By: Jennifer Eckert on February 6, 2025
“To each, there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fit for their talents…” – Winston Churchill, the Finest Hour speech, August 20, 1940 Several years ago, I had the chance to visit…
By: Robert Radcliff on February 6, 2025
I remember learning about the Hero’s Journey in elementary school. Part of it stuck: We learned that heroes go through the stages of leaving, trial, success, and returning home. As an elementary student, I got an elementary version of the Hero’s journey. This week, I read the origins of that knowledge from elementary school –…
By: Christy on February 5, 2025
“That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it…
By: Diane Tuttle on February 4, 2025
Have you ever done a jigsaw puzzle with 1500 to 2000 pieces? It seems to take forever and in the midst of it I wonder if it will ever be finished. Pieces are all over a table and everything is disjointed. Then suddenly, the pieces start to fall into place. The picture becomes clearer and…
By: Rich on February 4, 2025
The reading for the week is Hero of a Thousand Faces.[1] Joseph Campbell details his insights in finding a common pattern throughout the heroic stories of myths, legends, and religious writings. As he defined the formula of the monomyth, Departure—Initiation—Return, I found myself reading along with examples from contemporary works, whether Lucy blundering through the…
By: Adam Cheney on February 4, 2025
I try to live each day as authentic as possible. I try to be the same person whether I am at home, at church with my Christian friends, or engaging my Islamic immigrant friends. Whatever the audience, I try to point people to Jesus. However, it is living in authenticity that can become so challenging.…
By: Glyn Barrett on February 4, 2025
Despite the vast array of books, papers, research, and training programs, the fact that “finding an all-embracing definition of leadership remains elusive”[1] is both a concern and exciting. Firstly, it is concerning because if it is true that we are yet to grasp an effective understanding of what effective leadership is, it brings clarity as…
By: Shela Sullivan on February 3, 2025
What is this book about? “Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories” by Annabel Bereel provides a comprehensive critique of traditional leadership theories and offers insights into more effective leadership practices.[1] The book highlights the limitations of conventional models, such as trait theory, transactional leadership, and transformational leadership, and argues that these approaches oversimplify the…
By: Ryan Thorson on February 3, 2025
What does it take to lead well through change and crisis? What sorts of tools does a leader need in their tool belt when facing the tumultuous world in front of us today? Annabel Beerel’s text on various leadership theories, their values, and limits, was insightful and helpful. The clear and easy layout of the…
By: Jeff Styer on February 3, 2025
While reading Annabel Beerel’s, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories there were many ideas that came to mind to focus on for this post[1]. Bereel has a chapter on neuroscience, a topic I love, and how it relates to leadership, she references Daniel Kahneman and David Rock whose books we have read.[2] In her…
By: Noel Liemam on February 2, 2025
“When it comes to strong leadership, I think about strength of character, body, and mind. Strong leaders also have clear vision, direction, and purpose. Purpose is huge: Why you work matters, not just to you, but to others in the organization or institution.” [1] David Nicholl response to Hutchinson Karise as he was asked about…
By: Mathews Manaloor on February 2, 2025
I feel this is again one of those books that would come under the category of action poetry [1]. In the Christian circles this would be quite transformational and adding coaching to leadership must have been a radical idea for the time it was written. It looks at leadership with a fresh lens. We have…
By: Judith McCartney on February 1, 2025
A Baby Blessing Threshold We ran a wonderful ministry in the projects of Toronto. We called it ‘The Drop In.’ The Drop-In was a basketball drop-in at our local church on Monday nights. I had a group of 10 volunteers from that local church that would run this exciting program. Young men and their girlfriends…
By: Judith McCartney on February 1, 2025
Leaders are Readers! (apologies to my peers. I am catching up on my blog posts. This is For HOW TO READ A BOOK) A leader is many things, but a leader demonstrates that they are life-long learners. Being a life-long learner provides those we lead and work alongside with resources that can have a greater…
By: Christian Swails on January 31, 2025
In a spiritual direction session, the only posture that allows me to remain open to the Spirit and the person seeking direction is a posture of love, a visceral ‘willing the good’ toward the person in front of me. That may sound obvious, but for a chronic self-preservationist like myself, it is one of the…
By: Daren Jaime on January 31, 2025
In a world marked by uncertainty, division, and rapid change, and societal turbulence, the need for strong, principled leadership has never been greater. People are searching for leaders who inspire trust, uphold integrity, and can bring clarity in times of confusion. A claim that Karise Hutchinson echoes in her writing Illuminaire, people want leaders who…
By: Ivan Ostrovsky on January 30, 2025
For most of my life, I was a people-pleaser. It was hard for me to say “no” to others. I wanted to be liked and hoped that everyone around me would view me positively. As a freshman at Pacific Union College in California, I found this school to be much larger than the high school…
By: Chad Warren on January 30, 2025
In today’s fast-paced world, we are often told to push forward, strive for progress, and never settle. The mantra, “Winning in the Margins,” embodies the sentiment to use every available opportunity in our lives to advance and succeed. However, the drive for success can lead us to overwork, overload, and overlook one crucial element—margin. But…
By: Jess Bashioum on January 30, 2025
It has been uncanny how many areas of my life have been overlapping. The concepts from Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders Through Coaching[1] have been contemplated on in both my work and my personal life. Therefore, I will be talking a whole lot about myself more than I normally feel comfortable with. I work for…
By: Judith McCartney on January 30, 2025
This IS GOLD! I was all bright eyed and bushy tailed as an 18-year-old that just entered bible college. I had such aspirational dreams of being a missionary in Indonesia. I did not find myself in my family’s place of origin Papua, New Guinea rather I found myself in the urban setting of Toronto. While studying…
