Tom Cannon

When it comes to developing leaders, some churches place too much weight on persona, charisma, and other supposedly necessary leadership qualities, but neglect “some of the weightier things,” that God repeatedly says are the most important of all.

Experience has taught us that ministers become more successful if they have:

• The RIGHT relationship with God. Well-defined leadership qualities, spiritual gifts, or charismatic personalities are not the most important asset of a successful Christian leader.  In fact, none of them will ever replace a right relationship with God. The Bible clearly teaches, without a right relationship with God, everything else will be meaningless.
• The RIGHT heart. Successful ministers must have a heart to reach this generation for Jesus, and intensely cares about the members of the church. You will never be successful in ministry, until you’re willing to give yourself away, to save, help, strengthen and establish those Jesus loves.
• The RIGHT work ethic. Like the people in Nehemiah’s day, servant-leaders must have “a mind to work.”
• The RIGHT commitment. Each servant-leader must be committed 100% to the cause of Christ, and to the process of Read the rest of this entry »

[i]“One night a house caught fire, and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, “Jump! I’ll catch you.” He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: “Jump! I will catch you.” But the boy protested, “Daddy, I can’t see you.” The father replied, “But I can see you and that’s all that matters.” The boy jumped, because he trusted his father.

The Christian faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known.” – Donner Atwood.

If you have a basic knowledge of gardening, you know that mustard seeds are extremely small. Yet, miraculously, one tiny seed is capable of producing a very large plant, in a minimum amount of time. Apparently, there’s a lot of life packed in that tiny seed. The mustard seed is even used by Jesus, as an illustration of the miraculous power of faith.

Every tree in the forest started as a small seed. No matter how large they grow to be, their ‘roots’ can be traced back to a small seed. When compared to the seed that gave them life, the transformation is remarkable.

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Your personal and ministerial success will be greatly impacted by the people that surround you. Although many leaders don’t understand that principle, it is a time-tested, historically proven fact that your pastoral staff, administrative assistants, and leadership team really are that important to the overall success of your ministry. In fact, the RIGHT leadership team can either make or break you.

While often overlooked, or underestimated, the assembly of your leadership team is one of the most important things you will ever do, and more than likely, will have a longer-lasting impact upon your ministry than any other administrative decision you make. It is ironic, however, how little forethought, or time is devoted to a decision of this magnitude. To hurry this process, however, is to court disaster, because the assembling of your team is really that important.

My advice to those who are responsible for selecting staff, or assembling ministry teams, is to take it slow, and be deliberate in every facet of the process. Don’t rush through it, like people in line at a fast food restaurant, but take your time to evaluate each prospective member carefully, before making your choices.

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Leaders must develop a careful balance between their responsibilities (daily leadership duties) and their time, if they are going to expand their ministry beyond the small sphere of their own influence. The best way to accomplish this goal, is to increase the number of effective leaders you have on your team.

Everyone is familiar with the old saying, “Many hands make light work.” But please don’t dismiss this saying, as just another cliche, because there is great truth found in those few words, especially for leaders. Statistics prove that one leader, ‘flying solo,’ can only influence 25-30 people effectively. But when you add a second, third, or fourth leader to your team, the sphere of your influence begins to skyrocket. Adding additional members to your team, also reduces the amount of work each member is responsible to undertake, on a consistent basis.

Although many leaders do not see the value of training, equipping, or mentoring team members, and many in fact, often neglect Read the rest of this entry »

We have grown accustomed to the bagger at our local grocery store asking us, “Would you prefer paper or plastic?” But in the emerging world of book publishing, there is a whole new twist on that common question. “which do you prefer, paper or electronic?”

While I will always love printed books – I am really enjoying the convenience of the eBook format. Especially for traveling. It makes it easy to ‘pack a bunch of books with me,’ without overloading the car. LOL. And since I already have my phone, or ipad with me, it makes sense to use these convenient devices, to feed my reading habit. Right?

Statistics show that increasingly, people are switching to electronic reading devices instead of the time-honored printed page, as the means by which they consume their daily reading dosages. Starting with the introduction of the iPhone (then the iPad), within the past several years, we have witnessed an explosion of mobile reading devices. Now, when you walk into your local electronics store, bookstore, or even department store, you are greeted by a burgeoning selection of electronic readers. In response to the heavy demand, ebook publishers are making it easier to download eBooks from a plethora of websites.

Personally, I am an Apple guy – I love the simplicity with which they are designed, and the (near) flawless integration. I can Read the rest of this entry »