Growing up I played soccer, basketball, and football, but what I really loved was baseball. I lettered all four years of high school (mainly pitching and catching) but hung up my cleats once God saved me and called me into marriage and ministry in college. Now that I’m the father of three boys playing on five teams, I spend a lot of fun hours throwing the ball around and cheering from the stands. We also spend time collecting baseball cards and watching the moves Major League General Managers and coaches make. I’ve learned nine leadership lessons from baseball that are important for any organization, especially a church.

Lesson 1: Get a Great General Manager

The GM is the organizational mastermind and architect who sets the vision and values, runs the finances, and hires coaches (in a church these are elders) who are senior leaders developing the talent (what Ephesians 4 calls equipping people to do specific ministry tasks). To be continued.