Leadership

Preventing nonprofit burnout is difficult without a global pandemic. But the last few years have pushed many nonprofits towards total burnout! We have faced some of that here at Nashville Rescue Mission and have heard from many of our ministry colleagues on my podcast Real Hope. One such friend is Kim James who is the…

The holiday season is in full swing, and one of the things you are likely going to hear a lot of talk about is gratitude. After Thanksgiving, we hear all about the virtues of gratitude everywhere — from television commercials to the Sunday church — until the calendar rolls over into 2022. That’s not necessarily…

Most have heard of restoration, but you might not know of restorative justice for criminals. During a recent Real Hope podcast episode, I shared a compelling conversation with Travis Claybrooks, who was born and raised in Nashville and is the CEO of Raphah Institute. I was inspired by Travis’ passion to bridge his personal experiences…

As Christians, we often hear the phrase “in the world, but not of it” used to describe how we’re called to move throughout the culture surrounding us. We typically say this as a shorthand to mean that believers should not be totally removed from what’s going on around us in the “secular” world, but we…

I’ve lived in Nashville for several years and heard the word “Trevecca” countless times. Trevecca Nazarene University has been a consistent part of the Nashville community for decades. Oddly enough, though I’d seen billboards for the school, read its name in newspapers and heard it said in Christian leadership circles, I’d never really stopped to…

Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the choice to move forward in spite of it. After all, if there is no fear, there is no need for courage. I was reminded of this recently when I sat down with Gigi Butler, founder of Gigi’s Cupcakes, on the Real Hope podcast. During our conversation,…

Creativity changes the world. And by “creativity,” I don’t just mean the arts, though they are certainly valuable and world-changing. Creativity is innovation — a decision to think outside the box and deviate from what has always been done. It’s thinking differently. I have had the privilege of knowing so many creative people in my…