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:....::::..::::...every member a minister every leader a servant

I firmly believe that every person who claims to be part of God's family is a minister (servant) and that every person is a priest, fully capable of coming to God for themselves.  I believe that the whole community of faith, not just the Pastoral Staff, have been given the privilege and responsibility of living, sharing and expressing the good news of God's redeeming love.  Therefore, we need to give great emphasis to developing all people to serve in their areas of spiritual giftedness, passions, abilities, personality, experience and desires.  We need to desire to train and guide people in serve to the community of faith, and to God.

>> Our desire needs to be for all people to find their God given "DNA" (what makes them, them) and equip them to use these gifts and release them for service in the community of faith.

>> Our desire needs to be to help the right person, serve in the right position, for the right reason, and for the right amount of time.

Keeping all this in mind, I firmly believe that serving as a leader in the church is not the same as serving in a business culture.  While I acknowledge that there are some business aspects to the church - record keeping, finances, and others - I also acknowledge that they are not what governs or directs the church in ministry (lack of money is not an excuse for not caring, and doing what one person wants, or a group of people want, based on what they give is equally as wrong).  Business clearly maintains a competitive edge, and a competitive drive.  I recognize that Jesus spoke out against this competitive or "power-up" mentality because it puts others down, and seeks to serve one's personal gains over that of the community of faith.  I believe, in order to lead God's way, one must recognize their humble role as a servant to the community of faith, and all those who attend (servant understand their role, they do not overstate their rule).  I believe that once a person understands their servant role it strengthens them as people and develops a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.

The key to remember is this - we do not rise to the role of leader, we descend to it - I see this as a "downward mobility" principle of leadership.

[written by john o'keefe; based on mark 9:33-35; 10:42-45, john 10:4;27, 1 peter 2:1-10, ephesians 4:11-12, hebrews 5:11-14]

:....::::..::::...some great leadership sites

faithmaps - a great place for leadership information and a great dialog

Christian Leadership Academy - Comprehensive courses of communication and biblical studies 

Leadership Network - Leadership Network: Accelerating the Emergence of Effective Churches  

Leadership University - Leadership University is a virtual university with a distinct focus. 

Christian Leadership Ministries Homepage - End God and Academy Conference Link

ChristianityToday.com - award-winning and relevant editorial provides timely insights
leon@rdsweet.com - resources for the postmodern reformation
easum.com - A web site by church thinkers Bill Easum and Tom Bandy
the ooze - The Ooze a full service site for the Postmodern Church
next-wave.org - A site to discuss the nature of ministry, faith, and leadership in the 21st century
www.injoy.com - A site by John Maxwell to help churches and church leaders

:....::::..::::...books for the leader in us all

George Barna
The Second Coming of the Church

Generation Next: What You Need to Know About Today's Youth

Bill Easum
Leadership on the Other Side: No Rules, Just Clues
Dancing With Dinosaurs: Ministry in a Hostile and Hurting World

Stanley Grenz
A Primer on Postmodernism

Brian McLaren
The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix

Robert N. Nash, Jr.
An 8-Track Church in a Cd World: The Modern Church in a Postmodern World

Tom Sine
Mustard Seed Vs. McWorld: Reinventing Life and Faith for the Future

Leonard Sweet
Post-Modern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church
SoulTsunami: Sink or Swim in New Millennium Culture
AquaChurch: Essential Leadership Arts for Piloting Your Church in Today's Fluid Culture
Eleven Genetic Gateways to Spiritual Awakening

Robert Webber
Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World

Tom Beaudoin
Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X

Tim Celek and Deiter Zander
Inside the Soul of a New Generation

Jimmy Long
Generating Hope: A Strategy for Reaching the Postmodern Generation

William Mahedy and Janet Bernardi
A Generation Alone: Xers Making a Place in the World

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