Intimate Leaders Love Like Jesus
Issue #407, September 17, 2025 Most leaders say that their people are valuable. But serving leaders actually love like Jesus. An intimate relationship with Jesus becomes the foundation of the way they treat their teams, make decisions and build culture. Jesus talked about this dynamic love relationship: 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have […]
# 359 Timothy: Connecting Across Generations
October 4, 2023 One of the marks of Timothy’s great leadership was his ability to connect with people from different generations. Consider these instructions from Paul: 1Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as […]
Paul’s Leadership Pipeline: Love Them
#349, May 17, 2023 We have observed how Paul developed Timothy, one of the emerging leaders on his team. There were many deliberate acts of serving leadership that Paul took with Timothy and each is instructive. But in this final issue we’ll step back from some of the specific actions to the heart that shaped […]
#304 Serving leaders ask those who follow: “Who are you becoming?”
July 7, 2021 Serving leaders ask themselves hard questions about who they are becoming. As they gain clarity and direction about their focus, they also serve those they lead by encouraging them to walk the same journey of discovery. They desire that Paul’s instructions are helpful not only for their own lives but also for […]
Speaking the Truth, With Perseverance
September 18, 2019 We have been slowly trying to understand what Paul means to speak the truth in love in Ephesians 4:15. Balancing the desire to love with the need for truth is enough of a challenge for most leaders. But the leadership challenge multiplies when Paul adds 14 distinct characteristics of love in 1 […]
Speaking the Truth, With Hope
September 4, 2019 Paul continues to challenge servant leaders to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).But will speaking truth in love accomplish the change we desire? Since Paul recognizes that we might be tempted to avoid speaking the truth because we can’t predict the outcome, he also tells us that love always hopes (1 […]
Speaking the Truth, With Trust
August 21, 2019 Paul calls all of us to speak with truth and love. Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Speaking truth can be a scary thing! We might be afraid that it will […]
Speaking the Truth, while Protecting
We are beginning to recognize that it is not a simple matter to follow Paul’s instruction to speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) because he challenges our understanding of love when he lists the actions of love. One of these actions is that love “always protects” (1 Corinthians 13:7).So, servant leaders learn to speak […]
Speaking the Truth, with Rejoicing
When we speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), the words we say are important. But Paul also reminds us that the attitude of our heart matters as we speak. He says a heart of love “does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).This is a reminder that when we […]
Speaking the Truth, with No Record of Wrongs
When I’ve done my best to speak truth in love to a good friend, but they continue repeating the same mistakes, what does it mean to respond in the way of Jesus? Paul clearly commands us to speak the “truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). But then he clarifies that love “keeps no record of wrongs […]