Articles for tag: Spiritual Leadership

March 7, 2026

Wes Woodell

e2 effective elders annual conference - Lead Well From Within

Lead Well: From Within

Lead Well: From Within is an e2: effective elders conference designed to encourage and equip church leaders through practical teaching on leadership, wellness, succession, and Spirit-led ministry. Scheduled for March 13–14, 2026, the event features sessions from speakers including John Hampton, Dr. Bruce Records, Jeff Faull, Harrison Huxford, Davey and Kristi Blackburn, Jeff Reichanadter, Laura Dingman, and Dr. Gary Johnson. Attendees can expect two days of teaching, meals, fellowship, and conversation focused on helping elders and ministry leaders lead well from the inside out.

May 1, 2023

Christian Standard

5 Sources for Illustrations to Enhance Your Sermons

By Chris Philbeck  In the 1990s, while serving a church in Oklahoma, I took all my elders to the Leadership Conference at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. During the opening session, our church was awarded a yearlong subscription to SECC’s weekly tape ministry for being the church that came the farthest with their entire board of elders. So, over the next year, I had the opportunity to listen to weekend messages delivered by Bob Russell and Dave Stone.   I still remember many of those messages, including one from Dave about the urgency of reaching lost people. To illustrate the

March 1, 2022

Michael C. Mack

Authentic Leadership

Authentic Leadership

By Michael C. Mack What is authentic Christian leadership? It may be best to begin with how it’s different from secular leadership. Authentic Christian leadership is a lifelong process. I’ve seen secular self-help books and blogs that provide simple steps to leadership, but becoming a leader after God’s own heart takes constant, everyday, deep-rooted transformation of the mind and heart as led by the Holy Spirit. Christian leadership happens first in loving, abiding communion with God, and second, in the environment of loving community with others. It’s rare to hear secular leadership described using the word love, but Christian leadership

November 2, 2019

Christian Standard

Family Ministry: Re-engaging Parents to Be the Primary Influencers of their Children

By Becky Drish For hundreds of years, parents recognized their role as the faith leaders in their families. That gradually changed over the past 100 to 200 years. Now, many regular churchgoers look to the church to fulfill that leadership role. As churches and children’s ministry leaders, we need to re-empower parents. Fortunately, that has begun to happen through a modern family ministry approach that has been making a steady, solid entrance into the children’s and youth ministry field over the last decade. If you frequent children’s or youth ministry conferences, you surely have seen sessions dedicated to this approach.

March 25, 2019

Christian Standard

Leading with Boldness and Confidence

By Jeff Faull Scripture urges church leaders to lead with humility and confidence. These two qualities are not mutually exclusive. Timidity is not humility, and confidence is not pride. The boldness of the apostles was often displayed and noted. Young Timothy was encouraged by Paul to abandon timidity and to lead with power. Yet, so often as leaders we fail to exhibit the spirit of power and discipline God has given us, and we exchange it for a posture of fear and hesitancy. Consequently, we cripple the opportunity to lead well. Why do we sometimes lack confidence in ministry? Why

November 27, 2018

David Roadcup

An Elder’s Greatest Priority

By David Roadcup Luke reveals the grand priority to which we are called as shepherds of the flock. Two sisters and a brother loved Jesus deeply. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had an abiding relationship with him. They entertained him and his traveling entourage; they provided a place to stay, meals, and no doubt made contributions to his ministry. Luke 10:38-42 records a meaningful exchange between Jesus and his hostess. Martha is busy fixing a meal and is frustrated that Mary, “who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to his word” (v. 39, New American Standard Bible), was not helping

August 17, 2018

Christian Standard

From Unanimous . . . to Unity

E2: Effective Elders Blog Editor’s Note: Starting today, each Friday we will publish a new blog post from our partners in ministry, E2: Effective Elders. We are publishing it here simultaneous to E2’s posting on their site every Friday. As you may know, the leaders of E2 write an article for our print and online magazine every month as well. Those articles are full of wisdom and practical help for elders. Please check them out! We are grateful to the leaders of E2—Gary Johnson, David Roadcup, and Jim Estep—as well as operations director Jared Johnson for their ministry partnership. Both

October 25, 2015

Christian Standard

The Book that Saved My Ministry

Seven leaders tell how reading made all the difference for them. ____ TODD CLARK, teaching pastor, Christ”s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to Be with God by Bill Hybels (InterVarsity Press, 1998) Choosing to Cheat: Who Wins When Family and Work Collide? by Andy Stanley (Multnomah, 2003) The Life You”ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by John Ortberg (Zondervan, 1997) Soul Keeping: Caring for the Most Important Part of You by John Ortberg (Zondervan, 2014) A Tale of Three Kings: A Study of Brokenness by Gene Edwards (Tyndale House, 1992) As I

May 19, 2014

Christian Standard

Just Hold On

By Tim Harlow I tried to teach my friend how to water-ski. As with most sports, a novice needs to understand some basic things if he is to stand any chance of early success. For example, I”ve been golfing for more than 40 years and I still sometimes forget to keep my head down. There is just no way to hit a golf ball well if you”re trying to watch where it”s going while you”re swinging the club””just no way. With water-skiing there are two mistakes a novice typically makes: (1) trying to pull himself up as he is coming

January 18, 2012

Christian Standard

Not Just Another Leadership Book

By Mark A. Taylor Late last year in this space I encouraged leaders not to dote on leadership books or lists of leadership skills and techniques. “The leader should look first to God and then deep within himself before he bothers with anyone else”s list of how-to”s,” I wrote. So here we are recommending a book about leadership, and I”m compelled to insist that I”m in no way being inconsistent. This is true because the writers in this new book, Nonprofit Leadership in a For-Profit World, seem to agree that preparation for leadership begins deep within the heart and soul

January 16, 2012

Christian Standard

What”s a Leader to Do?

By Steve Hayner Here are a few activities that will help leaders guide organizational culture with a skillful hand.   Be Attentive and Assess Leaders need to be aware of what is happening within their organizations at all levels. They need to have an ear to the ground. They need to notice the details of life around them as it is being lived. They need to ask questions and then listen carefully to the answers. I am amazed at how oblivious I can be. I get distracted by the vision before me, or by the immediate tasks at hand, and neglect

November 5, 2010

Christian Standard

Marks of a Successful Discipler

By Rick Lowry Personal Life “¢ Models servanthood before group members. “¢ Is in the Word daily, along with being in prayer and practicing other spiritual disciplines. “¢ Feels a sense of personal spiritual growth and passes on that challenge toward growth to members of group. “¢ A spiritual leader outside the group meeting. “¢ Accountable in life to another spiritual leader outside the group. Passing on the Faith “¢ Prays for individuals in the group. “¢ Places a high priority on the group and the people in it. “¢ Is spiritually, emotionally, and relationally open to group members. “¢

April 20, 2008

Christian Standard

Leading Men

By Jennifer Taylor You know the statistics: fewer men are going to church. And although the most urgent concern is helping those men meet Jesus, churches also face a second problem: if men aren’t attending church, they’re definitely not leading the church. Even men who do attend may remain spiritually immature; many lack role models, biblical knowledge, and awareness of leadership expectations. Three churches are creating and adapting programs to reverse these trends and build groups of men equipped for service as husbands, fathers, teachers, and even elders. From ornery middle school boys to retired business executives, these congregations disciple,

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