Confident Living
May 30, 2007 |
An excerpt from Leading with Confidence, a downloadable resource from GiftedForLeadership.com:
Paul’s entire reason for confidence is rooted in the character of God himself—not what Paul did or didn’t see going on around him. He’s absolutely certain of one thing: God is in control. Period.
This, of course, is a great mystery to us. How does God take into account Satan’s fierce, evil opposition, along with the free will he gave humans, and still promise he can work everything together for good?
I have no idea. God never promises I’ll understand him, but he does ask me to trust him. Believing that God is sovereign is vital for confident living. We know from all his writings that Paul trusted not only that God is sovereign, but also that his character is faithful and good (1 Thessalonians 5:24). It’s critical for Christians to believe this, too. Why?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 30, 2007 | Comments (4)
Famished for God
May 28, 2007 |
Elizabeth Gilbert, a regular columnist for GQ magazine, has written a new book—
Eat, Play, Love—that traces the spiritual quest of a modern, educated, well-employed American. When I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. As a woman, a Christian, and an anthropologist, I recommend it.
Like Liz, a lot of our friends and colleagues want a richer spiritual experience, but they aren’t looking for it in the church. It’s in the ashram that Liz feels that she grows spiritually. By the end of her stay (1) she forgives her ex-husband (and herself), (2) she learns to enjoy her own company, and (3) she experiences spiritual power and a brief blissful “union” with all that exists.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 28, 2007 | Comments (4)
Marriage vs. Ministry?
May 25, 2007 |
When I went into full-time ministry, I feared my children would resent church if I gave too much time or energy to it. I had stayed home for 11 years and when my youngest son Trent was in kindergarten, I decided to move into vocational ministry. I began a leadership role at Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago. It was a challenging transition, but surprisingly, the person who took the greatest hit was my husband. To make sure my kids were not affected by my work, I made sure my schedule was flexible and that I could drop them off and pick them up from school. Also, if they were sick or out of school, I worked from home. Each day, I would help with the homework, make them a snack, cook dinner, and then set out the clothes for the next morning. I was exhausted but the kids seemed happy.
Now if you asked my husband about those early years of ministry, he may have painted a different picture.
Continue reading...Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 25, 2007 | Comments (28)
Have You Seen TodaysChristianWoman.com Lately?
May 23, 2007 |
If you haven't been to TodaysChristianWoman.com in a while, you might want to check it out. The website has a fresh, new look. It also has a lot of new features, including blogs, downloadable guides, tons of articles, and an online neighborhood just for Christian women (launching soon).
I'm impressed with this new site. It's going to inspire and encourage many women. You might like it too!
Posted by Amy Simpson on May 23, 2007 | Comments (9)
Knowing Who God Is
May 22, 2007 |
When God chose to speak to Moses out of the burning bush, it was for a specific purpose. He had a plan for Moses’ life, and he was about to tell Moses exactly how to start carrying it out. Once Moses had properly positioned himself to hear from God, the Lord spoke: “I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:10).
Whoa!
Moses had hid his face—now he wanted to hide the rest of his body! Though he had made the proper response to God’s glory, he blew it when it came to obedience. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” he asked God.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 22, 2007 | Comments (8)
Reading List
May 22, 2007 |
Dive into the following books to see what others have contributed to the ongoing discussion on women in leadership. Whether you agree with the authors' perspectives or not, these reads are guaranteed to incite thoughtful discussion on topics like women's ministry, gender and identity, spiritual growth, and motherhood. We hope you will walk away challenged to grow in your own area of leadership.
The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization, by John C. Maxwell (Thomas Nelson, 2005)
Are Women Human? Astute and Witty Essays on the Role of Women in Society, by Dorothy L. Sayers (W.B. Eerdmans, 2005)
The Best Christian Writing 2006, edited by John Wilson (John Wiley & Sons, 2005)
By Design: God’s Distinctive Calling for Women, by Susan Hunt (Crossway Books, 1998)
Posted by Rachel Willoughby on May 22, 2007
A Leadership Check-Up
May 18, 2007 |
There are many ways to think about leadership: having a clear vision of what needs to be done. Acting authoritatively. Establishing a clear-cut strategy. Setting the right course and charging ahead (you hope with followers in tow!).
After reading the book, Finding Our Way: Leadership in Uncertain Times by Margaret Wheatley, I was impressed by her alternative set of leadership practices. While she did emphasize something that sounded like vision, she described it as, “Helping people know who they are.” And while she spoke of strategy, it was more about giving people the freedom to collaborate a future together instead of being handed a game-plan from on-high.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 18, 2007 | Comments (5)
Food for Thought
May 17, 2007 |
In “Women and the Church,” a new downloadable resource from GiftedForLeadership.com, Jill Briscoe shares this:
“I accept headship as a biblical concept. I also accept equality as another biblical concept. And just as I cannot bring predestination and free will together, I cannot bring headship and equality together, but I embrace them both. And sometimes I model submission to my husband as head, and sometimes I model equality with my husband. Just as sometimes, if I'm in trouble, I'm a Calvinist. And if I'm talking to someone on the plane, I'm an Arminian, because I'm going to lead him to Christ, and I believe he's got a free will. At that moment, I cannot reconcile both predestination and free will. And so my husband, in his headship, makes sure I'm equal, but it's no less headship for that.”
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 17, 2007 | Comments (18)
Leading with Low Expectations
May 14, 2007 |
A few weeks ago, I caught a segment on one of the morning news shows in which they featured the happiest country in the world, according to some new study. The country? Denmark. The reason? It is a country of low expectations. No lie. That was the reason given. Happy-enough looking Danes were interviewed and offered their support for this claim. They didn’t really dream big and thus were never disappointed, most said. Voila! Happy!
As a red-blooded American raised firmly on the Puritan Work Ethic and the notion of having great expectations, this jolted my sensibilities. And it still does, except for one small thing: I’ve put this notion to work a couple times, and it’s paid off nicely. While I’m not a big happiness-seeker in that I don’t generally chase whatever I fancy might make me happy (I know better than that), once I learned the Danes are the happiest and Americans tend to be among the most unhappy people on earth, I thought a little experiment couldn’t hurt.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 14, 2007 | Comments (15)
The Heart of a Servant Leader
May 11, 2007 |
“Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God.”--Ephesians 6:6 (The Message)
The heart is the very seat of our soul, our emotions, and our passions. It is the very essence of our being and that which drives our thoughts and our motives. No wonder God tells us to guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23).
The heart of a leader is the foundation of her life. It is what drives her passion for the Lord and her passion for service in the kingdom. No doubt most of us feel called to lead in a deep way from the bottom of our hearts.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 11, 2007 | Comments (14)
3 Temptations of Leadership, Part 3
May 8, 2007 |
In previous posts, I mentioned Henri Nouwen’s book In the Name of Jesus, in which Nouwen used the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) to show how we as leaders are tempted, and how we must embrace Christ’s attitude of humility and service to others.
I’ve already written about Nouwen’s descriptions of Jesus’ first second temptations: the temptation to be relevant and the temptation to be spectacular. The third temptation is this: to be powerful. Satan took Jesus to a mountaintop and tempted him to bow down and worship Satan. And in return, he promised to give Jesus power over all the kingdoms of the world.
Posted by Amy Simpson on May 8, 2007 | Comments (19)
Re-Framing the Feminine
May 4, 2007 |
Throughout history, women have created ways to bond with each other. Without a whole lot of prodding, we seem to know how to help each navigate the whitewaters of our journeys, how to mark life’s passages, large and small, how to listen, and how to simply be present. In the re-enacted rituals of female banter, we explore the intricacies of our relationships and the complexity of our life situations. At our core, we seem to understand that life is predominantly mystery. No, we will never “figure it all out.” We will never arrive at the perfect friendship, the perfect marriage, or the perfect anything. But, somehow, that is okay. What we long for is a persistent connectedness as we live the mystery.
But there’s a flip side to female bonding. Let’s admit it. For some of us, connections with other women don’t come as easily as we’d like. We may want to have more women friends, but we’ve worked long and hard developing certain strengths and we don’t want to have to check them at the door. And maybe when we imagine “feminine” bonding, we see “Kleenex retreats” with pink decorations, crafts, and make-up tips.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 4, 2007 | Comments (34)
Redeeming the Passion Within
May 1, 2007 |
My soul felt trapped. Trapped in a life that should have brought peace and contentment, but instead brought anguish, depression, and unfulfillment. There was a passion burning inside me that I could not contain, but neither could I release. God kept stoking my internal fire by fueling two deep convictions: 1) our just God abhors the injustices of poverty and racial/cultural discrimination, and 2) as a follower of Christ, I am called, commanded, and expected to do something about those injustices.
Today, my soul knows freedom, and I am blessed to have a career at Community Christian Church that allows me to unleash my passion every day. But that journey of redemption was not a quick or easy one.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 1, 2007 | Comments (12)
