Great leaders build up, not down. When leaders, whether in the church or in the marketplace, inspire their teams with a vision of what is possible, passion meets production and truly great things start to happen. As Senior Director of Family Ministries at Lakewood Church in Houston, the largest and fastest-growing church in America, Craig Johnson oversees thousands of staff members, lay leaders and volunteers. From his unique vantage-point comes Lead Vertically, a fresh look at the importance of building teams when the goal is not only success, but fulfillment. Lead Vertically includes tools and exercises that can be adapted by any leader for teams of any size, as well as tips for recruiting, training and strengthening teams. Leaders will learn to inspire even when saying no and to build trust personally, not just professionally. People can live with disappointment but not without hope, and Lead Vertically shows leaders how to motivate teams by consistently and clearly communicating that the best days are ahead.
CRAIG JOHNSON has served in full-time ministry for more than two decades. He is currently the Director of Ministries at Lakewood Church, the largest and fastest-growing church in America, overseeing all pastoral ministries and staff, as well as Family Ministries Pastor. Previously, he served as Co-Chair for the Los Angeles Billy Graham Children’s Crusade and as Children’s Pastor at Faith Community Church in West Covina, CA for 3 years. Craig is the creator of many programming tools for children’s ministry, including a new discipleship curriculum called Extreme Kids, launched at Lakewood Church in 2009. He and his wife, Samantha, have three children.