Angie Ward

Several weeks ago, I attended a conference based on the book Simple Church by Eric Geiger and Thom Rainer (Broadman and Holman, 2006). More than 400 ministry leaders from around my state packed the room, diligently taking notes. Their anticipation as the day began was palpable.

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Approaching our graduation from seminary, my husband and I took the pastor of our church to lunch and asked if he had any advice as we prepared to start our ministry journey. He responded without hesitation, "Don't be a ladder climber."

In several earlier columns, I pointed out the three legs of trust: character, competence, and communication. All three are necessary to gain and maintain credibility as a ministry leader. But of the three, communication often seems to be the least recognized as a component of…

In earlier columns, I've suggested that trust in a leader rests on three legs: character, competence, and communication. Inner character is the cornerstone of this trust and must be uncompromised, while communication is a more subtle ingredient of credibility. In between these two rests competence.

Ministry leaders would agree in principle that character is important. Yet in reality, many leaders and organizational systems allow the other legs of trust, competence and communication, to stand in for character. But while doing so may result in short-term success, eventually an individual's true…

Tom's situation is not unique. In my work with churches and ministry leaders, I have frequently discovered an underlying current of mistrust within the organization, a current that subtly but surely erodes a church's foundation. Trust is critical...

Throughout my years as a ministry leader, I've had the opportunity to enlist dozens of volunteers for the Kingdom's work through my church. And every time—whether it's a prospective youth volunteer, small-group facilitator, or clean-up crew member—I hear the same response: "But I'm not a…

Yet Steve hesitates to call himself a leader. Why? To Steve, a "leader" is a lone ranger, an outspoken general who calls the shots from an insular position at the top of an organizational hierarchy. Instead, Steve would prefer to call himself an "influencer."