Minutes by Minute

Last weekend in church I taught in our Sunday school class on the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10. It is fascinating that Luke, being a physician, shares this powerful story of how a Samaritan (who wouldn't typically associate with a Jew- See John 4:9) had compassion on the man who was beaten and taken advantage of by the robbers on his journey from Jerusalem. There are a number of really profound things we find in this story. I want to focus on just one though. Maybe the most important message of this account is the concept of the diffusion of responsibility. The Priest & Levite diffused the responsibility of helping this half dead Jew. Their perspective likely was that they had other, more important things to take care of and that someone else was sure to help this man. This is a very real thing in our world today. When we see or experience others in need, we're quick to diffuse the responsibility and assume others will help, rather than stepping up to be a ca...

I've been blessed with the opportunity to attend graduate school during my last year and a half of serving with Praying Pelican Missions. One of the things I love about my job is the flexibility I have to be involved in extra-curriculars and the leadership philosophy of our organization. I'm studying through Liberty University seeking my masters in management & leadership- concepts I've been able to apply directly to my areas of leadership at PPM. In my current class, nonprofit management, I'm studying leadership theories of CEOs, function of boards, etc. One thing that stood out to me as I studied last night was a section on transactional leadership vs. transformational leadership. Sadly, I believe that even in the nonprofit sector, many organizations are stuck in the transactional leadership phase. Transactional leadership is the idea of a leader or manager rewarding or punishing employees for their behaviors- an exchange or transaction system of cause and effect...