Podcasts about lausanne committee

A Special Episode from the Lausanne Movement Archives How does the Holy Spirit empower the Church for global mission?  In this powerful talk from the First Lausanne Congress (1974), Rev. Gottfried Osei-Mensah explores the Holy Spirit's role as Teacher, Master, and Helper in evangelization. With deep wisdom and clarity, he calls Christians to submit to the Spirit's leading, embrace bold faith, and work together for the Gospel.  A timeless message that is still relevant today!   Gottfried Osei-Mensah Bio: Gottfried Osei-Mensah served as the executive secretary of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization from 1975-1984. Born in Ghana, Gottfried worked as an engineer in the oil industry before helping develop Christian witness in the universities of West Africa through the Pan African Fellowship of Evangelical Students. From 1971-1975, he pastored Nairobi Baptist Church in Kenya. In 1973, he served on the planning committee of Lausanne and presented a plenary address at the International Congress on World Evangelization in 1974. Appointed as executive secretary following the congress, he traveled the world, encouraging the formation of national and regional movements based on The Lausanne Covenant to identify unreached people groups within their communities and beyond and devise effective ways of evangelizing them. In 1986, Gottfried was invited to serve as a special representative on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) staff. He joined African Enterprise (AE) in 1993 and set up the AE team in Ghana. He also served on the UK board of BGEA and Samaritan's Purse until his retirement in 2013. Gottfried lives in Reading, UK, with two grown-up children and four grandchildren. After 53 years of marriage, his wife, Audrey, went to be with the Lord in June 2016.

Show Notes for Fortified Life Podcast with Jason DavisEpisode Title: Leadership Insights with Dr. Roger Parrott: Lessons from One of America's Most Experienced College PresidentsEpisode Description:In this powerful episode of The Fortified Life Podcast, host Jason Davis is joined by Dr. Roger Parrott, one of America's most experienced and innovative college presidents. With a career that spans decades, Dr. Parrott brings a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to the conversation, sharing insights on leadership, faith, and navigating opportunities in a constantly changing world.Key Discussion Points:A Legacy of Leadership:Dr. Parrott's unique journey as a third-generation college president and being elected as one of America's youngest college presidents at age 34.Reflections on his tenure and the lessons learned along the way.Educational Leadership in a Changing World:Insights into his Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Maryland.The evolving role of higher education in shaping future leaders.Faith and Leadership:His role as Chair of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization hosted by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.How faith has guided his decisions and leadership style throughout his career.Books That Inspire Leaders:The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders: Developing strategies that create enduring impact.Opportunity Leadership: Stop Planning And Start Leading: Embracing flexibility and seizing divine opportunities.Practical applications from his books for leaders in all walks of life.Building Leaders for Tomorrow:Dr. Parrott's vision for cultivating lasting leadership in an unpredictable world.Encouragement for rising leaders to prioritize faith and adaptability.Guest Spotlight:Dr. Roger Parrott is a distinguished leader in higher education, an accomplished author, and a passionate advocate for faith-driven leadership. His contributions to education and the global Christian community are a testament to his dedication and vision.Takeaways for Listeners:Learn how to lead with faith and adaptability in uncertain times.Gain practical leadership strategies from one of America's most experienced college presidents.Be inspired by Dr. Parrott's legacy of faith-driven leadership and impactful service.Call to Action:Grab a copy of Dr. Roger Parrott's books, The Longview and Opportunity Leadership, to dive deeper into his insights and strategies. Follow Dr. Parrott and Jason Davis on social media for more inspiration and leadership wisdom.Hashtags:#FortifiedLifePodcast #JasonDavis #RogerParrott #LeadershipInsights #FaithAndLeadership #OpportunityLeadership #HigherEducation #ChristianLeadership #LastingStrategies #RisingLeaders

I'd like to continue in this episode what we began in the last, reflecting on the Lausanne Fourth Congress that happened at the end of September 2024, which I had the honor of attending. These events don't happen very often. The previous one was in 2010, 14 years ago. This one was by far the biggest, with 5,000 people from over 200 nations, and I'm still trying to process all the material that was there and all the relationships and new people that I met. So in this episode, we will have a longer conversation at the end with Doug Birdsall, who was chairman of the Lausanne Committee for 10 years, as he reflects on Lausanne and its purpose and where it has come from. But first, I'd like to begin by introducing you to some of the people that I met. Here are just some of the conversations I had with people there.

In this special episode of the Lausanne Movement Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Leighton Ford, former CEO of the Lausanne Movement, to commemorate and celebrate Lausanne's 50th anniversary. On this day, the 16th of July 1974, more than 2300 evangelical leaders, from over 150 countries gathered together for the first Lausanne Congress for World Evangelisation. Dr. Ford shares personal memories from the first International Congress, provides insights into the movement's evolution, and discusses the importance of mentorship and intergenerational relationships. He emphasises listening to God, to others, and to the increasingly interconnected global Christian community while celebrating the impact of the Lausanne Covenant. Join us as we look back on the Movement's legacy and discuss its future.   Resources: Book: Lifelong Leadership: Woven Together through Mentoring Communities by MaryKate Morse - https://www.amazon.com/Lifelong-Leadership-Together-Mentoring-Communities/dp/1641580178 Book: A Life of Listening: Discerning God's Voice and Discovering Our Own by Leighton Ford - https://www.amazon.com/Life-Listening-Discerning-Voice-Discovering/dp/0830845739   Guest Bio:  Dr Leighton Ford is the president of Leighton Ford Ministries and a prolific author, speaker, and social activist. He was vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for 31 years, and has been featured on his own radio and television spots in the United States, Canada, and Australia. He has also served on the boards of World Vision US, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Duke University Cancer Center. From 1973 to 1975, Dr Ford served as programme chair of Lausanne's First International Congress on World Evangelisation. He continued this role from 1976 to 1992, as chair of the Continuation Committee for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation (LCWE, which would later become the Lausanne Movement). During this time, part of his focus was to challenge, encourage, and equip younger leaders for future leadership positions. In 1987 this vision grew into the first Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering (Singapore '87), which convened younger leaders from 65 countries. In 1989, he was chair of the Second International Congress on World Evangelisation in Manila. Dr Ford was appointed honorary lifetime chairman of the LCWE in 1992.

Dr. Roger Parrott is one of America's most experienced presidents. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in Higher Education Administration. Dr. Parrott is a third-generation College president and was one of America's youngest college presidents first elected at age 34. He has served on various boards and was Chair of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization hosted by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Dr. Parrott is the author of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders and Opportunity Leadership: Stop Planning And Start Leading. His wife, MaryLou, earned her Ph.D. in English and is a Professor at Belhaven. They have two adult children who graduated from Belhaven.

Today Dr. John Guest brings a message of hope in the certainty of Jesus Christ. "I wasn't raised to go to church. I did think Christians were soft. Pastors in England would talk in a rather slow and boring tone, and it was sort of remote. I didn't go to church, but I picked them up on the radio and when there was no such thing as television when I was a child and from time to time, you'd hear one speaking for whatever reason on the radio and I gave it no credence until I got into my adolescence and was asking questions about my own life..." - John Guest John is the author of ten books. He co-founded Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry and was a participant in the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism and a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals. He founded the Coalition for Christian Outreach, an evangelistic organization employing approximately 150 staff on college campuses. Also, he co-founded South American Missionary Society (1976), hosted a daily radio broadcast, “New Life In Christ,” on WPIT-FM, Pittsburgh (1983-1990), and currently has a daily broadcast on WORD FM, 101.5 in Pittsburgh as well as several other cities. John married Kathleen Heggar in 1967 and has four daughters: Carrie, Chelsea, Sarah and Susanna.

Join SU President, Gail Martin and guest Reverend John Guest (via event video), pastor, evangelist, author, founder, and apologist discussing a new week's readings in the book of 2 Timothy. You can subscribe to the daily Bible reading God, Encounter with God, via print, email or online at www.ScriptureUnion.org Featured Guest: Reverend John Guest John Guest was born and raised in Oxford, England. While studying as an engineer he was invited to hear the American evangelist, Billy Graham, in London, 1954. That night John responded to God's call and made his commitment to Jesus Christ at age eighteen. Shortly thereafter, he felt God calling him into full-time service as a pastor. He came to the United States in 1964; combining his love for young people with his musical ability he formed one of the first Christian contemporary music groups known as the Exkursions. For the next four years John used music to draw young people to meetings where thousands of them heard for the first time the “Good News” of Jesus Christ. One of John's first jobs in the United States was with Scripture Union where he and his wife Kathy helped to lead C.S.S.M. beach outreaches. In 1968, he became the Minister of Youth at St. Stephen's Church in Sewickley, Pennsylvania and four years later the senior pastor. Recognizing the gifts God has given him for evangelism, in 1990 St. Stephen's set him free to conduct city-wide evangelistic rallies across America. John has spoken to over 1,000,000 people face to face. He now serves at Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. John is the author of ten books. He co-founded Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry and was a participant in the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism and a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals. He founded the Coalition for Christian Outreach, an evangelistic organization employing approximately 150 staff on college campuses. John is married to Kathleen Heggar and has four daughters. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scriptureunionusa/support

[00:00:00] Jerry White: Risk has to be uncertain categories. There's legal risk, there's financial risk, and then there's what I call uncontrolled risk of things you don't expect that the government may impose. What if they decide for our property at Glen Erie that it no longer is going be tax exempt? Or what if the state were to do that sort of thing? Those are risks over which we have no control. The risk on leveraged investments, I think, is quite important. For instance, you may propose to a larger organization a $3 million project, but the money is not in the bank. And you have four donors who said they'll fund it, but will they, and if they do, what voice should they have in it? That's a huge thing.  Money given with strings attached is really quite risky. +++++++++++++++++++++ [00:01:02] Tommy Thomas: In this episode, we will conclude the conversation that we began with Jerry White in Episode 85. If you didn't hear that episode, Jerry White is the President Emeritus of The Navigators International. Prior to that he enjoyed a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, retiring as a two-star general. One of the reasons I wanted Jerry to be a guest is because of the depth of his nonprofit board service.  Among the boards he has served include  World Vision,  The Navigators.  Christian Leadership Alliance.  The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. The Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization.  The Air Force Association.  Let's pick up the conversation where we were beginning to discuss board governance.  Let's shift over to board service. How did your first board show up? [00:01:56] Jerry White: My first board that I served on was a small organization and besides a church board, every board is different. When I got into leading boards, like the Christian Leadership Alliance and being on boards like World Vision and leading The Navigator board the biggest thing is who you have on the board.  And that they understand what their role is on the board.  And my view is that they're not operational. They don't make operational decisions, and they give the CEO a clear path to glide on. And hold that person accountable. And on the board service, I found it extremely important to have people of varied backgrounds and competencies so that we weren't all monolithic and the board could not be a rubber stamp board, whatever the leader wants. Yeah, that's fine. Just go ahead and do it. But to take on true, what I call policy governance, and to realize that you aren't running it, but you're holding the CEO accountable for what they say they're going to do. And once in a while you have to intervene.  [00:03:14] Tommy Thomas: You mentioned having the right people on the board.  What is the secret sauce? [00:03:20] Jerry White: One secret sauce is you don't bring them on just because they've got money. That's probably the worst criteria you can have if people do not share the vision of that organization on whose board they serve. You don't want them on there. And if they happen to have wealth and are generous people, that's fine, but we don't own them. They have to be people who give more broadly. And before we bring someone on the board we have to first make sure for me, in the Christian world, to make sure that there are people of spiritual maturity. Not just people with a high reputation or lead a big church or are well known. I would not care if none of the people on my board were well known as long as they were people of high integrity and then have had some experience. We're always pushing for getting a younger generation of board members, but there's a limit to that. You have to be sure that they're really qualified as they come in. And then the next thing that I feel is extremely important is you train. You train them how to be a board member and what's expected of them as a board member. In a few weeks, I'll be going to Kenya with The Navigators and we'll be gathering the board chairman from all over the world for a time of interaction and sharing. That's a trickier one, by the way, when you become a board chair, is how to become a board chair, particularly in our developing world where things aren't quite westernized as much. Yeah. And what should a board really do? Because people have different experiences. It's different from a second board, a secondary board who has financial responsibility and is held accountable for the quantitative results of the organization. That's a whole different picture, a different kind of board. [00:05:40] Tommy Thomas:  Let's go to the board chair. Give me some words and phrases that would describe the best board chair you've ever seen or served under.  [00:05:48] Jerry White: I'll tell you, there are two board chairs that I think of. One was a man by the name of Clay Brown. He wasn't the board chair, because I was chairman at the time. But he was certainly the key senior statesman on our board. He was measured. He was wise. He had a strong business background, and he had a passion for what we did. Our current Board Chair for The Navigators is doing an absolutely remarkable job and he leads several companies but has really given himself to being Chairman of The Navigator US board. The other thing is that the Board Chairman cannot be a jack of all trades. In other words, they can't be chairman of five different boards at once. Because I don't think anybody who has another job has that kind of time. But in knowing that they bear a particular responsibility within that organization to draw together the board, the executive team or the executive committee, and to really help lead them and keep them in their track and their track being on the policy governance side. And so the board chairs, and when I've done a board, I hope I've done this, is to really be prepared. You do not do this on the backhand, walking into a board meeting and 10 minutes ahead of time asking the CEO – what's the agenda? [00:07:25] Tommy Thomas:  Speaking about that working relationship, I know that's critical. Think back on your experience. How often does the Board Chair need to meet with his or her CEO? [00:07:35] Jerry White: First of all, they need to be friends, but I remember as a board member of a particular organization I wanted to be friends with the CEO and very much was. Then I became Board Chair and I said to him, our relationship is going to be a little different. I am your friend, but also, I'm accountable for the direction of the organization. And therefore, I'm going to be asking things of you that maybe I would not do if I was just a good buddy walking alongside and wanting to affirm you. So I think you need to be friends, but you'll also need to know that you have the responsibility for the policy direction of the organization and for the health and wellbeing of the CEO.  [00:08:27] Tommy Thomas: Go to that board meeting for a minute. What's been your best experience and who sets the agenda for the Board Meeting? [00:08:32] Jerry White:  For me, the Executive Committee needs to set the agenda. It needs to be proposed by the CEO because he knows the action items. And you've got certain performer things you've got to do on accountability of finances and income and disbursements and so forth and certain things on personnel. But I would want the CEO to come up with a list of what needs to be addressed, work with that CEO and perhaps the CFO to create an agenda with the Executive Committee that actually says how is this going to serve the work? And what are the decisions?  And I have three ways of assessing an agenda for the Board Meeting. What is information? We don't have to make any decision on it.  What is counsel? The CEO or somebody wants counsel on a particular item.  What decision needs to be made? So, every topic in the board meeting, I like to write along the side, the margin, inform counsel, decide. [00:09:48] Tommy Thomas: From a functional point of view, they wouldn't necessarily be in any order. They just as they come up, they're one of those three.  [00:09:58] Jerry White: No, it'd be one of the three. Your board meeting is usually divided into segments.  The CEO Report The Field Ministry Report The CFO Report Then there's a legal report. There may be certain personnel decisions that need to be affirmed. And by the way, that could be another way you would put it to affirm a decision. That's a little weak. And so you would structure your meeting not according to what you're going to decide, but according to what topics need to be addressed in the 24 hours you have together. And by the way, to really require that homework be done on the part of the staff making the decisions that “read-aheads” are there. And the right people come to make reports inside the meetings.  ++++++++++++++++++++   [00:10:51] Tommy Thomas: When somebody joins your board what does onboarding look like? [00:10:55] Jerry White: The onboarding looks for several organizations I've been working for two to three years with before they come on board, talking with them about it, seeing their interest,  getting a biography, bringing it to what I would call the nomination committee of the board. And the good boards that I work with have a roster of people that they're talking to that's very confidential and some of them never come on the board. And then as they are approaching it, you may even ask someone to actually sit in on a board meeting. And to see whether or not it meets their expectations. That isn't always possible. But in one board that I'm on, we have some junior members on it. This is on a board where we have younger leaders who come and serve for two years, and they don't stay on the board, just to give them experience. But then when you're onboarding, every board annually at least, there needs to be, in my mind, an orientation for the board where you go over the history of the board, you go over things. So they're not just in a befuddled mystery at terminology and history. It's like being in a family joke and nobody knows what the story was behind it. They have things that are ongoing and they have no clue. We need to bring them up to speed, both emotionally, historically, and personally. And it doesn't need to be long. It's for maybe half a day. And I've done this in a secular organization too, insisting that no one come on the board who doesn't have some orientation, both as to what a board does and what a board has done. [00:12:55] Tommy Thomas: Do you do a meeting evaluation or how do you keep your meetings fresh?  [00:13:00] Jerry White: Most boards do have a little evaluation afterward that they fill out. It's often, Tommy, their perfunctory and there of some limited value, the value mainly being that you asked, but I think the Chairman and the CEO, when they see things happening in the board, that afterwards they need to interact with them and saying, what do you think about it? How do you feel that board meeting went? And now that you've been in on X number of board meetings, say to tell me what you think and how can we help you be a better board member? Committee assignments are pretty important. Also, when I went on one board, it took me, Tommy, it took me two years to really figure out what was going on. And I served nine years and it was such a complex organization that it was really hard and took a lot of work to try and understand the dynamics behind this organization  [00:14:08] Tommy Thomas: Let me ask you to respond to this quote. “You need a director on the board who will be a pleasant irritant. Someone who will force people to think a little differently.  That's what a good board does.”  [00:14:21] Jerry White: In one board that I'm on, we appoint someone at every board meeting to be what we call a responsible skeptic. And that person is designated ahead of time. And that person, their job in that board meeting is to be a bit skeptical. Now, I think you have to be a little careful about always having a person who's always skeptical. I don't think I want a board member who every time something comes up, they raise their eyebrow, and you wonder what they're thinking. I think everybody ought to be a little skeptical at some time. And the main thing is if they don't understand something they need to ask. In other words, they need to do it. I was in a board meeting recently where a particular decision was in the process. And two of us on the board, I was an emeritus to the board, and the other was on the board. And I could tell there was a bit of discomfort. And so the chair asked that other person, they hadn't said anything, what do you think? And came up with a pretty good counter. Now I haven't got real good hearing, so I couldn't hear what he said. And then the board chair said, Jerry, what do you think? And I was like a deer caught in the headlights. And I said I couldn't hear what he said. And I said, we said exactly the same thing. And what was moving down the road to be a crafted decision was put aside and not done. I'm very wary of creating board actions on the spot, a statement or whatever it may be. The best way is to say, would somebody take this and come up in three or four hours, take a coffee break and craft us a statement on what we're trying to do. So I do believe that the chair needs to be able to look in the eyeball all around the way and see if there are some questions or if someone has been particularly silent, I think you need to say what do you think?  ++++++++++++++++   [00:16:34] Tommy Thomas: How do you draw that quiet board member out?  Some people just don't speak up unless they have something to say, which is probably a good thing. But how do you draw the quiet person out?  [00:16:46] Jerry White: I just say, Jack, what do you think about that? I say be very direct. I say, you've been listening to this discussion. Do you have anything to say? I don't want to force him to have to say something, but I say, this may be the expertise of the person that I'm asking. And I'll say Joan, your expertise is in this area, I know you've been through this before. What are we not hearing? What questions do you have? And that gives them freedom to speak out. And the other thing is I don't think people should speak out, particularly declaratively. That is, I believe this, and you got to do this. And I don't like that because that puts themselves on the table. But people learn to be able to share in a non-confrontive fashion. [00:17:44] Tommy Thomas: Let's go to financial accountability. You and I are old enough to remember the Enron scandal, and then if you've been paying any attention to the last two or three days, you've seen the Silicon Valley Bank go under.  In both of those things, there was board culpability. Neither were nonprofit, but they will both board culpability.  How do you get your boards to make sure you're addressing the financial aspect, a judiciary responsibility of the board?  [00:18:10] Jerry White:  It's a CEO's responsibility to make sure that the right questions are answered.  And it's got to be more than just an audit.  We want a clean audit. And you don't want to have to go to the bottom notes and say, here's something we should correct, but we need to guide the board through the financial realities of what we're doing. But at the end of it, I think you need to have a risk analysis that says, okay, where are we vulnerable? For instance, in our litigious society today, we have a lot of risk, and I think of ministries that have Christian camps and all the sexual liabilities and all of that. They are at risk all the time when you're working with minors and then I think people need to ask questions of the CFO and the auditor, where do you see us being at risk? What would happen if, what if happened? You have a September 11 or you have a Covid pandemic. And you have to say, our whole income stream is going to be jeopardized. And then I think you need to look and say, where are our major vulnerabilities for both expenditure as well as income? Now that's, it's very different in a Christian organization than it is a secular organization like an Enron or the banks or whatever it is. The fault there goes so that people don't ask questions, or that the actual realities have been hidden from it and just saying, oh, it'll be okay.  ++++++++++++++++++= [00:19:56] Tommy Thomas: From your perspective, how does the board get involved in strategic planning?  [00:20:02] Jerry White: Boy, that is a good question, Tommy. The question is, who does the strategic planning? Okay. Let's say that we're in a very small developing organization amid developing, and a large organization, they're very different and the very smallest organizations, the board may be highly engaged in the strategic plan because it's such a small organization and they're so fragile. As a general rule of thumb, the board may do strategic thinking, but strategic planning has to be on the part of the CEO and his or her staff. And the plan needs to be brought to the board for their interaction. And then approval. And that's particularly true with a large organization. The board can't do strategic planning. They can do some strategic planning for the board. That is, how should we develop our board? What expertise do we need? But as far as a ministry for most organizations, as large as the navigators or crew or some others, they aren't gonna know the details of what's going on out in the field or how they have to pretty well react and respond to the strategic planning initiatives that they may come up with. How many staff, what countries are we doing to go into? What are we not going to do? What are we gonna stop doing etc. So the board certainly needs to approve the strategic plan. Chances are, even when they do that, They won't know it very well. I'm just sorry that, when you're not, when you don't have to carry out a strategic plan, it's hard to really know it. [00:22:00] Tommy Thomas: The ones that created it, that have been involved in hammering it out, they're the ones that know it. [00:22:06] Jerry White: That's right. And then you have to, with every strategic plan, you have to set, have a set of outcomes and a set of risks, and then you have to say, how much is it going to cost to implement this? [00:22:22] Tommy Thomas: I think the risk thing, that could almost be a podcast in and of itself. I interviewed Dr. Sandra Gray, the President Emeritus at Asbury University and she was a former banker before she got into higher ed. And her thought was that nonprofit boards probably don't pay enough attention to the risk of the organization. [00:22:40] Jerry White: I think there's no question on that, especially risk has to be uncertain categories.  There's legal risk, there's financial risk, and then there's what I call uncontrolled risk of things you don't expect that the government may impose. What if they decide for our property at Glen Erie that it no longer is going to be tax exempt? Or what if the state were to do that sort of thing? Those are risks over which we have no control and the risk on leveraged investments, I think is quite important. For instance, you may propose to a larger organization a $3 million project, but the money is not in the bank. And you have four donors who said they'll fund it, but will they, and if they do, what voice should they have in it?  That's a huge thing. Money given with strings on it is really quite risky.  [00:23:46] Tommy Thomas: Hadn't thought of that. [00:23:46] Jerry White: And I've served on the board of the ECFA and they're very good at this. In terms of helping people think through risk and failure and financial accountability.  [00:24:01] Tommy Thomas: Let's look at the CEO evaluation.  I know you've been involved in a number of those, and you've been evaluated as a CEO. What are some takeaways? [00:24:10] Jerry White: You must be evaluated. Now we have a number of kinds of evaluations. You have a 360 evaluation, and some people are very skilled at that. It's very threatening to some CEOs, but it's necessary. I feel that there needs to be an evaluation within the organization, I had one. I had someone who evaluated me every year and they had the freedom, and they did call my wife, call my kids, talked to my coworkers, my peers, talked to those who worked for me, gave a free reign to ask certain questions. The questions need to be carefully thought through. They can't be so invasive. But the evaluation is of several levels. One is certain on a moral personal level. I do not think a committee can do that. Every CEO needs to have the kind of people in their lives who will blow the whistle on them if they say anything wrong. And the small Executive Committee needs to be aware of how that could happen. The second in terms of an evaluation is performance against set out goals. The third is relational. How's their team going? What do they think? What are the issues? And to give the feedback to the CEO and I think to give it privately and then in the board, and we do this to give a summary analysis, but the board should not be privy to the detailed questions. It's a really touchy process. And the evaluation needs to be, not be a pass fail, but Loren Sanny taught me it should be a progress review. How are you making progress toward the things that you have said you want to do? [00:26:15] Tommy Thomas: Let me close with a question that I ask often, particularly to people that have been on boards a long time as you have. How has board service changed over the last decade?  [00:26:25] Jerry White: I'm not sure about the last decade, but certainly over the last two decades the area of risk and financial accountability has increased tremendously. The litigiousness of our society has made a tremendous impact on how a board functions. So those two things, the financial accountability and the potential lawsuits and things of that nature. Tommy, I don't know that I can make a generalist statement about how boards have changed, but I can say that through the last 20 to 30 years, the boards have become more important and more vital to our organization's future than they were a number of years ago. Many years ago, even in The Navigators, the board was a cheering section for Dawson Trotman and Lawrence Annie.  Go get 'em and thanks for letting us know what's going on. To a point where we had to be accountable for the finances. 911 changed everything, by the way, particularly for anyone operating internationally. When you're sending money across international boundaries, you have a whole different level of accountability financially imposed by the government. And I'm speaking only from the viewpoint of the United States, and you get into all these other countries with all different kinds of demands and requirements and corruption and what have you. The boards have become far more important to the organization's health. And I think the public has a right to know who's on your board. And when I look at an organization as I've done even the last few days, and I look through who the board members are, it isn't that I need to know them, but that they're there as real people with real names that if one needed to, you could connect with them. ++++++++++++++++++++++ I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Jerry White. If you're ever at a conference where Jerry is speaking or leading a breakout session, make sure you attend those sessions. We all have so much to learn from Jerry White. Our guest next week is Paul Mauer. Paul is the president of Montreat College.  When Paul was selected to be the President of Montreat, the college wasn't very far from closing its doors. What has happened at Montreat over the past nine years is nothing short of miraculous.  [00:29:06] Paul Maurer: I started my first presidency 13 or 14 years ago, and I remember going to the president's conferences and coming back after two or three of those, and I said to my cabinet, here's my takeaway, change or die. And then I was out of the presidency for a couple years. I began to go back to those meetings again. When I came to Montreat nine years ago, I came back to my cabinet, I said, they've inserted the words fast change, faster, die. We've taken on the mindset of a startup. So, we consider ourselves a 107-year-old startup. We're not a turnaround. We're not maintainers.  We're not traditionalists. We try to employ the principles of a startup, meaning we're creating something new. And so, I think in the next five to ten years, we're going to see a pretty dramatic change in the number of colleges and universities in the United States. The enrollment cliff is real. The declining birth rates are real. And it's going to have a really major impact on the number of schools that close.   Links and Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas The Navigators Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability Christian Leadership Alliance   Connect Tommy Thomas - tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Tommy's LinkedIn Profile Jerry White's LinkedIn Profile  

[00:00:00] Lisa Cummins: I think the question I would ask is what is your employee turnover? And because I have found nonprofits come and go, employee turnover helps me understand what your commitment is to, what your ability is to lead, and what your consistency is with your values.  Because if you're not consistent, employees won't stay long. ++++++++++++++++++++= Tommy Thomas: Today, we're continuing the conversation that we began last week with Lisa Trevino Cummins. Lisa spent the first 12 plus years of her career with Bank of America where she expanded the bank's community development initiative to become one of the first national corporations to partner with faith-based organizations in underserved neighborhoods. From Bank of America, Lisa was called to help launch the White House Community and Faith-Based Initiative. In 2003, she started Urban Strategies where she continues her work to make resources more available to underserved communities.  Since founding Urban Strategies, Lisa has been a catalyst of several initiatives that resulted in almost $40 million of new programming focused in low-income communities.  Let's pick up the conversation when I was asking her about the early days of Urban Strategies.  [00:01:23] Tommy Thomas: You're probably not the first founder I've interviewed but you'd be one of the first.  What was the genesis of Urban Strategies?  [00:01:29] Lisa Cummins: Yeah, I mentioned that I worked for 12 years with Bank of America and about the last five years of that, and again, I had this parallel path of working in the bank and being fairly successful in that. And then the second parallel path to that was working in the church. And really that's where my heart was about year seven or eight into this journey of the bank. I started questioning why those two paths were divergent. Why, if I'm talking about if I'm working in the bank to address communities in need and why is that different? Why is my church life not connected there? I read a book called The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey.   And that really helped highlight the passages in the scripture that, even though I've read the Bible three or four times, I really never saw those passages in Matthew about serving those in need, about loving your neighbor, about justice, about God's heart for the poor. When he talks to the Israelites and judges has some judgment on the Israelites because of how they treated the marginalized. So, I had this, what I call a “holy agitation” and where my spirit was struggling with this, and about that time the Lord, it was the Lord. But the bank asked me to move to St. Louis to help start the community development group I had in Texas, to help start that in a bank that we had purchased in the Midwest. So, I had five states reporting to me. Developing from the ground up. It was a hard move because I was really on the fast track in San Antonio politically and socially. So I ended up moving to the Midwest and it was a hard transition. We didn't know anyone there. That community was not familiar with the culture that I came from. Spaghetti sauce substituted for hot sauce at the time, and that's hard for a Texan. And during that time we ended up at a church that was not part of my tradition. I was from a Pentecostal background. This church was a PCA church. And long story short,  We saw, in action, the answer to that question and that holy agitation I was wrestling with because this congregation was very intentional about reconciling people to God and reconciling people to one another. And so, you had a congregation before multiculturalism became popular. They were really living that out and very intentional about it. And that became a pivotal point for me in terms of recognizing the role, the opportunity, the obligation that the faith community had to serving its neighbors, to loving its neighbors. And one thing led to the other. My pastor in Texas, I had brought him to the Midwest, said, you got to see what I'm talking about. And so he said, he came 24 hours. He said, Lisa, my world's been turned upside down and I'm going to meet with the governor next week. Can I tell him about this? I'm like, sure, you can tell whoever you want to. It happened to be Governor George W. Bush. And so, when they met it wasn't long after that I got a call from the governor's office and said, hey, we want to understand what you're doing and what you're working on because that's something we want to do in Texas.  And so, the governor became president and then they asked, we want help.  We want to develop this faith-based initiative nationally. Can you come to the White House and help us do that? I had three kids under three. The twin boys that were six months and my daughter, who was two and a half and my husband.  We moved to DC and ended up working there for a couple years.  [00:05:23] Tommy Thomas: So, when you finally spun off and went out on your own what was that first year like? [00:05:27] Lisa Cummins: The first year was, when you work in the government, it's illegal to set up your business for when you're going to be, for when or relationships or anything, or when you're going to exit.  I exited because I felt that my calling was to work with the church to love its neighbors.  I had come to the end of what I could do with that internal to the government. And I saw the need and opportunities on the outside of the government to still further move along that calling. And so, I left the government, and I remember driving. I was like, I'm going to do this. I don't know how, I don't know where, but this is the work I have to continue. And so, I let folks know that was happening. And I got a couple of small contracts. I remember that first check, I don't know, it was $10,000 or something. And I was so proud of that because I am entrepreneurial and just that sense of being able to build something and then get paid for it was pretty cool. But it was a time of learning. It was a time of flexibility. It was a time of really trying to find my way. I remember there's a fellow named Gordon Loux, I don't know if you know him. He always said, Lisa, the challenge you're going to have is figuring out where you're going to focus. And he's right.  We do all kinds of work, but the common thread has been low income or it's not low income. The common thread has been working with Latino populations. Why? Because that's what I know best. And working with the church. And today we do that in all 50 states. We do that in Puerto Rico, we do that in Central America and do in all kinds of arenas. I'm sorry, I think I diverted from your original question. I remember Tommy, I will say one vivid recollection I have, it was about August, September of that first year of 2002. This is our 20th anniversary at Urban Strategies. And I remember being really frustrated because I saw the need was so significant in communities and I didn't have any resources. I remember a woman saying, Lisa, I don't think we need federal funds because God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. I'm like, I agree that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but where those resources are, they're not being released to the communities I work in. So where I do have access is federal funding. And I was wrestling with that idea and wrestling with God about why is it so hard to get resources? And I never got an answer on why, but I got the comfort of understanding that if I'm doing God's work, God's going to provide. And so, I was able to let that go. Let that go. And God has.  [00:08:22] Tommy Thomas: So, what counsel would you give an up-and-coming wannabe founder?  [00:08:29] Lisa Cummins: I go back to what that pastor told me 20 something years ago, to make sure it's what you're called to do. The work that is called to do. Two is not make your ownership the goal but make your goal that calling.   That calling can be pursued in a number of different ways. It can be in partnership, it could be like, I was in banking, I was very much an entrepreneur in banking even though I was part of this structured company of 60,000 employees. But I was running my own thing. So, I think it's really important to not think, not to lead with the form or the structure, but lead with the calling and purpose. And I think the form of structure then will come and will be made known. You'll understand what that is. If in fact that means setting up your own organization, I would say keep your costs low. I'm still at the office where, this call is from my home. So, I was doing remote work 20 years ago, before it became popular. Our headquarters folks asked us today, where is your headquarters? I'm here in Arlington and this has been my office for the last 20 years, but we don't have a headquarters because we're based all over the country. I didn't make those big expenses early on and so it gave me some freedom to not have to worry about how I was going to pay for those things. And it allowed me to focus in on again, what my purpose in calling had been.  ++++++++++++++++++++++=   [00:10:00] Tommy Thomas: Another question first. And you may have answered this all along the way, but can you think of a time when you felt like you had found your professional voice that you know, that you were comfortable in your skin? [00:10:13] Lisa Cummins: Yeah. Tommy, that's an interesting question. I think it depends on who is listening to that voice. I think being raised in a community where you're the first or you're the only one has caused me to be hesitant about my voice. Even among people who are well-meaning and I know are great folks, the differences in our upbringing, in our culture, in our understanding and our experiences would cause me to be comfortable in a second seat. Because for me to be comfortable, behind someone in leadership or behind someone that's front stage. I think there's some real benefit to that. Because I think that comes with having a sense of humility that requires me to really focus on what is it that matters to me. Is it that I'm at the front with a microphone or is it that this gets done right? And so, I think there's been a lot of that. Having said that, over time it's funny when people say wow, you're an expert at this. I'm like, I don't feel like it's just because I've lived longer, it's just because I have a few more gray hairs. That I've been able to speak on things. And so, I think in the last 10 years, I think I actually have become more comfortable in my voice. I have, and in some ways that's a sad reality because I think I had a lot to contribute prior to 10 years ago. And having said that, I think that I am not as concerned anymore about what others think, nor as concerned about what others might think. And there's a term that our culture uses today that's called gaslighting. And as I understand it, gaslighting is causing people to believe that it's their failure. That has resulted in x, y, z consequences rather than the person that's doing the gaslighting. And I think in some ways I've allowed myself to be in that place of being the individual, the part of a community that is at fault or is less than or it comes short and hasn't recognized the value that I bring to the table. I think Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book about David and Goliath that's along those lines about, everyone saw David as the minuscule person who's going to be tossed and defeated, etc. But David's experiences brought him some things that really allow, besides the divine, besides God being part of that story. But it allowed David to bring some understanding of resilience, of working under pressure of working with, few less resources, etc. That's what my community has brought to the table, and I think I've, over the last 10 years, I've owned that more than I had in the past.  [00:13:21] Tommy Thomas: Earlier in the conversation you were talking about transparency and maybe you said you might've got hurt a little bit there. This is a quote from Joyce Meyer that I'd like for you to respond to. She writes about what she calls the Judas Kiss Test - The test of being portrayed by friends that we have loved, respected, and trusted. Most people in positions of leadership for any length of time are likely to experience this.  [00:13:48] Lisa Cummins: Unfortunately, if I've experienced that more times than I'd like to, that I'd like to admit, and hopefully I haven't been the perpetrator of that for anyone else. I think when power and greed come to the picture things change and I think all of us are susceptible to that. And I think that I've had some very difficult situations that have been driven at, in hindsight by those two things. And I think for me, the key is what I need, I am always checking myself to make sure that I'm on the right side of that story. And if I'm not to make amends and to identify what there is that I can, that I need to adjust on my end. But yeah, there's been things, and I think any business owner, any leader,you're susceptible to folks who maybe at one time, they were the best of, they were the trusted confidant, but something changed in their environment. Something changed, and those that influenced them, something changed in their circumstances that caused them then to make this Judas kiss. Ironically, we're talking about it this week. But yeah, those are very hurtful and that's probably been the most difficult part of my career is those circumstances and, if I didn't care about folks it wouldn't matter. But the ones that hurt the most are the ones that were people you care about the most. That's where it's going to hurt the most. And it's just part of where we are, part of humanity. And so I try to learn from that. I try to also appreciate, a friend of mine said, Lisa, don't ever trust me without accountability,and she's my most trusted friend. But she said that to me because she loved me, and she knows that all of us have shortcomings. And I think accountability is key. And another friend told me, a banker that's been my friend now for the last 25 years, she's our CFO. She says check what is it, trust and verify. And so I'm learning to do that better. Trust and verify.  +++++++++++++++++   [00:16:04] Tommy Thomas: Let's switch over to board service. Because obviously you report to a board, you serve on several boards. And I just would appreciate some of your input here. So, when did your first board show up?    [00:16:16] Lisa Cummins: So actually Tommy, I'm an LLC so, technically, I don't have a board. Having said that, we do have a couple of projects that require a board. So, we've set up a board for those projects. And I don't have a board, not primarily, just because when I started the organization that was establishing a 501(c) 3 and all the process that goes with that just wouldn't happen fast enough for the kinds of things I was doing. Having said that, I do have people who I trust. And so I hold myself accountable to our CFO, to our employees. I hold myself accountable to, and then I have some outside friends that have been on the journey with me for decades who I hold myself accountable to. So having said that I do serve, I have served on a number of boards. And so, I think there are different kinds of boards. Some are boards where it's as a good friend said, nose in, hands out, and then other boards where it's like, we need you all in. So, it depends on where the organization is. Their life cycle, the maturity of the board organization, the kind of resources they have, etc, that determine then what kind of board you're going to have and what kind of board members that you need.  [00:17:36] Tommy Thomas: You've served on the World Vision Board. That's a big one, obviously.  Maybe you can highlight some differences about the big board like that versus some of the smaller boards you've served on. [00:17:47] Lisa Cummins: Yeah, so I think World Vision, it was a nine-year term, three, three-year terms. It was a great experience. I think I learned a lot and hopefully I was able to contribute from my experience and knowledge with equal value. I think that World Vision is a very large organization, and so the best way to serve them is by asking those tough strategic questions. And by those questions that really are looking at more systems and strategy policy versus. Another board here in my community that I've been part of where I was signing time cards and helping make calls on fundraising and those sorts of things. So, they're very different. I have served on a public board which is Texas Teacher Retirement System. It was only for about a year and a half because I had to withdraw since I was moving to DC, that board was very interesting. It's politically appointed members of the board. And I remember learning that I was approved to serve on that board. It was, at the time it was a 60 billion fund. I don't know what it is today. Probably double that if not more. But I remember I got a call from a gentleman, again, I hadn't been to a board meeting, just got word. And he says, hello, Lisa. This is Bo in his West Texas accent. Welcome to the board. What side are you on? Oh, I said I don't know, the teacher side. And it was a board where there were some issues that there would be sideline meetings on who's going to, who's going to join with who. And alliances met. That was crazy. And I was appointed by Governor Bush. And so, it's interesting and even serving in the Republican administration, I've never been a partisan person. I try to vote and do what I feel like is best according to my biblical perspective, and so folks assume I go this way on one item and another way on another item, and I don't do that. And so I think that on that, even on that board, whether it was talking about how you're going to invest funds, or you're going to, how much are you going to put in versus how much you're going to put in funds. There was political haggling going on. I've just tried to stay true to what my values are, and that's what I bring. I can't bring anything else. And so if that doesn't work, then that's probably not a good place for me.  ++++++++++++++++++   [00:20:35] Tommy Thomas: I've started asking in the last month or so, my Shark Tank question. If you were on a nonprofit version of a Shark Tank, what questions would you need answered before you opened your checkbook?  [00:20:48] Lisa Cummins: I was ready to tell you what my investment opportunity was. I have that one, I have a few of those ready.  I think the question I would ask is what is your employee turnover? Because I have found nonprofits come and go and employee turnover helps me understand what your commitment is to, what your ability is to lead, what your consistency is with your values. Because if you're not consistent, employees won't stay long. Maybe you can explain them once or twice, but if you have an ongoing record of employees that are leaving, then there's a problem there. The other thing I would ask is a lot of nonprofits talk about partners. Let's say, describe the continuum of partnership with these organizations. When you say your partner is this because you dropped off a leaflet at their door sometimes, that's okay. Depends on what the goal is or is this talking about someone who you know their name, right? You know their name and you know their story and so you're trying to get at it in a deeper way. Those kinds of things. Yeah, I think those are a couple of questions I would ask. I would also ask how well, and this is important, not just for, some people will say, this is a political thing and it's not. How well does your organization reflect the communities you're serving? Because if it doesn't, that means that there's probably a sense of a pejorative type of approach that is not going to be that way. What could be, and it'll result in less results than what could be. Does that make sense?  [00:22:43] Tommy Thomas: Yes. If a nonprofit calls you and they're looking for a little consulting and you're going to put together a dashboard of things that you would be looking at a glance to check on their health what would that dashboard look like. [00:22:56] Lisa Cummins:   Yeah, so I think it's who are you partnering with and what are the depths of those partners? Do you know how to partner, can you partner too? What is your employee retention rate? I think the third would be your 30, 60, 90-day accounts payables and 30, 60, 90-day receivables. What does that look like? And accounts payables are very concerning. Obviously if you're 60 days behind in paying, you're like, what's going on here? And how long has this been the case? And so that relates to some of the financials. I would look at the composition of leadership and experiences that they bring. I think I would also look at if, and I get calls all the time, organizations wanting to start something. What have I asked? In looking for resources, I ask, what have you already done with the resources that you have? And so if you're in organizations, I want to start them. I want to work to serve my neighborhood and work with kids. Kids need something. I said okay, what's the name of the school principal in your neighborhood? And they don't know that then that's a sign to me that they haven't done their homework. They haven't done enough work, they haven't been driven enough to do this even without resources. Because I think if you are driven and called, you're going to figure out a way to do it. It may not be all that you want to do, and it may not be, but it says that you're going to do something with the time and the health that you have.  [00:24:27] Tommy Thomas: What do you wish a younger version of yourself had known and acted upon?  [00:24:33] Lisa Cummins: I think my younger self, it would've been good to know that my voice matters and that difference doesn't mean that one is inferior to the other. And that hard work matters, but it's not the only thing that matters. There's a scripture that talks about you can toil all day, but it'd be off or not. And I think that's important. So hard work matters, but the goal, the purpose, the reason that you're doing things you know that you've got to keep that forefront.  ++++++++++++++++++++++++ In Episode 85, we began a conversation with Jerry White that we will conclude next week. If you didn't hear that episode, Jerry is the President Emeritus of The Navigators International. Prior to that, he enjoyed a distinguished career in the United States Air Force - retiring as a two-star general.  One of the reasons I wanted Jerry to be a guest is because of the depth of his nonprofit board service. Among the boards on which he has served are World Vision, The Navigators, Christian Leadership Alliance, Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and the Air Force Association.  [00:26:06] Jerry White: In one board that I'm on, we appoint someone every board meeting to be what we call a responsible skeptic. And that person is designated ahead of time. their job in that board meeting is to be a bit skeptical. Now, I think you have to be a little careful about always having a person who's always skeptical. I don't think I want a board member who every time something comes up, they raise their eyebrow, and you wonder what they're thinking. I think everybody ought to be a little skeptical at some time. And the main thing is if they don't understand something they need to ask.   Links and Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas Urban Strategies   Connect Tommy Thomas - tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Tommy's LinkedIn Profile Lisa Trevino Cummin's LinkedIn Profile  

The second most listened to episodes in the nearly five years of this podcast is titled “Working for God or Working with God,” episode #205. A key insight there is that our work or our ministry is not so much something we do for God, and then hope for his blessing after the fact. Our work is a gracious collaboration with the God who initiates and is already at work. Today, I'm talking with Dr. Roger Parrott about his book Opportunity Leadership. In it, he makes what some leaders will consider a radical proposal: Many of our assumptions in long-range organizational planning are misguided. He wants to argue for a way of leading that is paying attention to opportunities God's Spirit is bringing across our paths now rather than projecting futures we can't possibly predict. Certainly Covid-19 showed us that long-range plans don't predict the future for any of our lives or our organizations. Dr. Roger Parrott is one of America's most experienced college presidents and was named among the 10 Most Visionary Education Leaders of 2021 by The Education Magazine. Dr. Parrott is a third-generation College president and was one of America's youngest college presidents first elected at age 34. He has served on various boards and was Chair of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization hosted by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. In addition to his book Opportunity Leadership, Dr. Parrott is also the author of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders. His wife, MaryLou, earned her Ph.D. in English and is a Professor at Belhaven. They have two adult children who graduated from Belhaven.

This episode of Launch is the audio track of a conversation between GCC's Director of International Ministries Corey Schmatjen and GCC pastor and regional network leader, Kenyatta Lewis. Watch this conversation on Vimeo. Episode Transcript: Marty Duren: Welcome to Launch, the GCC Podcast. I'm your host, Marty Duren, Director of Communications for the Great Commission Collective. We're a global network of churches partnering together to plant churches and strengthen leaders. Marty Duren: On today's episode of Launch, you'll hear another conversation with our international ministries director, Corey Schmatjen, this time with Kenyatta Lewis. Kenyatta is the Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in the Turks and Caicos. That's in the Caribbean, for those of you who are failing geography. He is well known among the GCC family. He's been the lead pastor there for a number of years. You may remember they dealt with a volcanic eruption in the not too distant past, and Kenyatta has dealt with some serious health issues, from which the Lord has brought him healthily through. And we are grateful for that. Think you're going to enjoy this conversation. Now here is Kenyatta and Corey. Corey: Well, welcome. My name is Corey Schmatjen. I serve with the Great Commission Collective as a Director of International Ministries. And I'm here today with Kenyatta Lewis. Kenyatta pastors a church in the Turks and Caicos. But even more than that, he provides regional care for our churches in the Caribbean. Corey: Well, Kenyatta, it is a joy to have you with us, and it is a big deal that you are here today, which we'll talk about in just a moment. I know it's been a challenging year for really everyone, when it comes to the pandemic, but for you in particular. COVID, a volcano in the Caribbean, St. Vincent, where you're from, as well as cancer. Could you just share a little bit with us what you've gone through this past year? Kenyatta: Yeah, yeah. Corey, it is so good to be here. Thank you for having me here. It's such a pleasure to be here, and I made it a plan to come here, and I'm just so thankful that I was able to come and just to share with other persons. Kenyatta: Yeah. So my journey over the last year has been a bit rough, to say the least. I went to St. Vincent. So I'm living in Turks and Caicos. And my family was in St. Vincent at the time. And I went to St. Vincent in March of 2021 on my daughter's birthday. And we celebrated that, and we had a great time. Kenyatta: And I was about to leave. I was living St. Vincent around April the 16th, and then the volcano, St. Vincent has an active volcano. It was having what was called... I forget the term now. I think it's effusive eruption or whatever, but it was steaming since December of 2020. And while I was there, April the ninth, it exploded. And thankfully, we were living in what was called a Green Zone, safer zone. So we were further south. The volcano was in the north of the island. And it erupted April the ninth. So here I am in St. Vincent, and I'm watching a live volcano erupting. And the ash bloom, and it went, I think what, 50 kilometers in the air and everything. So that happened. Kenyatta: But in the midst of that, God's people came together, and I had an opportunity to be in the middle of the relief effort. So we talked, probably a day or two after, and we spoke. And then you were like, "Hey, GCC is fully behind what's happening." Now I pastor in Turks and Caicos, though I'm Vincentian, and [inaudible 00:03:51] who is Vincentian. So we connected with him and started doing some stuff together. And then some relationships that I had with, or rather I have with Samaritan Spurs and Mission of Hope Haiti, and then our church back in Turks and Caicos and individuals, people were just coming together and saying how could we help? So I was in the middle of food and water and bringing relief effort and really enjoying it. Kenyatta: Then one day I was getting some knapsacks, 14 knapsacks to give to kids who were in a shelter. And I started feeling sick, really, really, really sick, really bad headache. And I had to be hospitalized. That was around April the 30th. I went to the hospital and they diagnosed me with a brain stroke. They said I had a brain stroke. And that was difficult to hear, of course, because I'm a young guy. I may only looks so right, but I'm still young. And my blood level, my hemoglobin level was extremely low, eight point something. So for the rest of May into June, I was just recovering. Kenyatta: And then eventually I went back to Turks and Caicos and my primary general practitioner, I went to him and we did a series of tests. And when he got back one of the results, he prayed with me. He's a Christian. He comes to our church. He got back one of the results and he said, "You're going to have a journey ahead, a very difficult journey." And he prayed with me and I went, "Okay, okay. Cool." And then one day I was home. This is in July, I was home. And the doctor called. I had done a colonoscopy. I don't recommend it. That was my first time. And I hope it would be my last time. And he called me and he said, "You have colon cancer and it's spread to the liver, and you have to go to Jamaica and you have to operate on it right away." Kenyatta: And I was like, "I need time." And right after he called, the hospital called. And right after the hospital called, somebody else called to work out me getting on a plane and whatnot. And everything changed in 30 minutes. And it was just difficult at that time. But God opened so many doors. So I'm on a plane, went to Jamaica, went with a friend of mine and they operated August 2nd. The doctor had said it was going to be a four-hour operation. It lasted nine hours. But again, God's grace. And that has been a theme that I got what was considered the A team, the best care possible, probably in the Caribbean, that these guys were all internationally known. They were all well-respected. So one guy worked on my colon and one guy worked on my liver and they were considered the best in their field. And they were so good. They were so encouraging. And they, by God's grace, they got it. They got the section of the colon that was infected out. They took half my liver. Kenyatta: And then I realized after that, they had also taken my gallbladder, which they added, "Oh, by the way, you don't have a gallbladder anymore." So recovery was difficult. And I was able to travel back to extent Turks and Caicos around August 27. So I spent a month in Jamaica and then just slowly getting back to normal, slowly getting back to normal. And then I started chemotherapy in October. And as difficult as it has been, because I'm still doing chemo and chemo is another, it's another trip, right? As difficult as it has been, the grace of God, his goodness, his mercy, people like yourself, praying, other church, churches all across the world, literally all across the GCC network in the Caribbean, just coming together and praying. It has been amazing. And I've seen God's grace. I've seen God's hand, I've seen God's provision during the most difficult time of my life I could say. And I've seen God's goodness through. Kenyatta: So I'm still in the midst of my treatment. I have eight cycles to do. I'm at number four. I'm praying that I don't have to do all eight because the chemo takes a turn on my body, but I'm so grateful that they were able to get it. It had not progressed as far as it could have been. I think it was stage three, going to stage four and the chemo has been helping. And I have a great oncology team, great support. The church back in Turks has been so wonderful. So I've been blessed. I've been blessed. Corey: Well, Kenyatta hearing that story, I would not wish that or desire that for anyone. And at the same time, we know that God uses suffering. Kenyatta: Yes. Corey: And could you just share with us, I think it was a comment that a local pastor made as he engaged with you and saw not only your suffering, but how you shared and talked about your suffering as well. Kenyatta: One of the things that we had prayed was that God would use this as an opportunity to advance his kingdom and his name. So we were very open with what was happening and what I was going through. And my wife Divia was just excellent. She was writing these updates and she was sending it out and people were sharing it. And we felt it was important to share with people. So Turks is a very small community. It's a very close knit community, also less than 50,000 people. And oftentimes people have gone through difficulties, but they keep it to themselves. They don't share, for whatever reason. And I was just the opposite, just sharing. So when I got back to Turks, people were walking up to me and saying, "Hey, Pastor Kenyatta, we are praying for you. Our church prayed for you." Kenyatta: And a few pastors said to me, "Thank you so much for being so open because that's not the norm. Thank you so much for being so transparent. Because people get sick, they keep it to themselves. They don't share it with anybody and whether they die or whether they recover or whatnot, it's not of value that people are sharing. And you are doing the opposite. You are actually saying this is my struggle. And this is what God is doing." Kenyatta: And I've had people from English-speaking churches, Haitian Creole speaking churches who have said, "We have heard what's going on. And we are praying for you." Members of their churches have said to me, "We have heard what's going on. We are praying for you." Pastors have come and said, "Thank you so much for being vulnerable and being transparent. We are praying for you."` And I think what that has done, it's in a small way, just brought the community of churches, churches that I've worked with in the past, churches that we as a church in Turks and Caicos, we have worked with who have said, "We are praying for you." Kenyatta: And I hope that that vulnerability would help other people to realize, hey, pastors are human and we go through struggles and we go through challenges and we need, as much as you do, we need your prayers. We need your support. We need your, "Hey pastor, we are thinking about you. We are praying for you." So it was so good hearing that. It's not always easy being that transparent, but it's something that God has really placed on our heart. So we are very open with these struggles [inaudible 00:12:09] time. So when people ask, "How are you doing?" I say, "Today has been a good day." Or "Today is a good day." And if it's not, I say, "You know what? I was crying and it was probably the medication. Probably I'm getting older, but I'm thankful again for God's grace. He's been so, so good." Corey: Well Kenyatta, as a network leader for the Caribbean, obviously this was not part of your grand strategy. And obviously God is using it for much good and to advance his kingdom and testify at the reality of our Lord and savior through you. Speaking of church plant in the Caribbean, to transition here, when people think of the Caribbean, let's be honest. They think of vacation, at least in that sense. Kenyatta: Sun. Corey: Sun. Yeah. Kenyatta: And sea. Corey: Especially this time of year, winter. Kenyatta: Yes. Corey: But there's challenges to church planting in the Caribbean. Why don't you speak to some of those challenges that you face, but also the vision that you have for your people and your region, the Caribbean? Kenyatta: Yeah. So the Caribbean, English-speaking Caribbean, well, let me backtrack. The Caribbean has four main languages. Spanish is number one. Cuba still in the Caribbean because it's washed by the Caribbean sea. So Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico is American and it's still located. And then we have Haitian Creole. We have Dutch and we have English. So about 5 million people speak English, and that's across a number of countries, about 14 countries. So you have the Jamaica, which is bigger, Trinidad, which is bigger. Then you have small places like St. Kitts, Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda that have less than 100,000 people. So it's very diverse. Kenyatta: Now in the English-speaking Caribbean, we share some common things, common history, economic block, political system and structures. But there also some differences. There are racial differences, it's a very multicultural place. The Caribbean is, people think it's only Afro-Caribbeans, but you have in the Caribbean, Asian-Caribbean, so it's very multicultural. And while it's beautiful, there's some challenges, especially challenges to church planting. But you and I know when we say church planting, we are couching it in the idea that we are speaking of a specific type of church planting or a specific church that will be planted. Kenyatta: So one of the challenges that we have in the Caribbean is that it's a very churched area. We have a lot of churches and not all these churches are healthy. And some of these churches have hurt people, whether inadvertently or not, it's been, I don't know if you want to call it church abuse, if that's a good term. So some people have been turned off from churches and as such planting a church of the type that we want to plant is difficult because you're now talking to people who have been burnt, people who have been hurt, people who have said, "I've done the church thing and I don't want to do it again." Kenyatta: But in addition to that, you also have some church models and some church structures that are not the healthiest, probably skirting the whole idea of what an orthodox church is. So you have the prevalence of these movements and they're growing and they're influencing people and we know they would cause long term damage, because they're not healthy. They're not preaching a clear doctrine. They're not in relationships. And it's just not a good representation of who Jesus Christ is. So you have that to compete against, along with the other difficulties where each island brings its own unique context. So planting in Barbados, high cost of living. Planting in rural Jamaica, planting in Antigua, planting in Turks, while there's some similarities, there are also some challenges. Kenyatta: And we don't have a large number of theological institutions in the Caribbean. We have a little bit more now. So even trained pastors, that's another challenge, that a number of persons, I don't have exact figures at this time, but a number of church leaders have not been theologically trained. Or if they have, it's been minimal. So that poses a challenge. And I remember Lausanne Committee, about probably 10 or so years ago, mentioned one of the biggest problems that we face our church is biblically illiteracy. Kenyatta: So when you have a church leader who hasn't been exposed to solid grounded theological training, you know what's going to happen in the pulpit and then people are going to grow up in the church, so to speak, with a very limited understanding of who God is, a limited understanding of the gospel, a limited understanding of how the gospel impacts them. So that again is another challenge that some people are coming to the church need to unlearn what they've heard and then you need to reteach them, hey, this is what it is. So that's another challenge as it relates to church planting. Corey: So it sounds like the challenges are quite a few, manifest in terms of ethically, linguistically and politically. Kenyatta: Yes. Yes. Corey: Put all those together. Kenyatta: Yes. Corey: But that God uses gospel to unite. And I trust to use you, Kenyatta, to help train up theologically sound, gospel-centered church planters that would plant churches that would be healthy and multiplying in the Caribbean. Kenyatta: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Corey: And that is a hope, isn't it? Kenyatta: And that's something that's on my heart, too. It's something that God has placed on my heart to see spiritual renewal take place in the Caribbean amongst the healthy churches and also to see a spiritual awakening. There have been pockets here and there of where the gospel has been preached and it has borne fruit and churches have been formed. But then again, you have cases where it's not happened and the church has become a byword. The church has become secondary to what's happening. The church is losing relevance amongst young people. So it's my heart to see a renewed church, a strong church. And as you mentioned, a multiplying church. And we use the word healthy a lot in GCC, because it's actually one of the things that we focus on, healthy leaders, healthy churches. But even though we use it a lot, we can't over emphasize the importance of a healthy church and a healthy leader because there's such an increased prevalence of unhealthy churches and unhealthy leaders. Kenyatta: And we don't want to be pointing fingers and stuff like that, even though sometimes we may have to, but my hope and my vision for the Caribbean is that we will have healthy churches and strong leaders, people of integrity, people who are being discipled. And as such, God would be pleased to bring a spiritual awakening throughout the Caribbean region, through these churches and through these leaders. Corey: Amen. Kenyatta: Amen. Corey: Well may God get you healthy, Kenyatta to lead the charge there in the Caribbean. And may God continue to show his mercy upon you, his goodness and his power and provision for you. I think there's much work yet to be done in the Caribbean. And we're excited. We're leaning in, we're praying for you. Kenyatta: Yes. Thank you. Corey: And care for you, Kenyatta. Kenyatta: Thank you. Corey: Thank you so much for sharing today. Kenyatta: Really appreciate that. Thank you for having me, Corey. Corey: You're more than welcome. Well, thank you as well. If you'd like to know more about the Great Commission Collective, please see gccollective.org. Marty Duren: Thank you for listening to Launch, the GCC podcast. If you haven't subscribed already, why not take a moment to do that in your favorite podcast app. Also, rate and review the podcast when you get a moment. That helps us with search results and recommend us to your friends, maybe other pastors that you know, who'll benefit from the content from this podcast. Also, don't forget to check out our website if you haven't done that already. It's gccollective.org. That's gccollective.org, and there's a lot of helpful information. There's articles. There's how you can join the GCC, whether a church planter or an existing church and plenty of other content that'll help you grow spiritually and encourage you in your leadership journey.  

Joni Eareckson Tada is an esteemed Christian stateswoman and respected global leader in disability advocacy. Mrs. Tada serves as CEO of Joni and Friends, a Christian organization that provides programs and services for thousands of special-needs families around the world. President Reagan appointed Mrs. Tada to the National Council on Disability and during her tenure, the ADA was signed into law. Joni served as an advisor to Condoleezza Rice on the Disability Advisory Committee to the U.S. State Department, and as Senior Associate for Disability Concerns for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. The Colson Center on Christian Worldview awarded Joni Tada its prestigious William Wilberforce Award, and she was also inducted into Indiana Wesleyan University's Society of World Changers. Joni and her husband Ken were married in 1982 and reside in Calabasas, California.   On the show this week Joni discusses how the accident that left her quadriplegic at the age of 17 completely transformed her path, and why she feels her experience brought her closer to God and inspired her to do His work. She shares how Joni and Friends was born and the myriad ways in which the organization helps and supports people across the world with disabilities practically, physically, and spiritually. Joni also highlights how God has guided her on her path and why it's so important to give glory to the Lord for the extraordinary moments and experiences He gives you.   “The whole point about reach, care, and connect, is to not only share good words from God's word but to share his love in a practical way.” - Joni Eareckson Tada   “Faith is like a muscle; when you exercise it, it's going to get stronger.” - Joni Eareckson Tada   “If you want to solve the problem, you have to have a holistic, comprehensive approach. It starts with healing the individual.” - Joni Eareckson Tada    This Week on The Wow Factor: When Joni found painting and how she felt when she realized she could still produce beautiful works of arts When she decided to start an organization to shine a light on and support the billion people worldwide who have some form of disability How the reach, care, and connect framework works and why Joni is always open to connecting with people who have questions about what Joni and Friends does Joni's appearance on the Tonight Show, the book sharing her story that was subsequently made into a film by Billy Graham How Joni has scaled her personal experience of disability to help people in 40 countries worldwide What Joni learned about herself and her leadership style in the early years of Joni and Friends and how her style has evolved over the years How the COVID-19 pandemic led to the Joni's House program and what they do to help people with disabilities in the developing world The importance of providing respite for caregivers and how Joni and Friends serve families Why God loves a giver and an asker   Joni Eareckson Tada's Words of Wisdom: You have in your life, lots of awe-filled moments so find ways to breathe it in, let your soul open up, your mind get cracked open, and connect those moments of inspiration to the Lord — because that's what gives Him glory.   Connect with Joni Eareckson Tada: Joni and Friends Website Joni and Friends on Instagram Joni and Friends on Facebook Joni and Friends on Twitter   Connect with The WOW Factor: I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life by Brad Formsma Words of Wisdom Website Brad Formsma on LinkedIn Brad Formsma on Instagram Brad Formsma on Facebook Brad Formsma on Twitter    

Learn about opportunity leadership as Chris talks with Dr. Roger Parrott about the importance of working in unison with God and his plan, instead of being blindsided by one's ego. The two share experience on how they navigate their team and company through uncertainty. Dr. Parrott talks about Opportunity Leadership, urging leaders to stop overplanning and start believing in the process of God. Using the example of David slaying Goliath, Dr. Parrott explains that opportunity leaders do not expect success at first but are willing to adapt and change are always quick on their feet, and never dwell on any decisions. Starting as a Pastor, Dr. Parrott worked with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization before serving as President at Belhaven for 33 years. He received an M.Ed in Education Administration and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at the University of Maryland. Dr. Parrott is also the author of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders and his new book Opportunity Leadership: Stop Planning and Start Getting Results, is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Dr. Parrott is a third-generation College president and is helping to shape even more competent future leaders.After becoming president of Belhaven, Dr. Parrott had undertaken numerous leadership reforms to the university that helped solidify its position as a top Christian private Liberal Arts University. Belhaven offers all students undertaking dual degree programs a free fifth year and a free master's degree to all undergraduate students. Utilizing opportunity leadership, Belhaven had adjusted to social changes and unforeseen circumstances to generate impressive results, including its partnership with universities in China to offer master's degree programs, as well as its unplanned creative writing department that fostered Nobel writers such as Angie Thomas. Dr. Parrot explained, using a metaphor of a powerboat versus a sailboat. Instead of fighting the current stubbornly and blindly chasing one's desires, it is often faster to follow the current and appreciate wherever it will take us. Read Roger's Newest Book: OpportunityLeadership.comVisit Belhaven's Website: Belhaven.eduVisit Roger's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogerparrott/

The word “evangelical” carries a lot of baggage these days. There was a time when it primarily denoted a theological conviction that included a recognition of the Scriptures as God’s word, an understanding of our need for salvation through Jesus, and a commitment to caring for the “least of these.”Unfortunately, that’s no longer what most non-Christians think of when they hear the word “evangelical.” Today, “evangelical” has become--for a lot of people--synonymous with American, right wing, conservative politics.In his book, delightfully titled, When Evangelicals Sneeze, Michael Cooper explores the historic meaning of evangelicalism and how its meaning has changed in recent years. And in this interview, we dive into those same topics.THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:Michael shares the story of a young Evangelical Palestinian woman who has experienced persecution because people in her community associate Evangelicalism with Donald Trump.Michael “resigned” from Evangelicalism in a conversation with Doug Birdsall, former Executive Director for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.There are three marks of historic Evangelicalism:The Great Commandment: The defense of the faith.The Great Compassion: Our engagement in social justice.The Great Commission: The declaration of God’s glory to the nations.Michael discusses the connection between Evangelicalism and conservative politics.Michael explains what he means by the term, “Trumpgelical.”There are various kinds of evangelicals, including Trumpgelicals, Deconstructionists, Post-modernists, and Fundamentalists.There is a difference between a Trumpgelical and an Evangelical person who voted for Trump.The title of Michael’s book, When Evangelicals Sneeze, is a reference to the impact that American Evangelicalism has on global Evangelicalism.When Evangelicals Sneeze is available on Amazon. You can find out more about Michael and his work at www.ephesiology.com.RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:Michael CooperEphesiology WebsiteBooks mentioned:When Evangelicals Sneeze, by Michael CooperEphesiology: A Study of the Ephesian Movement, by Michael CooperInstructions to leave a review of Spiritual Life and Leadership:Click HERE.Click on the link that says, "Listen on Apple Podcasts."In the window that opens, click the button that says, "Open Link." This will open iTunes.To the right of the Spiritual Life and Leadership logo, click "Ratings and Reviews."Under the heading, "Customer Reviews," click on the button that says, "Write a Review."Select the number of stars and write your review.Click submit.I'd be so grateful if you did this. Thank you!— Links to Amazon are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through any of these links, I’ll receive a small commission–which will help pay for the Spiritual Life and Leadership podcast!

Our #1 purpose is to provide resources globally for people who want to learn, grow, and deepen their walk with God.  We’ll be making more progress this coming year, but you’re help is needed now. Would you consider supporting Soul Care Conversations as a Patron? Find out how to support the podcast by clicking on the button above. SHOW NOTES This week’s podcast is with lifelong minister of the gospel Leighton Ford, who shares with Steve his story and how it became a personal history of listening for God’s voice. He recounts the different ways God has spoken to him, and the different ways he has learned to listen. What emerges is not just an account of a long and faithful life of Christian service, but a picture of the Christian life―the life of listening.  It's a conversation you don’t want to miss!   Leighton Ford is president of Leighton Ford Ministries, which seeks to help young leaders worldwide to lead more like Jesus. For many years, Ford communicated Christ around the globe through speaking, writing, and media outreach, addressing millions of people on every continent. He served from 1955 until 1985 as associate evangelist and later vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and was featured as the alternate speaker to Billy Graham on the Hour of Decision broadcast. He served for nearly twenty years as chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, an international body of Christian leaders. He chairs the Sandy Ford Fund and has served as a board member for World Vision U. S., the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He received the 1990 Two Hungers Award, recognizing his contributions to addressing the physical and spiritual hungers of people around the world. In 1985 he was selected as Clergyman of the Year by Religious Heritage of America and TIME Magazine singled him out as being "among the most influential preachers of an active gospel." Dr. Ford is also author and co-author of numerous books. Places of the Heart is Leighton’s latest four-color book and features the author’s imaginative watercolor paintings, poetry, and reflections on a life formed, redeemed, empowered, and directed by God and for God’s glory.  Leighton lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife, Jean (who Billy Graham introduced him to - she was Billy’s sister!) Their children are a married daughter, Debbie, Kevin who partners with him in LFM, and their older son, Sandy, who died after heart surgery in November 1981.   RESOURCES MENTIONED ON PODCAST Billy Graham Association Leighton Ford Ministries Books by Leighton Ford (mentioned) The Life of Listening The Attentive Life (used in Potter’s Inn Soul Care Institute) Other books by Leighton Becoming the Beloved by Henri Nouwen Simone Weil – French philosopher and activist Cultivating Daily Examen Podcast “The heart has many dungeons. Bring the light! Bring the light.” - Mary Oliver My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman John Polkinghorne, physicist and priest   Moment to Breathe - Now I Become Myself by May Sarton Text Audio

Dr. Glen Smith is the Chief Advocate/Professor of Urban Theology & Missiology / Christian Direction at the Institut de Theologie pour la Francophonie. Since 2006, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of IVCF: Canada. Glenn is the co-author of the book, Espoir pour la ville, Dieu dans la cité (Hope for the city, God in the city) His forth-coming book is entitled, City Air Makes You Free: To Transform the city through a fresh, biblical hermeneutic. Dr. Smith is the author of numerous articles on urban mission. He was a Senior Associate for Large Cities with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and was the director of the afternoon program for the 3rd Congress of Lausanne that took place in Cape Town in October 2010. We had a chance to meet recently and talk about secularization in North America. I'm excited to share his insights with you!

In this episode, Natasha speaks with global leaders, Dr. Leighton Ford and Dr. MaryKate Morse about cross-gender mentoring, specifically how we cultivate healthy mentoring relationships between women and men. Dr. Leighton Ford, evangelist, author, social activist, leader, communicator and mentor, was singled out by Time Magazine as “among the most influential preachers of an active Gospel.” Dr. Ford is president of Leighton Ford Ministries. As an author, he has written 11 books. His most recent book is The Attentive Life. As a social activist, Dr. Ford has been an advocate for such issues as world hunger, poverty and racism. As a communicator, he has spoken to millions of people in scores of countries on every continent of the world. He is an ordained Presbyterian minister and was vice-president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, where he served for 31 years. He was also a regular alternate speaker with Billy Graham, his brother-in-law, on the Hour of Decision, one of the most popular religious broadcasts of its time. As a leader, Dr. Ford serves as the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, having served from 1976 to 1992 as chairman of this international body of Christian leaders. His book, “Transforming Leadership,” is one of the most comprehensive books on leadership ever written. Dr. MaryKate Morse is Professor of Leadership and Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary of George Fox University. Currently, she is the Lead Mentor for the Doctor of Ministry in Leadership & Spiritual Formation. Raised in the Air Force, MaryKate lived in various US states and overseas. She completed her BS in Secondary Education and English Literature at Longwood University in Virginia. Upon return she did a Masters in Biblical Studies and a Master of Divinity at Western Evangelical Seminary (now Portland Seminary). She began teaching, studied spiritual formation and spiritual direction, and was certified as a spiritual director and recorded as a pastor with the Evangelical Friends. MaryKate completed her doctorate at Gonzaga University where she studied the characteristics of renewal leadership as modeled by Jesus. After her doctorate she planted two churches and served in various administrative positions at the university including Seminary Associate Dean, Director of Hybrid programs, and University Director of Strategic Planning. She is a spiritual director and leadership mentor and coach, conference and retreat speaker, and author including Making Room for Leadership: Power, Space, and Influence and A Guidebook to Prayer. Show notes are available at A Sista's Journey blog. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

J. Dudley Woodberry and Graham Hill discuss how we might share the love of Jesus with Muslims today. The Global Church Project podcast episode #128. On https://www.theglobalchurchproject.com“In these troubled times, with the increased interest in peacebuilding between Muslims and Christians and the increased responsiveness to the gospel among Muslims, it is evidently the fullness of time for Muslims. Let us as individuals and as an institution actively participate in what God is doing.” ~ Dr. Woodberry, in his sermon during the 50th anniversary celebration of the School of Intercultural Studies. See https://www.fuller.edu/faculty/j-dudley-woodberry/ J. Dudley Woodberry is dean emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary and senior professor of Islamic studies at Fuller’s School of Intercultural Studies and is considered one of the foremost Christian scholars of Islam. He has served as consultant on the Muslim world to President Carter, the State Department, USAID, and other US government agencies. He has also been an active part of the Zwemer Institute for Muslim Studies and has served as coordinator and acting senior associate of the Muslim track of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.Woodberry served as dean of the School of World Mission at Fuller Seminary, now the School of Intercultural Studies, from 1992 to 1999. He also served as a teacher in Pakistan and a pastor in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, and has ministered in at least 35 predominantly Muslim nations around the world.In addition to writing numerous articles and book chapters, Woodberry’s more recent books include From Seed to Fruit: Global Trends, Fruitful Practices, and Emerging Issues among Muslims (revised and enlarged 2nd ed., 2010), Paradigm Shifts in Christian Witness: Insights from Anthropology, Communication, and Spiritual Power (coedited, 2008), Resources for Peacemaking in Muslim Christian Relations (coedited, 2006), and Muslim and Christian Reflections on Peace: Divine and Human Dimensions (coedited, 2005). He has also coedited Missiological Education for the 21st Century: The Book, the Circle, the Sandals (1996) and edited Muslims and Christians on the Emmaus Road (1989). Recent teaching and lecturing trips have taken him to Afghanistan, Lebanon, Egypt, Thailand, and China.

In this episode, you'll hear John Guest give a talk on the price of leadership. John is 81 years old and is originally from the U.K. and he has been in ministry since he was 17 years old, when he gave his life to Christ at a Billy Graham meeeting. He has been in ministry for over over 40 years in Pittsburgh. This is an important talk for all of us to listen to. John has paid a huge price to obey the call of God on his life. He is not at his finish line yet, but he has made it further than a lot of other Christian leaders. My pastor says that he believes 2% of Christian leaders make it to their finish line. If that is true, you should be all the more eager to listen to what John has to say. This isn't someone who has talked a good game. This is someone who has lived a good game. I'd be absolutely thrilled if I knew my life would look anything like John's when I'm 81. The best part is, he's not slowing down. You'll hear about his newest Kingdom initiative in the talk. I think you'll come away from this talk fired up to go the distance in your journey! To see the notes and ways to connect with John Guest, go to the show notes at L3Leadership.org/episode161. John Guest's Bio: Dr. Guest was born and raised in Oxford, England, "…just an ordinary lad from London," as he describes himself. At the age of 18, while studying to be an engineer, he attended a Billy Graham crusade and committed his life to Christ. Shortly following his ordination, he moved to the United States as part of a Christian rock band, “The Exkursions.” He began his ministry in Pittsburgh nearly 40 years ago, serving as a youth pastor and then, shortly thereafter, as senior pastor and rector of Sewickley's St. Stephens Episcopal Church for more than 20 years. As co-founder of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (TESM), Guest had the opportunity to influence the Episcopal Diocese in Pittsburgh. During a very turbulent time in the Episcopal Church, he held firmly to conservative Biblical values and helped to establish a reforming influence nationwide. Guest has authored 10 books on the Christian lifestyle. He also participated in the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelism and co-founded the South American Missionary Society. Additionally, he helped found the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO), a ministry designed to support and equip young Christian college students. That organization still exists today, reaching out to more than 84 colleges in Pennsylvania, as well as several nearby states. Connect with L3 Leadership: Website: L3Leadership.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/l3-leadership Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/L3Leader Twitter: @L3leader Instagram: @l3leadership Podcast: The L3 Leadership Podcast in iTunes How You Can Help this Podcast: To listen to past interviews, go to my podcast page. Subscribe to this podcast Rate and leave a review of the podcast Share the content on Social Media Sign-up for my L3 Leadership Newsletter If you have an idea for a future podcast you would like to hear or a leader you would like me to interview, e-mail me at dougsmith@l3leadership.org. If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on iTunes and write a review.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/l3leadership)

Daniel Bourdanné & Graham Hill discuss renewing humility, mission, discipleship & passion in the church. The GlobalChurch Project, Episode 15.Daniel Bourdanné was born in Chad. He has served IFES in Francophone Africa since 1990, including overseeing IFES ministry throughout the region, which encompasses 20 French-speaking countries.Daniel Bourdanné is General Secretary of IFES, and Deputy Director of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Over the past few years he has led a number of significant training initiatives designed to bring theologians and local churches together in mission and theology.Daniel Bourdanné challenges Christians to give their whole lives to God in discipleship and service and mission. He urges us to think about our life and who it belongs to. “Life is not granted,” he says, “it belongs to God.”

Our special guest is Joni Eareckson Tada, the Founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center, an international advocate for people with disabilities. A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson, then 17, a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, without the use of her hands. After two years of rehabilitation, she emerged with new skills and a fresh determination to help others in similar situations. Visit her website at www.joniandfriends.org During her rehabilitation, Joni spent long months learning how to paint with a brush between her teeth. Her high-detail fine art paintings and prints are sought-after and collected. Her best-selling autobiography Joni and the feature film of the same name have been translated into many languages, introducing her to people around the world. Mrs. Tada has also visited more than 47 countries, several many times. Mrs. Tada has served on the National Council on Disability and on the Disability Advisory Committee to the U.S. State Department. She has served as Senior Associate for Disability Concerns for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and serves in an advisory capacity to the American Leprosy Mission, the National Institute on Learning Disabilities, Christian Blind Mission International, as well as on the Board of Reference for the Christian Medical and Dental Society. Joni Tada currently serves on the Young Life Capernaum Board. After being the first woman honored by the National Association of Evangelicals as its “Layperson of the Year” in 1986, Joni was named “Churchwoman of the Year” in 1993 by the Religious Heritage Foundation. She has received numerous other awards and honors, including the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award; The Courage Award from the Courage Rehabilitation Center; The Award of Excellence from the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center; The Victory Award from the National Rehabilitation Hospital; and The Golden Word Award from the International Bible Society. Joni has been awarded several honorary degrees, including: Bachelor of Letters from Western Maryland College; Doctor of Humanities from Gordon College; Doctor of Humane Letters from Columbia International University, the first bestowed in its 75-year history; Doctor of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary; Doctor of Divinity from Lancaster Bible College; a Doctor of Humanitarian Services from California Baptist University; and in 2009, a Doctor of Humane Letters by Indiana Wesleyan University. She was also inducted into Indiana Wesleyan University’s Society of World Changers. Joni has written over 50 books and is a regular columnist in several magazines. She was inducted into the Christian Booksellers’ Association’s Hall of Honor in 1995 and received the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Joni’s works cover topics ranging from disability outreach to understanding the goodness of God and the problem of suffering. Her books include: A Christmas Longing, depicting her best-loved Christmas paintings, and Life and Death Dilemma, addressing the complex issues surrounding physician-assisted suicide. The mystery of suffering is systematically examined in When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty, a book written with Steve Estes in 1997 which won ECPA’s Gold Medallion Award. In 2003, Joni wrote her memoir The God I Love, chronicling a lifetime walking with Jesus. In 2011, A Place of Healing was released, recounting her journey through physical pain and addressing questions concerning prayers for healing. After battling stage III breast cancer in 2010, Joni wrote Diagnosed with Breast Cancer: Life after Shock, released in the fall of 2012. Joni & Ken: An Untold Love Story was released in 2013. Joni’s book detailing her latest health challenges, Beside Bethesda: 31 Days Toward Deeper Healing, was released in 2014. In October 2016, her new daily devotional,

Looking at the years 1555-1664, Elias Medeiros explains what has been said and spread about the Reformers (especially John Calvin) and the propagation of the gospel to all the nations. He looks at where the Reformation started and who started it. He argues that it may not be what people typically read; he offers two case studies and resources for further study. Dr. Elias Medeiros is the Harriet Barbour Professor of Missions and the Missions Department Chairman at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. He is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil since January 1975. Prior to come to RTS in 1993, he worked with youth camping ministries in Northeast Brazil; “church planter missionary” in the Amazon jungle; as an urban church planter in Northeast Brazil; pastored churches in the State of Paraiba, Brazil; taught at the Presbyterian Seminary in Brazil; and worked as Academic Dean at the Evangelical Missions Center in South Brazil. He is also a member of the “Global Diaspora Network Advisory Board” of “Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization” and of the “Evangelical Brazilian Diaspora Movement.” He has been happily married to Fokjelina, a beautiful Dutch lady, for almost 38 years by God’s grace and strength. They have three children and six grand-daughters.

Recognized nationally and internationally as a prominent speaker and author, Rebecca Pippert is founder of Salt Shaker Ministries: a teaching/training ministry in evangelism. Having ministered extensively around the world, Becky has a global perspective on being a sensitive and effective witness for Christ whether in the Post-modern West or the Global South. She was named the Senior Advisor for Global Evangelism by Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism. And the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (a global ministry to University students) recently named Becky their Senior Trainer in Evangelism and Seeker Studies for all of Europe. Becky is the author of nine books that include the modern classic, Out of the Salt Shaker, which was named recently by Christianity Today as one of the books that has most influenced Christian thought in the past 50 years. Her book, Hope Has Its Reasons, addresses the common questions held by seekers and skeptics about faith, and her book, A Heart for God, addresses themes of how God uses suffering and trials to produce character and faith. Her 6 volume book set: Salt Shaker Resources: An Evangelism Tool Kit, won the award for Best Evangelism Resource for 2003 and the first book in that series, Talking About Jesus Without Sounding Religious, won Best Evangelism Book for 2003 by Outreach Magazine.

S. Douglas Birdsall is the executive chairman of the Lausanne Movement, a global network of Christians launched in 1974. He provided overall leadership for the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa. Drawing over 4,000 participants from 198 countries and from a wide variety of denominations, Cape Town 2010 was the most diverse gathering of Christians in history. Birdsall received a B.A. from Wheaton College, a M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Th.M. from Harvard University. He is currently a research scholar at theOxford Centre for Mission Studies. Birdsall received on honorary doctorate from Belhaven University in 2010. In 1999 Birdsall was appointed director of the J. Christy Wilson Center for World Mission at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts. In 2004 he was named executive chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. In 2007 he stepped down from presidency of Asian Access to focus entirely on the Lausanne Movement. He continues to serve on the Asian Access board. As chairman of the Lausanne Movement Birdsall writes and speaks frequently on matters pertaining to Christian mission.

J. Dudley Woodberry is dean emeritus and senior professor of Islamic studies at Fuller’s School of Intercultural Studies and is considered one of the foremost Christian scholars of Islam. He has served as consultant on the Muslim world to President Carter, the State Department, USAID, and other U.S. government agencies. He has also been an active part of the Zwemer Institute for Muslim Studies and has served as coordinator and acting senior associate of the Muslim track of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Woodberry served as dean of the School of World Mission, now the School of Intercultural Studies, from 1992 to 1999. He also served as a teacher in Pakistan and a pastor in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, and has ministered in at least 35 predominantly Muslim nations around the world.In addition to writing numerous articles and book chapters, Woodberry’s most recent books include From Seed to Fruit: Global Trends, Fruitful Practices, and Emerging Issues among Muslims (revised and expanded ed. coming November 2010); Paradigm Shifts in Christian Witness: Insights from Anthropology, Communication, and Spiritual Power (co-edited, 2008), amongst many others.

J. Dudley Woodberry is dean emeritus and senior professor of Islamic studies at Fuller’s School of Intercultural Studies and is considered one of the foremost Christian scholars of Islam. He has served as consultant on the Muslim world to President Carter, the State Department, USAID, and other U.S. government agencies. He has also been an active part of the Zwemer Institute for Muslim Studies and has served as coordinator and acting senior associate of the Muslim track of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Woodberry served as dean of the School of World Mission, now the School of Intercultural Studies, from 1992 to 1999. He also served as a teacher in Pakistan and a pastor in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, and has ministered in at least 35 predominantly Muslim nations around the world.In addition to writing numerous articles and book chapters, Woodberry’s most recent books include From Seed to Fruit: Global Trends, Fruitful Practices, and Emerging Issues among Muslims (revised and expanded ed. coming November 2010); Paradigm Shifts in Christian Witness: Insights from Anthropology, Communication, and Spiritual Power (co-edited, 2008), amongst many others.

Cecil M. Robeck, who has worked at Fuller Seminary since 1974, is professor of church history and ecumenics and director of the David J. DuPlessis Center for Christian Spirituality. His recent publications in the field of ecumenics have focused on the Holy Spirit, the Church, unity in the Pentecostal perspective, and potential contributions the Pentecostal Movement can make to the world Christian Movement. Previously, Robeck served as an instructor in religion at Southern California College (now Vanguard University) in Costa Mesa, California, and as a trustee for Bethany Bible College (now Bethany University) in Scotts Valley, California. At Fuller, he has served in several administrative positions, including associate dean for Academic Programs in the School of Theology, director of Academic Services, director of Student Services, and director of Admissions and Records. An ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, Robeck has also worked on ecumenical issues for nearly 30 years with the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, the World Alliance [now Communion] of Reformed Churches, and other groups. He serves as a Consultant to the Chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization for long-term relations with the Vatican. For the past 13 years Robeck has served on the steering committee of the Global Christian Forum. He also participated with Pope John Paul II in worship events in Rome and Assisi. For 18 years he has met annually with the Secretaries of Christian World Communions and he appears regularly as a panelist on broadcasts of the American Religious Town Hall Meeting.