By: Michael Badriaki on October 9, 2014
The journey of biblical faith has gone through numerous evolutionary stages justificatory through Church history and its different epochs. From New Testament Judaism to Constantine’ Christianity, Western Christendom, southern Christendom; and what some would arguably term a post Christian era particularly in Europe and America. Miller and Yamamori’s book Global Pentecostalism: The New Face…
By: Liz Linssen on October 9, 2014
Reading Global Pentecostalism was a ‘coming home’ experience for me. I do confess, just as when Miller and Yamamori started their research, I too have held negative preconceived ideas about Pentecostals, as being too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good, and as adherents of that dodgy Health and Wealth theology. Where I got…
By: Bill Dobrenen on October 9, 2014
“The older one is, the wiser one becomes.” Is this quote a truth or is it an assumption? It all depends on the person and the context. It is true that, oftentimes, an older person is wiser than a younger person. But it is not always true. And if I assume it is always true,…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on October 9, 2014
In Ethiopia, Protestant churches are the next largest to Orthodox churches. Protestant Christianity is often associated with western mission aids because the people who introduced Protestant Christianity were from the western countries. Although there are some churches in Ethiopia who have partner churches in the west who support their urban and rural integrated ministries, the…
By: Deve Persad on October 9, 2014
“The attraction of Christianity is not simply the promise of a passport to heaven, where they (the middle class) can escape the travails of this world; rather, they are reexamining the life of Jesus and seeing that his teaching was often manifested in his healing ministry and compassion for the poor, prostitutes, and children.” (Loc.…
By: Len Hjalmarson on September 25, 2014
Its been great fun to meet so many of you at Capetown! Many great conversations, often filled with threads that I know will be woven into a greater fabric over this three year period. Each of you adds color and life and helps to create that tapestry. This morning at breakfast I had two conversations…
By: Miriam Mendez on September 20, 2014
In reading Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t” I was struck by Jim Collins’ answer when asked what motivated him to take on huge projects. His answer was, “curiosity.” “There is nothing I find more exciting than picking a question that I don’t know the answer to and embarking…
By: Richard Volzke on September 20, 2014
Like the business and government sector, the church needs to embrace the dogma of greatness. One of my passions is to help churches or Christian organizations implement best practice business standards. I have found that many pastors, church leaders, and local church boards have minimal business knowledge. This lack of training has lead to legal…
By: Michael Badriaki on September 19, 2014
Jim Collins’s book Good to Great was a fun and educational read. Collins starts out with an admonition about the fact that “good is the enemy of great.”[1] This can be an energizing and convicting proposition for people who have already arrived at a good bottom-line in business and are in position to became a…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on September 19, 2014
Jim Collins, the author, of Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Why Business Thinking is Not The Answer, eloquently articulates why some companies become great and others do not. He details timeless principles usefully in any ministry context. Collins begins by pointing out what distinguishes good from great companies. He says that having…
By: rhbaker275 on September 19, 2014
Leadership and greatness are generally linked together. The significance is the way we define the terms and the concepts or ideology that undergirds our understanding of great leadership. What is greatness? An academic dictionary states it is “the quality of being great, distinguished, or eminent,”[1] which it turns out is only a tranche of meaning…
By: Bill Dobrenen on September 19, 2014
Almost exactly a year ago, I took a trip to Kiev, Ukraine. I went there to begin my research on an organization that taught “ServantLeadership” curriculum in several international universities. My mission was to discover how the teaching of the curriculum was impacting the university and the community around the school. The training had been…
By: Clint Baldwin on September 19, 2014
Jim Collins’ Good To Great book has quickly become a classic…and for good reason. In this work, Collins coalesces ideas that have been floating around for a long time and places them into a narrative that is graspable and implementable. Collins offers 6 major concepts in his text organized under three general categories. First he…
By: Julie Dodge on September 19, 2014
People often describe resilience as the ability to bounce back after hardship. I disagree. Resilience is made evident in the bounce back, but it is hardly formed in the bounce back. In order for a ball to bounce, it already has to be inflated. And how is the resilience ball inflated? Resilience is the convergence…
By: Carol McLaughlin on September 19, 2014
Some years ago I worked as a program coordinator with at risk youth for a public school district. I purchased Jim Collins book, Good to Great not because it was something I was required to do, but because I wanted to learn. The School District Superintendent at the time had chosen this book and the…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on September 19, 2014
Elegant, streamline, sophisticated, yet beautiful in simplicity with such creativity and realism that it transports you to a place of hopeful expectations of great things. No, it is not a visual piece of art work such that David Morgan or William A. Dyrness would write about, but no less compelling in its craftsmanship and design.…
By: Ashley Goad on September 19, 2014
Reading Jim Collins’ best-seller, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t, sent me down the path of memory lane. I have never worked in the business or secular world (unless you count those summer jobs at golf courses and hotels!). My work has centered in ministry and non-profits. I started…
By: Liz Linssen on September 18, 2014
Collins’ Good to Great is perhaps the most helpful book I’ve read on this course to date. These books are not merely philosophical or theoretical, but full of proven principles and examples that hopefully will enable me to function better in my role. As Collins explains, it’s not a question of excellent principles that can…
By: Deve Persad on September 18, 2014
How do you define greatness? The definitions surely abound; most of those definitions would point toward outcomes, performance and goals achieved or surpassed. Many of them would draw comparisons against the weaknesses or deficiencies of others. Greatness, in our starry-eyed culture, is also measured in both beauty, exemplified in power, and often in profit. Churches…
By: John Woodward on September 18, 2014
I cannot read a business book without automatically applying its lessons to my church or ministry, because I have never worked in the business world. My initial response tends to be negative, as my mindset is: “What does Wall Street have to do with Jerusalem?” So I began reading Good To Great by Jim Collins…
