Posts Tagged ‘The Choice’
Ministry Leaders and Metrics by Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D.
By Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D. Governing boards often require ministry leaders to use a variety of “metrics” to report results. These “metrics” often reflect the desired outcomes of ministry activity. Consider some examples of this practice: a Christian school might report enrollment figures, a medical ministry might tabulate the number of patients served, and a…
Read MoreThe Pastor and The Kingdom Path by Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D.
by Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D. In The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes, Scott Rodin, Wes Willmer, and I announce that we are praying for a great awakening today in the church and the parachurch. Specifically related to pastors, we are exhorting them to abandon cultural definitions of success. These are often reported in…
Read MoreWatch Your Language by Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D.
by Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D. Almost daily in December my mailbox received a stack of direct mail appeals inviting us to participate with various ministries in their work through giving. One evening my wife neatly left a stack of them for me on the counter. The assortment included organizations we have supported and others that…
Read MoreThe Pursuit of God's Will
By Dr. R.Scott Rodin The single most important work we do as steward leaders is to seek to know God’s will and pursue it with obedience and excellence. If you agree, let me ask you how many times you have thought or said out loud, ‘If only we knew for certain what God wanted us…
Read MoreGood to Great Governance: Who Cares?
By John Pearson You’ve heard the sad story of the board that belatedly realizes their CEO has learned very little from 20 years of CEO “leadership.” Instead, the scorecard would reveal that he or she has had just one year of leadership—but repeated 20 times. How about your board? Are your governance competencies improving, plateauing, or…
Read MoreFaithfulness-Focused Strategies
Steward leaders who are singularly motivated by obedience adopt faithfulness-focused strategies. Like Jesus, they desire to say what the Father says and do what they Father says to do. Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father…
Read MoreEternity-Oriented Metrics
Steward leaders use eternity-oriented metrics to measure the effectiveness of faithfulness-focused strategies. They tend to be more qualitative than quantitative. For example, Jesus called twelve disciples and instructed them to make disciples. He defined that not with quantifiable evangelistic goals (such as number of souls saved), but with the qualitative imperative that they team people…
Read MoreThe Choice
Today is the first day of the 2014 CLA National Conference in Dallas. The theme of this year’s conference is Kingdom Outcomes. Each year, CLA selects one book that captures the spirit of the theme. The conference book of the year for 2014 is, The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes (ECFA Press 2014) By Gary…
Read More3 Core Characteristics of Kingdom Outcomes
Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D., R. Scott Rodin, Ph.D., & Wesley K. Willmer, Ph.D. We propose that kingdom outcomes have three characteristics: Kingdom Outcomes are the Byproduct of Obedience to the Holy Spirit Kingdom outcomes are the result of submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul reminds us that it is the Spirit…
Read MoreHow Do You Define Success?
by Gary G. Hoag, Ph.D. How do you define success in your church or ministry setting? In The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes, R. Scott Rodin, Wesley K. Willmer, and I suggest that most people define success in one of two ways, and this decision charts a predictable course that sends us down…
Read More