In a culture, as Will Ferrell has famously said, “if you are not first, you’re last.” And it seems in a culture which is fueled by hyper individualism, winning in life or politics or economics or relationships or fill-in-the “blank” is a me-first concept.

But with Jesus (and the Church), winning is NOT at all costs. For Jesus, winning was not the prize. It was to lose His life to win.

How can you win by losing?

Looking for a great 2022? LOOK no further…

What ministry trends do you see in 2021? Feel free to join the DUCO conversation.

In 2004, LEGO redesigned EVERYTHING to address their declined influence around the world. Today, in 2020, LEGO is the second largest toy maker in the world and has experienced the highest level of success in their history. In reflection, here are 5 ways the Church can learn from LEGO to address decline and realize the infinite potential the Church has in our world today.

Ghosts.

We all have them.

Things that POP up every once-in-a-while that tend to reveal their ugly face.

It can be a leadership blindspot, an unaware character trait, stress behavior. We tend to see ghosts MORE often during times of crisis, pain, or hurt. In fact, ghosts can hinder leadership currency if not dealt with face on. I see it all the time.

And with that said, there are some GREAT ways to deal with the ghosts. In fact, the BEST way to deal with ghosts is found in mentoring.

This post is the 5 REASONS of WHY you need a mentor in your life and HOW to find a great mentor.

Have you ever had to take your vehicle in to get a tune-up? To get fixed? To replace a part? Of course, you have!

In fact, we get our vehicles regularly maintained to get the most out of them. WHY? So we extend the life of our vehicles.

In the same way, resilient leadership works this way. The emotional dashboard starts to beep at us, we feel the fatigue, the leadership vehicle starts to sputter AND we need a personal “tune-up”. This is an example of personal resiliency.

AND, one of the COVID leadership lesson(s) I have observed is around resiliency; personal and ministerial resiliency.

You may ask, “What is resiliency?” This post is about the signs of personal and ministerial resiliency…

Have you ever seen a student confident in their faith? It is contagious. Faith-filled. Encouraging. It is quite the experience. How does that happen?

This post is to outline the three key areas for faith to thrive in younger generations and to practically resource you to build confident faith in students.

As leaders, it is important to respond and react as needed. This includes crisis-management, relational needs, and pastoral duties. With that said, another important area of leadership is strategic action.

The ONLY way to be ahead of COVID is to be strategic. Are you?

Here are six key ways to be ahead of COVID.

COVID-19 is changing the way we will live, lead, and love. AND, we won’t know all the change COVID will create yet simply because we are still in the middle of it. With all the new normals you and I are experiencing, there will be trends beyond BEYOND C-19. Here is what I see in leadership: