Mar 17, 2025 | By Dr. Brian Simmons | Dissent, in the context of organizational leadership, is the expression or holding of opinions at variance with those held by other organizational leaders and especially the ones at the top of the organization. Effective leaders mine out, like precious gold in the organization’s veins, dissenting opinions of others with the fierce determination to ground decision-making on the bedrock of ideation. These leaders refuse the mistaken and proud notion that they always know what is best for the organizations they lead. Disloyalty, on the other hand, defines a traitor and his/her treacherous, dangerous or deceptive acts in opposition to the mission, belief statements and core values of the organizations they help lead.

Mar 12, 2025 | By Andrea Capuyan | Stewards are those who have been given a trust. That’s why a synonym for a board member is a trustee! So, all board members are steward leaders! There are the faithful and the other kind! What are the primary responsibilities of board members? Board members of organizations have three responsibilities: fiduciary, strategic and generative. At the end of the day, it is board members who are ultimately responsible for the finances of the organizations they lead. Not the CEO, not the President but board members!

Mar 10, 2025 | By Dr. Brian Simmons | Stewards are those who have been given a trust. That’s why a synonym for a board member is a trustee! So, all board members are steward leaders! There are the faithful and the other kind! What are the primary responsibilities of board members? Board members of organizations have three responsibilities: fiduciary, strategic and generative. At the end of the day, it is board members who are ultimately responsible for the finances of the organizations they lead. Not the CEO, not the President but board members!

Feb 12, 2025 | By Dr. Scott Rodin | Max Dupree said famously, “The first job of a leader is to define reality.” Yet in an age of the dehumanizing effects of social media, propagandized news, politicization of almost every facet of our society and the rise of A.I., how do we know for certain what is real? Add to this the sense of a loss of control we feel over most areas of life and work, and it is a challenging time for Christian leaders seeking to cast clear vision and mobilize people to move confidently into a chaotic future. We all believe God is in control, at least we like to use the line to calm our doubts. But what does that mean? Do we see a world being controlled by a loving, guiding hand? Or do we see a world careening toward catastrophe? Do we experience love and grace abounding or do we feel the anger, vitriol, and vileness of an increasingly godless global culture?

Jan 28, 2025 | By Dr. Brian Simmons | To give someone their due is to give what justice demands. Simply put, it is to treat someone fairly. Steward leaders love and serve God by living and serving others. "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God". (Micah 6:8) Due process is crucial to effective organizations because it ensures fairness, transparency, and consistency in decision-making. By providing clear procedures for handling disputes, grievances, and disciplinary actions, due process helps protect employees' rights, fosters trust, and mitigates the risk of legal challenges. Employers and employees are commanded to love and unity by God especially in the context of Christian organizations. Without due process, organizational leaders are not held accountable for sinful actions affecting those they lead. They should not be allowed to do whatever they want with no communication and no oversight. Without due process, individuals within an organization are treated unjustly, leading to a negative and unproductive work environment...

Jan 21, 2025 | By Dr. Scott Rodin | To borrow an idiom from Cervantes’s Don Quixote, I am going to ‘tilt at a windmill’. I want to challenge us to reconsider how we interpret and use a familiar and favorite scripture. There is a phrase recorded in both Matthew 25 and Luke 19 that is a favorite of motivational speakers, leadership trainers, and spiritual guides. I’ve heard it referenced countless times at conferences, trainings, and sermons. It has risen to the ranks of scriptural superlative nearly unparalleled in the rest of the Bible. The verse comes from Jesus’ parable of the talents. He commends the two stewards who invested wisely what he had left them and returned a doubling of the principal. Jesus says that the owner commends them with the words, “well done, good and faithful servant.” It seems their good stewardship is applauded and rewarded by the one who entrusted them with something that was not their own.

Jan 7, 2025 | By Dr. Scott Rodin | Last week I shared with you a 2025 vision and challenge to embark on the journey to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ than you have ever experienced. Jesus has so much more for us than we would ever dare ask or even dream of. Now a week on, I am sobered with the reality of the powerful force that will keep us from experiencing this abundant life. It is, in a word, fear. The deeper walk with Jesus is not for the faint of heart. Scripture, the Saints of the church and the Holy Spirit all testify that the first steps on this deeper journey will take us across terrain we have been reluctant to cross. These are not steps that bring comfort dressed up in the counterfeit reassurance of growth without cost or progress without pain. It is truly new territory.

Jan 1, 2025 | By Dr. Scott Rodin | In February 1974, I made the decision to follow Jesus. I did not choose Him that day, He chose me. For 51 years I have been a Christian. For the majority of those years, I have tried to follow Jesus. However, it is only in the last two years that I have begun to understand what that really means. This realization brings both joy and sadness. The joy of being on a deeper journey with Jesus is inexpressible. The sadness of lost years meandering through a maze of relational mediocrity is profoundly sad...