Steve Murrell's Blog, page 30

Building a Leadership Pipeline

A few weeks ago, one of our pastors in Asia asked me to speak to his ministry team about the concept of a ministry “leadership pipeline.” You may have heard this phrase before, which was popularized by business author Ram Charan in his 2000 book, The Leadership Pipeline. 

Today, I’ll share a few foundational principles that apply to Charan’s concept of building a leadership pipeline, and then we’ll look at 1 Timothy 4:12–16 to see what the apostle Paul had to say about building leadership teams. Here is my summary of Paul’s points: 

Lead by example.Lead by preaching and teaching.Lead by your gift.Lead by your progress.

How to Finish Strong

In modern Christianity, we are too often impressed with strong starts and forget that it’s the finish that really counts. Maybe it’s because we have a lot of spectators and cheerleaders at the beginning of our race and very few in the middle.

Each of us—whether a campus missionary, administrator, or church planter—has a call from God to finish our race to reach every nation. Praying that we have the passion, focus, and faith to “do the will of the one who sent me and to finish the work.”

Flying Horses & Discipleship

A few weeks ago, at Bethel World Outreach Church, I had the opportunity to preach from Matthew 4:18–22 on following Jesus together—or more simply, discipleship.

This simple response will not be a comforting thought for some. Relationships can be messy and unpredictable, and I’m guessing that just “trying harder” might be a more appealing option to some. But we can’t fully embrace God’s call on our lives without the community of other believers. (And if it was good enough for the disciples, it should be good enough for us as well.)

What does following him together look like? Following him together is about:

People, not programsProgress, not perfectionThe future, not the past

A Prayer That’s Always Appropriate

“May the Lord grant mercy.” It’s a beautiful prayer, and one that I can think most of us have needed to pray for ourselves or for others at some point in our lives.

Paul prayed this prayer twice for others (2 Timothy 1:15) at a dark time in his life when he really needed mercy himself. Like many leaders, Paul experienced betrayal as most people turned away from him—except for one, Onesiphorus.

When I read passages like this one, I often wonder “Where is Jesus in all of this?”

Well, Jesus is the one who never turns his back on us. He is the one who is never ashamed of us. He’s the one who seeks us until he finds us, even when all others have turned away. He’s the one who comes to refresh us.

Onesiphorus modeled what Jesus would have done—he sought out Paul, and he brought exactly what he needed: mercy.

The Calling

For those in ministry, COVID has brought a lot of extra weight, responsibility, and uncertainty. The past two years have not been easy—leaving some to wonder if vocational ministry is really still the calling on their lives.

If fulfilling your calling has felt more like suffering, toil, and endless hard labor with no end in sight, if you feel like you’re in a fight—none of this necessarily indicates that something is wrong. In fact, it might mean that you are right where you’re supposed to be.

Today’s message is from a classic text about the call of God, Colossians 1:24–2:1, which helps leaders understand:

What God’s call might feel like (Hint: it felt like suffering and toil to Paul.)How we know his callHow we can follow his call, despite the difficulty

Who’s the Boss?

In Romans 10, Paul penned the most important phrase in all of human history: “Jesus is Lord.” Our surrender (or resistance) to this truth means everything as leaders and disciples. But too often our familiarity with this statement results in us skipping over it and missing its earth-shattering implications.

“Jesus is Lord” is a political statement, a theological statement, and a personal statement. Each aspect of this loaded phrase shouts something that the world desperately needs but so often doesn’t want.

May God open our eyes to clearly see and humbly surrender to Jesus as Lord. And may we preach and lead and pastor from this profound truth.

Leading during Dark Times

In 1 Samuel 22, David is in the cave of Adullam, fleeing from Saul. And at this moment, one of the worst times of his life, four hundred discontented men joined him.

Today, we’ll look at the example of David in 1 Samuel 22 to make some applications for us as we lead in tough times.

If you want to think like a leader through dark times, we need to recognize the following:

We need family.People need leadership.God will speak.

Discovering the Heart of Parenting

Our culture can teach the message that children are a nuisance—a drain from more important things like our career, finances, relationships, or dreams. But that’s not how God views children—and not how we should view them either. Psalms 127 tells us that children are a “heritage” and a “reward.”  If you’re parenting right now or considering it, do you view children that way?

Today, we’re not going to talk about how to make sure your kids get into Harvard or become professional athletes. We’re going to talk about something far more important: how to raise them with a heart for God. And that starts with us.

If we want to catch God’s heart for parenting, we have to start with our own hearts first. Parenting is a partnership with God. In order to do it well, we must first be connected with him ourselves. More in today’s message.

The Cost of Sowing

Steve Murrell, president and cofounder of Every Nation, wrapped up our 2021 Build Conference by reminding us what we are to do when we go back to our cities and campuses: preach the Word of God.

BUILD 2021: Session 5–Steve Murrell

Steve Murrell, president and cofounder of Every Nation, wrapped up our 2021 Build Conference by reminding us what we are to do when we go back to our cities and campuses: preach the Word of God.