Virtually every board with which I’ve consulted — and believe me, that’s a lot of boards — is proud to count a lawyer or two (sometimes more) among its membership. In these litigious times, there’s tremendous benefit in having legal eagles at the board table. But is board service as good for attorneys-turned-board-members as it [...]
These things I still believe about fundraising as ministry
November 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Earlier this fall, I agreed to contribute to a book project sponsored by the Christian Leadership Alliance. Tentatively titled A Stewardship Primer, the aim is to offer the basics of stewardship theology and practice to CEOs, development staff, and board members of faith-based nonprofits. My chapter focuses on growing the heart of the giver, a [...]
Generosity in quotes
November 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“Because we belong to God, our time and talents belong to God all week. When accountants-who-belong-top-God help people fill out their tax returns, they are participating in God’s work of creating trustworthy economic systems. When engineers-who-belong-to-God design civic infrastructure that works, they are participating in God’s work of creating safer and more prosperous cities. When [...]
“Thanksgiving” is God’s never-secret, free-for-all-to-use password
November 23, 2011 By 4 Comments
Passwords are the bane of my online existence. I create them and promptly forget. I jot them down, then lose the paper. It’s enough to make me scream. So imagine my dismay upon learning that a problem with passwords — or one password in particular — can also mess with my spiritual life. That’s the [...]
Tips on becoming, identifying, and/or evaluating a leader
November 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Seven-step program for would-be leaders. The November 7, 2011 issue of Fortune magazine includes an interview with Frances Hesselbein, longtime CEO of the Leader to Leader Institute. Along with reminiscences of her spectacular career, Ms Hesselbein shares advice that would-be leaders do well to heed. You’ll want to read the article for yourself, but here is [...]
Generosity in quotes
November 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“Perhaps of all the virtues hope is the most fragile, the most fleeting, the least concrete. Don’t forget that the Greek gods, at the very bottom of Pandora’s box of ills and troubles, placed hope. Hope it is that allows us to cope with the rest of life. Nonprofit organizations more than any other groups [...]
Observations at the outset of a pilot project on board leadership
November 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This week, I’ve had the pleasure of spending two days with a fantastic group of CEOs and board members from eight faith-based nonprofits in the Pacific Northwest. We’re here as guests of the MJ Murdock Trust, where the program staff share my strong conviction that good governance really does matter to mission fulfillment with economic vitality. [...]
Generosity in quotes
November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
“The missional church proclaims the good news that God is actively engaged in the world and that God is ready and willing to use us to accomplish God’s purposes. This is a tremendous privilege! Obviously, God could accomplish what ever God wants without our assistance, but God has chosen to use us as agents for [...]
Note to self: Get wisdom.
November 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The trend line is hard to miss. Wisdom has fallen on hard times in recent days — including among people of faith. As noted in a New York Times op-ed piece, the faith of many Americans has become “an occasion to embrace discredited, ridiculous, and even dangerous ideas.” We boast that ours is an all-wise [...]
Reading it forward: A review of Great by Choice
November 7, 2011 By 2 Comments
For more than a decade, Jim Collins’ Good to Great and the companion monograph, Good to Great and the Social Sector have been staples in my consulting repertoire. Words, phrases, and longer quotes ala Collins pop up with frequency as I work with boards of faith-based nonprofits. In fact, it’s hard to imagine that Collins [...]
