Ministry Insights International

03/08/2025

Dear Friends,

I am writing to share that Rodney Cox, the founder of Ministry Insights, will be celebrating his 60th birthday on March 29th. As many of you know, Rodney has been a dedicated servant to individuals, relationships, and teams around the world since 2001.

If you would like to mark this special occasion by sending him a card or letter, please feel free to do so at the following address:

Rodney Cox
1950 Turners Landing Road
Russellville, TN 37860

Thank you for your continued support of Rodney and Ministry Insights.

08/12/2024

Don Ankenbrandt of the 210 Project wrote a new book > True Reflection a Greek word study on identity! Alliance Ministries https://fb.watch/tVXX_0ONj-/

02/13/2024

Do you ever feel like your church leadership is “stuck” and not having its full impact? So many churches realize that having the right senior staff team is key, but struggle to build that team effectively.

I recently interviewed Tony Morgan, founder of The Unstuck Group, a church consulting firm and Tony has worked hands-on with over 650 churches of all sizes and contexts. I summarized some of his excellent insights in my blog post called “Building a Strong Senior Leadership Team."

In the blog post "Building a Strong Senior Leadership Team,” Tony discusses:

- Why a senior team is crucial beyond just a solo pastor

- Common pitfalls and wrong questions churches ask

- Key criteria for choosing strategic leadership team members

- How an effective senior staff team operates to empower other leaders and align the broader ministry

Especially for larger and growing churches, assessing whether your current senior team alignment is helping or hindering your kingdom impact is so important. Even smaller churches can apply these principles to integrate staff and volunteers into a strong leadership team.

I highly recommend you check out the full blog post for a synopsis of Tony's wisdom from decades of consulting churches. Or, listen to the podcast where Tony goes much deeper into this topic. Let me know if it gives you any ideas for strengthening your own church's leadership team! What resonated or challenged you?

Read the full blog post here: https://bit.ly/42Ejmj5
Listen to the full podcast here: https://bit.ly/42x1DKt

What separates a church that’s just getting by from one that’s thriving and making an impact in people’s lives? Strong leadership – and specifically, a strong senior leadership team. My guest on the StrongTeams.com podcast this week is Tony M...

01/26/2024

ICYMI: I recently had an enlightening conversation with church leadership expert Dr. David "Fletch" Fletcher about strengthening integrity in pastoral ministry. Drawing from 35+ years of real-world experience, Fletch shared hard-won wisdom on how leaders and churches can install "guardrails" to protect pastors from ethical compromises.
A few key takeaways:
Guardrails like financial controls, sexual morality policies, margin for self-care, and accountable friendships keep leaders on track despite ministry stresses.
Integrity starts at the top - church governance boards and top leaders set the tone by modeling impeccable ethics.
No leader is perfect, yet the example of humility in admitting imperfection, seeking counsel, receiving reproof, and demonstrating new growth promotes Christlike integrity for all.
I summarized the full conversation in my latest podcast here: https://www.ministryinsights.com/strengthening-pastoral.../
I highly recommend Fletch's website XPastor.org there is so much great information there. If this post resonates with your leadership experiences, please like and share! Let's keep the conversation going on how churches can prioritize integrity.
Dive deeper by listening to the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2022398/14341298
Read the Executive Summary here: https://www.ministryinsights.com/strengthening-pastoral-integrity/

01/24/2024

Miss yesterday's XPastor webinar? Watch the replay.

Leading a team made up of diverse individuals is always a challenge. Balancing different work styles and approaches requires ongoing communication, empathy and flexibility. Successful leadership involves fostering an environment where team members are esteemed and understood. Scripture also calls us...

01/23/2024

Don't forget to join Ministry Insights Pres/CEO Rodney Cox for a LIVE webinar on maximizing your MinistryInsights.com dashboard. Rodney will walk you through the following:

-The administration of profiles
-Profile management tips
-Using subgroups to give other leaders the ability to enroll users and manage users.

Date: January 31, 2024
Time: 11:30 EST / 10:30 AM CST

The webinar is FREE, so save your seat today!
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscuiorDwvGdfhfcV34CLuIah0cG87102J

01/22/2024

Friends, I recently had an enlightening conversation with church leadership expert Dr. David "Fletch" Fletcher about strengthening integrity in pastoral ministry. Drawing from 35+ years of real-world experience, Fletch shared hard-won wisdom on how leaders and churches can install "guardrails" to protect pastors from ethical compromises.

A few key takeaways:

Guardrails like financial controls, sexual morality policies, margin for self-care, and accountable friendships keep leaders on track despite ministry stresses.
Integrity starts at the top - church governance boards and top leaders set the tone by modeling impeccable ethics.
No leader is perfect, yet the example of humility in admitting imperfection, seeking counsel, receiving reproof, and demonstrating new growth promotes Christlike integrity for all.

I summarized the full conversation in my latest podcast here: https://www.ministryinsights.com/strengthening-pastoral-integrity/

I highly recommend Fletch's website XPastor.org there is so much great information there. If this post resonates with your leadership experiences, please like and share! Let's keep the conversation going on how churches can prioritize integrity.

Dive deeper by listening to the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2022398/14341298
Read the Executive Summary here: https://www.ministryinsights.com/strengthening-pastoral-integrity/

01/08/2024

Webinar | January 31
Mark your calendar and join Ministry Insights Pres/CEO Rodney Cox for a LIVE webinar on maximizing your MinistryInsights.com dashboard. Rodney will walk you through the following:

-The administration of profiles
-Profile management tips
-Using sub groups to give other leaders the ability to enroll users and manage users.

Date: January 31, 2024
Time: 11:30 EST / 10:30 AM CST

The webinar is FREE, so save your seat today!

01/08/2024

In my latest StrongTeams.com podcast, I unpack wisdom from bestselling author Chris Bolinger on avoiding the trap of pride and cultivating Christlike humility instead. Though we easily recognize pride in others, few imagine struggling with it themselves - why is that?

Pride blinds us to our own weaknesses even as it wrecks relationships and destroys leaders. It contradicts Jesus' model of servant leadership seen in Philippians 2. So what are the antidotes?

Throughout the post, I explore how practices like prayer, accountability, and focusing on empowering others help leaders steer clear of pride:
- Humbly confessing pride issues in prayer
- Submitting to community that can keep us accountable
- Treating others as more important than self
- Laying down false humility to walk in Jesus' true humility

With humility essential for healthy leadership, I welcome discussion on this ever-relevant topic - where have you observed pride undermining leaders? What helps you lead with humility?

Dive deeper by listening to the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2022398/14271014
Read the Executive Summary here: https://www.ministryinsights.com/avoiding-the-trap-of-pride

01/05/2024

Did you catch our 2023 year in review episode? It's one of our favorites. Tune in now!
Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2022398/14176656
Video: https://youtu.be/9Tp_0PYN_IM

12/24/2023

Merry Christmas from the team at Ministry Insights International.

12/23/2023

Replay of our December webinar, Optimizing the Strong Teams Starter Pack.

===== This podcast is a production of Ministry Insights. Ministry Insights’ tools can help you build a team that communica...