In these days, the gospel matters. And it matters when churches listen for the gospel and choose to repent. Churches that declare the truth of the gospel to the world matter.  Such work is the work of Christian leaders today. The challenge in our world is not that the world has gone crazy; the challenge in our world is whether leaders will truly embrace the powerful word of gospel news for themselves, for their congregations, and for the world.

The arriving and present Jesus is the good news of God. That is why Paul will claim that it is the very power of God to save and deliver people (Rom 1:16). I will say more about good news as it is offered in Acts on another occasion. However, for the moment here, I want to make some clear and important claims about the good news that inform the life of the church and the practice of ministerial leadership.

So if you are simply curious about how to improve your leadership, or if you find yourself in some degree of stress about leadership, I encourage you to trust in the truth that God is actively being God. All seven of these principles point to the One that matters.

When churches preach Jesus Christ, call people to discipleship, welcome all to community and shared life, practice hospitality and care for others, then churches continually find opportunities to live into a simple Christian witness. 

Story after story unfolds and it becomes so abundantly clear that what makes for health and vitality is that in every new moment there is the space to look for God’s arrival and to name it!