Following a Tough Call
March 31, 2007 |
Do you have a passion that burns deep in your core? A drive like a pile of red, hot, fiery coals that you just can’t contain? I don’t mean a strong desire to go shopping or an intense craving for chocolate. I’m talking about a passion to make a difference, to change the world, to impact a life, to fight for a cause. Do you feel that kind of drive?
If so, what are you doing to set it free? Or do you feel you have you waited too long—stifling your passion to raise kids or climb a career ladder?
Continue reading...Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 31, 2007 | Comments (8)
Developing a Vision When You're Not a Visionary (Part 2)
March 28, 2007 |
In my previous post, I listed three ways to develop a vision when you’re not a visionary. Here are three more:
4. Listen to the people you want to help. You don’t have to be great at coming up with vision, if you’re willing to listen to the people you want to help. If you listen well, people will tell you what they really need. In other words, the people you want to serve help set your vision.
Continue reading...Posted by Kevin Miller on March 28, 2007 | Comments (3)
Recalibrate Your Life
March 26, 2007 |
Each spring, I can’t help thinking about a fresh start. In his book, Heart Shift, John Trent retells his conversation with a NASA engineer about tolerances in the trajectories of rockets headed for the moon. The engineer said, “Be just two degrees off from when you blast off, and roughly taking into account the time and distance traveled,…and you’ll miss not only your point of orbital entry, but you’ll miss the moon by a measly 11,121 miles.”
Somehow, in the course of a year, it seems those two degree shifts happen in my life, and I find myself somewhere I didn’t intend to be. It seems a good time to “recalibrate” both as a leader and as a follower of Christ.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 26, 2007 | Comments (5)
Work Is a Sacred Trust
March 22, 2007 |
The summer I was 15, I locked myself in the bathroom. Not for the typical reasons. There was no fight with my parents or disappointing love interest. I wasn’t trying to hide tears or cool down a temper. I had just received my first paycheck.
It wasn’t just the paycheck I loved. That was just symbolic. It was work I loved. I loved the feeling of doing something that mattered, something that helped other people, something that I could accomplish.
Growing up, I awoke each morning to the smell of coffee and the sight of my dad in his crisp white shirt and tie, sitting at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. His aftershave gently filled the room and there was a sense of anticipation in him as he readied to start the work day. My dad loved what he did, and he was good at it. That was a dynamic combination.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 22, 2007 | Comments (20)
Developing a Vision When You're Not a Visionary (Part 1)
March 20, 2007 |
My wife, Karen, and I are both in leadership at our church. So dinner-table discussions often come back to how to help other Christians step into leadership. Volunteers tell us, “I might be willing to facilitate, but I’m not sure I’m a leader.” People don’t consider themselves leaders, because when they say leader, they think of only one type: a strong, visionary leader. And they know they’re not that.
But you don’t have to be a visionary to lead well. We’ve found we can help people move forward as leaders when we say to them, “You can develop a vision even if you’re not a visionary.” Here are six ways that mortals like us can see where a group needs to go:
Continue reading...Posted by Kevin Miller on March 20, 2007 | Comments (9)
Picture-Perfect Leadership
March 16, 2007 |
A leader’s life can be lonely. Whether we get paid to lead or not, our role as influencers sets us apart. For better or worse, there is a distance between us and those we supervise. And it is a gap that can dictate everything from our circle of friends, whether or not we seek marital counseling in the same town, to a higher (maybe even impossible) standard of behavior for our children.
Some would challenge the idea that leaders have to be “other.” They ask, “Aren’t the best leaders those who lead out of their ordinary lives?” Citing the Mother Teresas and Gandhis of the world, they argue that the strongest influence is primarily by example. When leaders can be exactly who they are, that’s their power.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 16, 2007 | Comments (14)
Meet Me at Synergy 2007
March 14, 2007 |
For those of you who have not heard about the Synergy conference, here's who they are:
"Synergy is a growing network of women who are preparing for and serving in vocational Christian ministry who exchange ideas and encourage one another to lead well for the advancement of God's kingdom."
This year's event will be in Orlando, April 13-15. I'm planning to be there, and I know many of you are in vocational ministry and may enjoy this event as well.
If you're going to be there, I would love to meet you. Post a comment with your e-mail address, and I'll get in touch with you. Also, I plan to blog from the event, so be sure to check in April 13-15 to hear about it.
For more information, visit the Synergy 2007 site.
Posted by Amy Simpson on March 14, 2007 | Comments (5)
Leading with One Voice
March 12, 2007 |
Back in 2004, I found myself in a remarkable place: sitting with a group of doctors in the government offices of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on an AIDS fact-finding trip. As a stay-at-home mom of three, this was not my usual stomping ground.
But several years ago Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2, came through the Midwest on his Heart of America Tour. While it was Bono’s star power that drew me that night, it was the presentation on the ravishing effects of extreme poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS that changed my life.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 12, 2007 | Comments (6)
Healed to Lead
March 9, 2007 |
As I sifted through a new stack of mail the other afternoon, a cover blurb on the latest copy of my denomination’s magazine, The Banner¸ caught my eye. While the words Healed to Lead weren’t compelling enough to make me turn to the article immediately (sorry, Banner editors!), the words intrigued me as a concept. In the midst of the million little tasks that occupied the rest of that day, I kept thinking, How have I been healed to lead?
I thought about the things from which I’d been healed: all those migraines, that horrible bout with mono in college, the broken nose, and, eck, those episiotomies! I had experienced plenty of ailments or injuries that God had mercifully healed, but had anything made me a better leader?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 9, 2007 | Comments (20)
Tell Us Who You Are!
March 9, 2007 |
Gifted Women:
We'd like to get to know you.
Gifted for Leadership has posted an online survey that will help us get to know you and your needs better so we can serve you more effectively. If you take our brief, 11-question survey, we'll thank you by giving you a coupon for $15 worth of downloadable resources at TodaysChristianWomanStore.com, available for use until April 1, 2007.
Click here to complete the survey.
Thank you!
Posted by Amy Simpson on March 9, 2007 | Comments (11)
3 Temptations of Leadership, Part 1
March 6, 2007 |
About 12 years ago, when my husband was in seminary, he read Henri Nouwen’s book In the Name of Jesus for one of his classes. This book dramatically affected my husband, and he encouraged me to read it. So I did, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
This little book (one of Nouwen’s many) presents a powerful summary of what it means to be servant leaders. Nouwen used the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) as a framework to show how we as leaders are tempted—and how we must embrace Christ’s attitude of humility and service to others.
Continue reading...Posted by Amy Simpson on March 6, 2007 | Comments (25)
Leading Our Children, Part 2
March 2, 2007 |
As I mentioned in my previous post, women are bombarded with many models of parenting. Now let me tell you more about the “mommy tracks” I’ve been on, and what I’ve learned about leading my children.
The complexity of my own situation as a parent astounds me. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom, an outdoor-photographer mom, a work-from-home-worship-leader-mom, a self-employed-traveling-and-speaking mom, a married mom, a single mom. I’ve started three businesses while my children were still at home, and transitioned in and out of several careers. Funny how there wasn’t a manual for what I ended up doing. If there had been, the chapter titles alone would have terrified me.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 2, 2007 | Comments (10)
Help for a Woman in Ministry
March 1, 2007 |
Gifted Women:
This morning I spoke with Donna, a church administrator and gifted leader, about a struggle she's facing. God has given her a passion for helping her church develop stronger leaders and mobilize them for ministry. She has taken the initiative to read, attend training workshops, and spend countless hours thinking about what her church might do to elevate its ministry. She has translated her passion and her knowledge into a compelling vision, which she shared with her pastor. The pastor embraced her vision and gave her license to present the vision to the church elders and lay leaders. The church was excited about the vision and the plan. About a month later, the trouble started.
Continue reading...Posted by Amy Simpson on March 1, 2007 | Comments (41)
