A Word to the Wise: 
 
A lack of evangelism is the greatest danger facing churches today. Leaders often diagnose symptoms while missing the root issue. That is why evangelism cannot be treated as a department in the church. It is the bloodstream. When blood flow is restricted, organs begin to fail one by one. Struggling ministries may not be suffering from poor organization as much as from a lack of evangelistic energy. When too few new believers enter the church, every ministry eventually feels the strain.
​
Sam Rainer, 7.13.26, Church Answers, Why All Church Health Is Downstream from Evangelism

A Word to the Wise: What’s the Difference Between Discipleship and Leadership Development?
 
Here's a simple way to think about it:
 
Discipleship teaches how to live like Jesus.
Leadership development helps people lead like Jesus.
 
Here's a practical exercise:
 
Take one leadership role in your church and ask:

• Does this role only describe tasks?
• Or does it also describe spiritual responsibility?
• Are we asking this person to do ministry?
• Or are we helping them develop people?

​Mac Lake, 6.24.26, What’s the Difference Between Discipleship and Leadership Development?

​A Word to the Wise: Paul Tripp
 
Eternity amnesia grips us all. We have bought into the “here and now is all you get” perspective that rules the day. We are Forever people who have quit believing in Forever.
 
This life is a preparation for a final destination.
 
Many of us treat today as the final destination. Whatever our confessional theology says about eternity, at the functional level, we live as if this is all there is. We live with a destination mentality instead of a preparation mentality.
 
You were made for Forever. That is your inescapable identity, and it is your guaranteed destination. Life only works as it was meant to work when you live with Forever in view.
Paul Tripp, 7.1.26, Forgetting Forever

A Word to the Wise: 
 
And so it is good and right to grow in your skill and it is good and right to maximize your potential. Yet the main matter in life is not attempting to be someone else and not longing for what God has given to another. It is not being known for your reputation. The main matter in life is simply being who God has called you to be. And I am certain you will find there is a lifetime of challenge in that!

Tim Challies, 6.23.25, Being the Best You Can Be

​A Word to the Wise: 
Open doors are only promised to those who knock.

Justin Huffman, 6.8.26, Does Prayer Make a Difference?

A Word to the Wise: Dr. Hance Dilbeck
People Will Hurt You.
People Will Help You.
People Will Be Your Primary Kingdom Contribution

Major Points from Dr. Hance Dilbeck’s message based on 2 Tim. 1:15-2:2 during the 2026 SBCAL Annual Conference

A Word to the Wise:
​
A surprising number of leaders don’t listen to understand. They listen to disagree.
This approach to listening allows leaders to stand out for their expertise, intelligence, and conviction. Unfortunately, it also robs them of their ability to connect with and learn from others, making them susceptible to poor decisions, false assumptions, and untested viewpoints.
Simply stated, leaders who listen to disagree process information in order to discern difference. They don’t listen to understand the views of others. They listen to find discrepancy.
When curiosity, learning, and personal growth take a backseat to the goal of being the smartest person in the room, listening becomes a weapon, not a tool for shared understanding.
Maybe you know a leader who listens to disagree. Share this Field Note with them. But don’t be surprised if they argue against it while they are reading it.

Admired Leadership Field Notes, 5.29.26, Leaders Who Listen to Disagree

A Word to the Wise:  6 Critical Skills to Lead at the Executive Level
 
1) Translate vision into strategy.
2) Communicate faith and hope.
3) Raise up, develop and empower capable leaders.
4) Demonstrate self-leadership and cultivate spiritual vitality.
5) Solve problems and make difficult decisions at intricate levels.
6) Take risks and lead change.
 
Dan Reiland, 5.25.26, 6 Critical Skills to Lead at the Executive Level

A Word to the Wise from Dr. Chris Crain, Birmingham Metro Association, Birmingham, AL
 
Sitting in worship services, meeting with pastors, listening to lay leaders, and observing congregational life has given me a front-row seat to what God is doing in and through His church. I tell people often, “I have the best job in the world because I get to see the same Jesus worshipped in 180 different contexts!"
 
My list is not a scientific study. It is not exhaustive. These are simply prayed-over observations shaped by the Word of God and confirmed through my own real-life ministry experiences. My hope is not that we would measure ourselves against one another, but that we would reflect, recalibrate where needed, and rejoice in what God is already doing among us.

Ten Evidences (Among Many) of a Healthy Church

1. Evidence of a caring and joyful spirit.
2. Awareness of the importance of diversity in spiritual gifts and perspectives.
3. An attitude of welcoming (and seeking) people from all backgrounds and generations from the local community.
4. Emphasis on spiritual devotion to Jesus Christ through worship, the ordinances, and prayer.
5. Collaborative leadership among staff and laity.
6. Awareness of the Christian story throughout the ages and within the specific congregation.
7. Scriptures are the final authority and the subject matter of the church's teaching and preaching ministry. The focus is on the redemption by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and adoption into His family, the Body of Christ, by grace through faith.
8. Problems and disagreements are approached with a unified desire to work toward solutions.
9. Discipleship approaches are intentional and vary to meet the needs of the people.
10. Missions activities & strategies go beyond praying and giving, to include partnering, going, and sending.

​Chris Crain, Executive Director, Birmingham Metro Association, Birmingham, AL, Weekly Newsletter, 5.20.26

A Word to the Wise from Mac Lake:
 
One of the most helpful things I’ve discovered studying the life of Jesus in chronological order is not just what He did, but when He did it.
 
As I’ve studied the timeline of Jesus developing His disciples, I noticed something that has helped shape the way I think about leadership development and it is this:
 
Jesus started with relationship before responsibility. Because healthy leadership development doesn’t begin with using people. It begins with knowing people.
 
Who around you has potential that may simply need more intentional connection from you before they’re ready for greater responsibility?
 
Mac Lake, 5.12.26, Why Jesus Started with Relationship Before Responsibility