Fall 2014
The theme for Fall 2014 is “Spiritual Leadership.”
Facing the truth as leaders
“If ‘the joy of the Lord is your presence,’then please inform your face!”
Ellie Lofaro’s words resonated deeply with me as I listened to her keynote speech at the 2013 Christian Leadership Alliance national conference. It raises a question for me and for you: Do we lead with joy?
Leadership is hard work. Long hours, disappointing results, difficult decisions and unseen obstacles are ...
Looking beneath the tiles
What went wrong? What did I miss?” These questions hit me like a slap to the face. I had discovered that a ministry leader I supervised and coached was involved in an affair, numerous sexual exploits and drugs. His moral failure caused me to question our leader development efforts.
Was there a flaw in our selection process? Was there something inherent in our organizational culture that made leaders more susceptible to ...
Francis Chan shares his heart for today's leaders
In April 2014, Pastor Francis Chan addressed Christian leaders assembled for the Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) national conference in Dallas (CLA Dallas 2014).
Prior to going on stage to address attendees, Francis Chan sat down with CLA President and CEO Tami Heim for a CLA Talk video interview. This interview has also aired on the new CLATV (CLATV.org). We’re sharing an excerpt of thei...
Three key truths for spiritual leaders
the summer following third grade, I was invited to go to a two-week camp. The promise of tennis lessons, games, Bible studies, campfires and s’mores sounded wonderful. The “cost” for camp was memorizing 300 Bible verses by school year’s end. I completed the assignment! When it was time to leave for camp, I suddenly recalled that I had never been away from home and that no one else in my class was goi...
You can't lead well without it.
“As the leadership goes, so goes the organization. And, more importantly, as the soul of the leader goes, so goes the leader.” This has been the mantra at Leadership Transformations since the day we opened our doors in July 2003.
Churches and Christian ministries are filled with leadership teams that spend nearly 100 percent of their time talking about everything but the care of the soul. It’s far ...
The secret of lasting fruit
I love the verdant scene painted in Psalm 1:1-3. It portrays a vibrant, fruitful tree with leaves that don’t wither amidst heat or drought. The scene is especially poignant when one considers the arid desert-like landscape of Israel. Just imagine the wonder of seeing that flourishing fruit tree in the midst of such dryness.
The prophet Jeremiah similarly captured the importance of being rooted deeply in God: &ldqu...
Leading from the inside -- out
In his classic book Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (HarperSanFrancisco, 3rd edition, 2002), author Richard J. Foster describes three categories of spiritual disciplines that influence our growth in Christlike character:
• Inward: meditation, prayer, fasting and Bible study
• Outward: simplicity, solitude, submission and service
...Leading by boldly depending on God
Back in the mid-90s, my husband Steve and I prayed that God would use us in some way. We had busy and satisfying careers, but were restless. We didn’t want to waste the rest of our lives. Looking back I can see God was changing our hearts.
Over time it became clear that he was leading us to adopt a child, an idea that terrified me, but not Steve! I wasn’t ready to fearlessly move ahead, but God spoke:
...Joni Eareckson Tada on leading through our weaknesses
CLA president and CEO Tami Heim recently spoke with Joni Eareckson Tada, an international advocate for people with disabilities, and founder and CEO of the Joni and Friends International Disability Center.
A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then 17, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair. After two years of rehabilitation, she emerged with new skills and a fresh determination to help othe...
Spiritual leadership as modeled by Jesus
During the 2014 Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) National Conference The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes (ECFAPress, 2014) by Dr. Gary G. Hoag, Dr. R. Scott Rodin and Dr. Wesley K. Willmer was named as CLA’s featured book selection. It includes a chapter entitled “Following Christ: Ten Marks of Christ-Centered Ministry” and the first mark “Submission to the Father” ...