Tom Cannon

The story of Hannah’s life is miraculous, and the results are amazing. But there is a story within Hannah’s story that is tragic. When Hannah prayed, she was confronted by Eli, the High Priest. As Hannah prayed, Eli rebuked her, because he thought she was drunk. But Hannah was not drunk; she was anointed with the presence of the Holy Spirit. She was abiding in that place of intimacy with God, where she no longer could speak her request with human words, but had to cry out to God, from the depth of her heart and soul.

Eli didn’t know what was happening within Hannah, because he apparently could not recognize the anointing of God upon her life. And that’s what makes this ‘story within the story’ so tragic. At the very moment when God was getting ready to open Hannah’s womb, so she and her husband could conceive a child together – a child who would become one of the greatest leaders Israel would ever know – the spiritually blind leader of Israel (High Priest), judged Hannah by the presumptions of his flesh, rather than by his knowledge of the Spirit.

It’s not good, when the one praying (Hannah) is more righteous, godly, and spiritually mature than the person leading the church (Eli). Such was the case with Hannah and Eli. Read the rest of this entry »

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

If you really want to build an effective leader, who walks in the likeness of Christ, then you need to “root out” all forms of nepotism, bigotry, gender bias, racism, and personal favoritism that exists in your life. Failure to do so, will earn you the fitting reputation of an unfair leader, and cause the people in your church, or ministry, who are not “numbered among the favored ones,” to lose heart, and 1) leave the church, or 2) develop a “who gives a rip attitude,” because they figure they don’t stand a chance to earn legitimate place of ministry anyway, since those positions are always filled by people you have pre-selected.

Credibility is a strange thing; it can take years to earn, but only a moment to lose. And whether you like it or not, people are determining the level of your credibility every day, based upon the decisions you make, as a leader, and the fairness with which those decisions are carried out. So be careful what choices you make, as a leader, because they are revealing who you are much louder than your words, and by them, people know how fair you are to those you lead.

Example: If you consistently exclude women, or minorities from places of equal ministry opportunity, then you can expect a certain label to be attached to you, as a leader. You may not like it, and may even protest how that tag is unfair, but if your leadership choices never include women or minorities in substantial places of leadership, then you have no one to blame, but Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Ever dream of accomplishing something great for God, but didn’t know where to start? Thanks to a hands-on approach to leader training, we are able to show leaders how important they are to the flock, what their role is intended to be, and how to minister effectively to the body of Christ.

While ministry is for everyone, a school of ministry is for serious students only.  Why? Our concentration must be on training leaders to become what God called them to be, and do what He called them to do. Everything we do in DESTINY Ministry Training School is for the purpose of making better leaders, to help leaders become the best they can be, and increase leader effectiveness.

DESTINY Ministry Training School: We seek to impact leaders through hands-on, practical training.  We teach leaders to see needs more clearly; meet needs more efficiently, and represent Christ more faithfully in everything they do. Leader training concentrates on “reaching lives with passion, changing lives with power, and living life with purpose.”

Email us for more information at: Info@destinyministrytraining.com.

Want to learn if Destiny is right for you? Or you would like to start a Resource Center in your church or community? Visit our new website: http://destinyministrytraining.com.

New Release: Got Gifts? (May 1, 2010)

I am very excited to announce the release of my newest book, Got Gifts?

Actually, this book has taken me longer to write than any book I have ever written. I started writing this book, in response to a pressing need in our church, many years ago. As in most churches, people weren’t serving, because they didn’t know what gifts they’d been given, and lacked the training necessary to use them.

After I started writing the outlines, and teaching the spiritual gifts class, however, we experienced an amazing transition in the church. We went from having 20% of the people doing most of the work, to having 80% of the church members involved in active ministry in the body of Christ. I believe your church can experience similar results.

The secret to mobilizing the church, exists in helping people discover and develop the gifts they have been given, by the Holy Spirit. I believe most church members want to help do the work of the Lord, but simply lack the training to do so. Got Gifts? will teach them how to actively employ their spiritual gifts with positive results.

God has given everyone at least one gift – it’s time to use the gift(s) you have been given to help build the church, and win the lost for Christ!

Got Gifts? will help you discover the gifts you have been given by the Lord, and help you maximize their use, so you can effectively touch lives on His behalf, and win the lost to Him before it’s too late.