Spiritual Life Archives - Page 2 of 21

Dan Reiland / January 9, 2019 / Leave a comment

5 Practical Expressions of Love In Leadership

The love of God is both incomprehensible and incomparable.

It’s difficult to fully understand the depth of God’s love. There’s no end to it. It’s a love that surpasses knowledge. (Ephesians 3:19)

Paul prays that [we] have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide, and long, and high, and deep is the love of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:18)

A perfect love can’t be measured, or fully understood, but it can be experienced. It can be expressed, and that’s what God asks of us, to lead with this kind of love.

A love that is incomparable – “the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.“ (Ephesians 2:7)

It’s because of His great love for us (Ephesians 2:4) that we do what we do.

I don’t know about you, but that can be an overwhelming thought at times.

Church, Leadership, Spiritual Life

Dan Reiland / December 29, 2018 / Leave a comment

10 Personal Questions To Help You Start 2019 Well

Reflection is good for the soul.

Personal reflection is even better if you act on it.

You may not be an “end of the year – take a two-day retreat in the mountains” kind of person. I’m not either. I can think through and process these questions in the time it would have taken me to drive there and back. Hey, I’m all for those who love a mountain retreat, but I’m not wired to be in that much silence for that long. I’d end up trying to make friends with a bear or something.

If quiet reflection is not motivating for you, try it verbally with your spouse or a close friend. The key is to make it enjoyable, not a chore.

Regardless of your wiring, personality, or how much time you have for this, investing quality think time to process 2018 will position you for a substantially better 2019.

Leadership, Spiritual Life

Dan Reiland / December 10, 2018 / Leave a comment

5 Steps That Help Church Leaders Stay Out Of Trouble

No one ever starts out in ministry expecting to mess up, fail or quit.

We all begin with great vision, enthusiasm, and dreams of changing the world for good.

So what goes wrong?

Why do good and godly leaders (church staff and volunteer) end up crashing in ministry, and end up out of ministry?

The answer to that question is obviously complicated, but essentially, we fail to anticipate and prepare for tough times and rough seasons in ministry.

Leadership, Spiritual Life

Dan Reiland / November 26, 2018 / Leave a comment

5 Thought Patterns That Hurt Your Leadership

The primary responsibility of a leader is to think.

A leader’s thoughts must be bathed in prayer, sifted through wise counsel, and compared to experience. Your leadership never rises above your thought patterns.

I can remember as a young leader, and a few times as a not-so-young leader, someone saying to me: “What were you thinking?!” And the honest answer was, “I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

Leadership, Spiritual Life