meant to live his or her life in full voluntary surrender to Jesus Christ.  He must be our wisdom, our power, our compassion, our courage-our center. It is only as we live continually surrendered to him that we experience theses necessary leadership qualities in gracious stewardship towards his glory and kingdom.  This is the posture of a bond servant.

2. A Commitment to Being a Lifetime Learner  The other imperative is that we remain humble learners for a lifetime.  There will come a day when all of us will report to someone younger and must be able to learn from someone younger.  If we can’t do that we will begin to see our leadership platform begin to erode.  Remaining fresh as a humble learner allows us to maintain our platform for influence wherever we lead.  Remaining a humble learner helps to assure that we will not see ourselves as the center of the leadership universe.  It helps us to be followers as well as leaders.  It helps us empower others-to raise up the next generation of leaders.  This is the posture of a sage.

Finish well that you might agree with the Apostle Paul when he said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

The context of this “foot washing” is what is usually referred to as the Upper Room Discourse.  This is the longest recorded teaching session we have in the Bible of Jesus with his closest followers.  It continues through John 17.  But it begins with the principle of cleansing.  In John 13:1-3, we find out that Jesus knew that it was time to head towards the cross.  Jesus knew that he was going to be betrayed by Judas Iscariot.  And he confidently understood his own identity as God incarnate.  Upon this foundation he rose and donned the garb of a household slave and began to wash the dirty feet of his disciples.  Peter understood something about the identity of Jesus and questioned why he would perform such a menial function.  Jesus explained that this metaphorical task is necessary for Peter to uniquely identify with him.  Upon hearing this Peter wanted a whole body wash.  Peter truly wanted to be identified with this God man that he knew was the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-20)  But Jesus responded in v.10 with, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.  And you are clean, but not every one of you.”  Jesus used the foot washing example as teaching on spiritual cleansing and forgiveness.  These essential spiritual principles are found only in participation with him.  He declared the twelve clean, except for Judas Iscariot.  This passage is primarily about cleansing-not about leadership.  Emulating their master was a secondary teaching to that of cleansing and forgiveness.  There is a  proper order to the teaching–cleansing, then leading through serving.

In v.12-17 Jesus went on to explain that the twelve are to emulate what he had done for them.  He reminds them that even though he is Lord he played the role of a servant.  He also reminded them that the servant is not greater than his master nor is the messenger greater than the one who sent him.  If God incarnate could demonstrate such great humility by performing the task of a slave, we can do no less.  But it readily flows from a forgiven life, a clean heart.  And that is the main point.

Only a forgiven and cleansed person can truly live out the role of a servant leader.  Only a person who understands their true dependence upon Jesus can be humble enough to live out the role of a servant leader.  Our tendency will always be towards wanting to be God.  But he already exists and has lived among us.  He humbled himself and went to the cross so that we could be cleansed and forgiven.  From that foundation he asks us to do likewise.  There is no servant leadership apart from a clean heart that is able to take on the necessity of humility.  We are to lead by serving and pointing others to the cleansing power of the cross.

1. Set a clear agenda

2. Impose a “no devices” rule or schedule a periodic tech break for email, texts and phone calls.

3. Redirect people back to the agenda when they ramble or digress.

4. Draw out quiet people by asking them in advance for a specific contribution.

5. Do a “round robin,” when appropriate, to allow everyone to contribute.

6. Ask early for objections to keep them from derailing discussions later.

7. Limit the length of slide presentations.

8. Interrupt people who talk too long or talk to each other.

9. Set an ending time for the meeting and stick to it.

Here is the link to the complete WSJ article.

The One Leadership Secret That Will Never Involve A Mobile Device (or Any Computer)  This post comes from Terry Starbucker.  Terry highlights the power of personal conversation in the midst of a very virtual world.  Terry always shares very practical advice from his own leadership experience.

Why Leaders Should Celebrate Mothers Day  Here is another post from Kevin Eikenberry.  I highlighted Kevin last week-and this one is worthy too.  As we look back at Mothers Day, Kevin lists some leadership principles he has learned from both his mother and his wife.  Take a look.

How To Overcome One of The Biggest Frustrations In Leadership  I found this post on ChurchLeaders.com by Shane Duffey.  This is a timely article on leading up.  Shane talks about the culture of Newspring Church and what a healthy environment looks like for leaders to develop and have a voice.

African Christianity: A Gift for the Western Church  This is a very interesting article conducted in an interview format with Mark Gornick.  Mark spent 10 years in New York City studying African congregations and has landed on some important lessons for the church.  This gives some insight into an aspect of Christianity we often overlook.

Your Ministry Is Not Your Identity  This final post is by Paul Tripp on the Gospel Coalition web site.  Paul powerfully highlights how easy it is to make ministry our identity and what we must do about it.  This is a necessary read for anyone in ministry.

There are the 5 for this week.  Lead well!

New Study IDs Best Companies for Leadership. Innovation    This is a fascinating article highlighting the 20 best companies for leadership development.  It is done initially in an interview format-but does a great job of capturing some key principles practiced by the best companies in the world.

Taking Initiative  This is from Ron Edmondson’s blog, who just recently announced that he will be moving to a new church in Lexington, Kentucky.  Ron always has great leadership insights.  This particular post is a guest post by Joey Berrios.  He examines the battle with fear and doubt that all leaders can face-and argues for initiative.

How Do You Answer These Leadership Questions?  This is a very brief post by Eric Jacobson.  He actually pulls seven questions from Charlene Li’s book Open Leadership.  But these seven questions are quite good at helping you evaluate your current leadership trajectory.

What You Must Surrender To Lead Best  This is from Kevin Eikenberry and his Leadership & Learning blog.  I have been reading Kevin for some time now-but this is the 1st time I have featured him in 5 for Leadership.  This is a good post on what you must give up in order to gain what you really want.

Jesus Is What The Old Testament Promised Him To Be  I end with a post that, in one sense, has nothing to do with the topic of leadership.  But in another sense is about the greatest leader who ever lived.  This is from Kevin DeYoung-but is actually a reference to a sermon that his associate pastor, Ben Falconer, preached earlier in the month.  This is a great list of all that Jesus is from the Old Testament.  Be sure and take a look-and be encouraged.

There are the 5 for this week.  Lead well!

1 Peter 5:5 states, “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.”  Peter is in a section of his letter (5:1-5) that specifically addresses the leaders of the house churches of Asia Minor.  He comes along side these established leaders, who are experiencing some measure of persecution, and exhorts them to care well for those entrusted to their charge.  He reminds them that how and why they lead may be more important than what they accomplish.  For they have a Chief Shepherd over them to whom they must give an account.  This is timeless truth and not necessarily specific to any one generation.  Therefore we all have to pay attention to our leadership and our “followership.”

Peter tells younger leaders to “be subject” to older leaders.  The idea is to give due respect and reverence-to yield to their admonitions, reproof and authority.  This is part of the spiritual equation for character growth.  Subjection or submission is seen as a bad word in our culture.  But there is a proper order and a proper understanding that serves us well.  First, we are to submit ourselves to the Lord-then we are able to submit to other people.  When we truly understand the Lordship of Christ in our leadership lives we begin to understand that we are fully loved, still a work in progress, and dispensable.  God is the Creator and Redeemer and He will accomplish His purposes-and we have the privilege of participation.  This perspective makes it much easier to be under some other human’s authority.  In v.6, Peter urges all to don the cloak of humility.  Humility is not thinking poorly about yourself-it is primarily not being preoccupied with yourself.  And if you are not preoccupied with self then you are free to serve others and help them become successful.  You are free to submit.

If you are a Millennial leader I have three suggestions for you to help you lead well to the end and to be easily led.

1. Seek out older leaders.  Let this natural inclination be a blessing to you.  Find an older leader whom you admire and respect and attach yourself to them.  Be committed to self development and come prepared with good questions and a teachable heart.  Be prepared to follow through on the advice that you are given.  Learn from experience and listen for principles that you can contextualize.

2. Question wisely.  It’s OK if you have a lot of questions.  It’s OK if you question strategies, assumptions, teachings and even direction.  It’s not OK to questions someone’s heart or integrity.  Be careful of an overly critical spirit or cynicism.  Be generous towards others and especially those who have been placed over you.  Seek to discover the “whys” of leadership thinking from these experienced leaders.

3. Step out boldly.  We need you to lead-so lead.  Sometimes I see younger leaders who question everything but do little.  They are good at posing new theories but weak on experiential learning.  I will come along side any leader who is stepping out in faith, failing, and learning.  My strong heart is to see leaders leading well.  But do so with humility-not being preoccupied with yourself.  Did you know that great boldness actually flows from great humility?  It’s because you are not preoccupied with self and therefore free to dare.  When you lead from a surrendered life, a subjected life and a humble life you can be used for great things.

Younger leaders-be easily led!  It will serve you well and help to insure a long leadership life.

1. Delegation vs Empowerment  I distinguish the difference between these two concepts and argue the need of greater empowerment in raising up more leaders.

2. 5 for Leadership-April 12th  I highlight Tim Milburn, Angela Maiers, Bill Flint, Tim Sacket, and Michael McKinney in some quality posts on leadership.

3. The Posture of a Spiritual Leader  This post takes a look at some critical principles out of John 8 on how a spiritual leader should view themselves.

4. What Is Fairness  I explore the concept of “fairness” and contrast it to the principle of “justice”in our society today.

5. Principled Leadership  In this post I make the case for not getting caught up in all of the leadership or ministry fads-but rather looking for the timeless principles behind a strategy or innovation.

I hope these will be of benefit to you.

6 Things I Have Learned About Failure    This comes from Steve Morgan.  Steve is a friend of mine who serves with Cru in Mexico in leading leaders.  He has some great insights and offers up some great principles in this post.  Take a look!

Now Is The Time For Gen Y Leaders  This post is from Scott Eblin who is an executive coach, speaker and author.  Scott downplays some of the negativity surrounding Millennial leaders and makes a good case for why we need them.

6 Secrets of Inspirational Leadership  I have been reading Dan Rockwell for some time.  Dan is creative, succinct and very practical.  His insights on leadership have helped me and spurred a lot of good thinking.  Be sure to check out some of his other posts while on his site.

Lessons in Leadership:  How Lincoln Became America’s Greatest President  This post comes from Hitendra Wadhwa,who is a professor at Columbia Business School.  Wadhwa highlights how President Lincoln mastered self discipline into character growth to become a great leader.  This is a really interesting read!

Seven Reasons Leaders Fail  This final post comes from Thom Ranier and I found it on churchleaders.com.  Thom does some research on leadership failure in history and discovers some common characteristics.  All of us who lead need to learn from these lessons.  This is an opportunity to look into the mirror.

There are the five for this week.  I hope you will be nurtured, warned, blessed, and informed.  Lead well!

Lessons Learned From My Dad On the 44th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, it’s does us well to remember other giants who serve as models today. Let us not just remember them, but let us seek to live and serve like they did so that the Good News of the love of Christ might continue to shine in even the darkest of places.

We all stand on the shoulders of giants. Some giants are less known, but they are giants. Pastor David Schlie, my dad, is one of them. He started pastoring in the 1960’s, in some of the most challenging situations of that era. The Pruitt-Igoe housing complex in Saint Louis, Missouri has been described as hell on earth -(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7RwwkNzF68)

He would wear his pastor collar in the buildings so that people would know why he was there. He would preach, teach, pray and serve so that the love of Christ would be proclaimed in this most difficult place.

He left Saint Louis to pursue a call to pastoring Trinity Lutheran Church in Albany, Georgia around 1968. The 1960’s in Albany was a hotbed of racial tension and in the forefront of the civil rights movement in the deep south. It was in this kind of climate that he came to learn and serve in the city. It was in this kind of climate that he came to serve Him who came to bring justice, peace and reconciliation. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBrZ4utBse8)

He left Albany to move north with his family, and came back to his “roots” in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He originally came back to teach in a Lutheran high school, but chose to settle his family on the opposite side of the city. We settled in the southeast side of Fort Wayne, in a changing community where many of it’s white residents were moving out.

He became the pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and continued to serve and learn in this poor community for almost 20 years. The lessons learned are innumerable: How to serve in a changing neighborhood? How to serve in a church that is shrinking? How to serve the whole city with the whole gospel?

And yet, the greatest lesson I’ve learned from him is to follow Jesus. Follow me, Jesus said. I trust that as ministry and mission moves forward, we will continue to be people who will wrestle with and judge ourselves by this simple mandate: Follow Jesus!

Here’s what my dad wrote to me several years before his passing. When we first arrived in France, I asked him what he would do if he were in my place. Here are his words:

I don’t have any secrets or special wisdom to share with you that has not already been made known to us by Jesus. I don’t believe in orchestrated programs or specific steps which lead to success. That is not to say that God can’t use them if they share Jesus with someone. I am not one who is good at building organizations or buildings or programs. I will share with you some of what I believe comes from Jesus. First, a little experience in my life.

When I was first ordained and received the call to serve the Church in Pruit-Igoe where we had no building and no organization, I had given no thought as to what I would be doing. No plan, no dream, system, nothing but a call to be a missionary to the people of that community. On the Monday after my ordination I drove to the projects and parked by the Community Center. Then it really hit me. What was I going to do? I was at first frightened. I sat and I prayed and I thought, “God, what am I supposed to do?”

After spending about 15 minutes in the car, a black man walked up to one of the buildings and sat down. In a few minutes I just got out of the car and went over and sat next to him. We talked for maybe a half an hour. There was some religious talk, but I’m sure there wasn’t much. But it was a warm conversation and it got me stirring. I went back to the car for a few moments, and then waled over to an apartment in which one of the people who came to our worship services lived. We talked and shared and prayed, and I left-going over to another home and doing the same thing. After doing this , I went home and prayed and thought.

To make a long story short, I got to know people. I learned how to pray with them, and I learned to know their joys and sorrows and needs. I learned the needs of their neighbors and I visited with them. One thing led to another.

Now, about you and France. I don’t know one thing, except they are God’s children, and Jesus died for them, and you want them to be saved, even the college students.

So, here we go. Try to meet people wherever they are. For example, at a sports activity, at a library, on a park bench, at a store. Then listen carefully and try to pick up any felt needs, any problems or any status problems. Jesus addressed the needs of people and showed he cared.

Don’t try to blow people over with your knowledge of religion. Paul said, “Knowledge puffs up, love builds up.” I Corinthians. 8.1 Build relationships. Try to identify with people, that’s what Jesus did when he was baptized, when He ministered to them, when He died with them. Christians are often: too intellectual, too sophisticated, too mechanical. Jesus told stories, was down to earth, was loose and improvising.

Pray for the Spirit; He led Jesus to:

Preach to the poor Good News

Proclaim freedom for the captives

Bring sight to the blind

Bring release to the oppressed

Reveal God’s favor to the down-trodden

Bind the broken-hearted

Comfort the mourners

Jesus turned life right side up

See Luke 4. 18,19 ; Isaiah 61.1-3 ; Luke 1.48-53.

Jesus was a master of identification: Matthew 3.15-17 ; Luke 5.8-11 ; Luke 5.12-16 ; Luke 5.17-26 ; Luke 5.27-31 ; Luke 5.36-39 ; Luke 15.1,2 ; Luke 23.39-43. Don’t judge – who had the faith? Luke 7.1-10 ; Luke 7.36-50 ; John 3.16-21.

My whole point is this: Lead by example and follow the leader supreme, Jesus. To follow Him is to do what He did.