Leading from Within

Most of the article is derived from a talk prepared and delivered to Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child Int’l global leaders earlier this year.You’ll be glad to know I feel immensely qualified to write on servant leadership as I have my doctorate in servant...

Leverage comes from the word “lever”. One of six simple machines, a lever creates more force permitting us to move big rocks or open stuck doors. Similarly, High Impact volunteers can multiply force in any ministry. Let’s explore four ways:

  I'm apprehensive; what will this church be like? Parking lot volunteers and greeters give a glance and offer, "Good morning, welcome to 1st Christian." Each week, the same people perform their duty faithfully. Yet, why is it that I feel unwelcome and...

With many restrictions lifted, volunteers are beginning to return. As a Christian leader, what should you expect? And how should you deal with it?

1). Expect a mad breakout! Air traffic increased by 500% on Memorial Day weekend. There is a mad rush to travel, to take a break. Picture a wild crowd crashing a Beatles’ concert or fans flooding a stadium for a big football game. Volunteers have been isolated, locked up for over a year. It’s time for a breakout!! Who can blame them?

At least in the US, volunteer activity follows a cycle. January 10-to May 15 represents a highly active period, when volunteers make progress, stay in touch, and are more available. Traditionally volunteer response wanes from May 15-August 15 as holidays, vacations, weddings, and graduations take place. However, this year expect that response time to slacken much more. Don’t be surprised if normally faithful volunteers don’t even respond. That is not a sign of disinterest in your mission, but an indicator of a volunteer’s need for personal restoration.

What can I do? Lowering expectations and extending considerable

An unexpected day off affords me the opportunity to catch up on things I’ve neglected, cross off overdue items on my to-do list, or do some real strategic thinking. COVID-19 has opened up far more than a day. We along with our volunteers may be trying to replace...

Question: Our church has an unwritten rule that we don't recognize volunteers because it is flattery. That doesn't "feel" right, but how do I distinguish between flattery and recognition? Answer: On the surface it may be difficult to differentiate between flattery and...

by Al Newell "Begging” for volunteers makes long term recruiting worse. Desperate pleas create diminishing returns, dulling the ears of prospects. Worse yet, “begging” cheapens the value of the ministry position itself. Consider a dad of a teenage girl placing a sign...

Why Leaders of Volunteers must master the skill of conflict resolution with volunteers? If you’re a leader of volunteers, you’re going to experience conflict. That’s why at the Executive Course in Volunteer Ministry Development one of the subjects we address is dealing with volunteer conflict.

Deathblow #1: Transactional volunteer programming replaces transformational ministry. Transformational volunteer ministries bleed the cause of the ministry, emphasize the connection to the gospel and experience changed lives. They are more concerned with the calling...

Golf great Ben Hogan said that when a person stands over a golf ball, every natural inclination is wrong. For instance, I once swung so hard that the ball lifted two inches straight up and plopped back down in a fresh, deep divot. Lifting my eyes too quickly and bending my knees were just a few of my instinctive tendencies that were all wrong.