There is a debate occurring in American evangelicalism about the future of Christianity and what form the church should take within our culture. But is it possible that these divergent philosophies of ministry actually originated from the same source?

As church leaders, we are often desperate to fill the gaps in ministry. We often feel discouraged by a lack of "buy-in" or enthusiasm. We see so much that can and should be done, and we feel alone in our efforts. Then we meet someone…

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.