Following Through the Fog
Have you ever been in a fog that was so dense it seemed you could reach out and touch it? Late one night, I was driving home after a long day and found myself engulfed in that type of mist. Even from inside my car, it felt tangible. It was pitch black night outside, and the fog was an extra layer hindering my visibility. And to make matters worse, I was driving onto a bridge. Scenes from many a classic spook film flew into my mind, but I pushed them aside as I gripped the steering wheel tightly. No efforts on my part helped my vision improve. If you’ve…
What Sucks the Life Out of Your Team?
For the past several weeks, I’ve been exploring the importance and nature of successful intergenerational teams. We’ve considered what it means to be entrusted with our people, a mentoring model we can incorporate, God’s design for intergenerational ministry, and the characteristics of a belonging culture. Now I want to look at one of the qualities of a thriving intergenerational ministry or leadership team: it must be life-giving. So, here’s a question: what sucks the life out of you? What is not life-giving? Take a minute and list some things that come to mind. Actually, write them down. One thing that sucks the life out of me is complainers. I…
Designing the Best Teams
One of my favorite models of intergenerational ministry is the relationship between the apostle Paul and his mentee Timothy as described in Paul’s letters to Timothy. As his Wise Guide, Paul continues mentoring Timothy as he pastors one of the world’s first mega-churches in Ephesus. In the community I serve, we often refer to “Leadership 412.” This refers to what Paul instructs Timothy to do in chapter 4, verse 12 of Paul’s first letter to him. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12, NIV) Paul…
What It Means to be Entrusted with Intergenerational Ministry
In your ministry or organization, I’m sure you want God’s design for perpetually-renewing intergenerational ministry and leadership. And you want your organizational team to embrace it, too. In my organization, we have a structural design that means every year we have many intergenerational teams working together in ministry and leadership. Our mission is to help the next generation get ready to speak, and to do that effectively with lasting impact, we had to get intentional about how intergenerational mentoring and collaboration works best. You have been entrusted with people. As leaders, we have been entrusted with people. What does it mean to be entrusted? I think about that quite a…
