Trusting Leaders Who Trust God | Tami Heim, CLA

Show Notes

"Trust is the bedrock. Out of good trust comes productive conflict management, clarity on goals and objectives, people feel like they can speak into something, and you begin to see outcomes. Outcomes that really are transforming a leader. Transforming your organization. Transforming communities. And now we're even witnessing how it's transforming nations."

Michael goes "Behind the Seal" with Tami Heim, President/CEO of the Christian Leadership Alliance, to discuss the pivotal connection between Christ-centered leadership and trust.

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Disclosure: This video is provided as general educational information and with the understanding that ECFA is not rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice or service. Professional advice on specific issues should be sought from an accountant, lawyer, or other professional. Opinions presented are those of the speakers and not necessarily the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Video Topics: leadership, church, Christian, Christ, God, bible, scripture, church plant, missions, ministry, mission, congregation, worship, money, giving, tithing, tithe, give, finances, financial accountability, governance, stewardship, budgeting, budget, podcast, nonprofits, nonprofit, audit, transparency, trust

Creators and Guests

Host

Michael Martin

President & CEO of ECFA

What is Behind the Seal?

ECFA's blue seal has been a symbol of trust and accountability for over four decades, but what does that mean? Is it the seal alone that inspires confidence, or is it the nonprofits and churches behind the seal?

Tune in to conversations between ECFA's President and CEO, Michael Martin, and prominent leaders. Together, we'll share stories from behind the scenes of various Christ-centered ministries and churches, highlighting how trust serves as the foundation of it all.

00;00;00;03 - 00;00;24;12
Tami Heim
I wasn't thinking about my next promotion, learning what I needed to do to do the best job possible that I might be able to share Jesus with someone. And I hold to that definition and that we're leading when we're influencing the thinking behavior in the development of others around us. We see Jesus as this perfect model who flipped the leadership model, saw him train, equip and empower a team that would go on to transform the world.

00;00;24;12 - 00;00;52;00
Tami Heim
And then we get to be part of that. And, you know, trust trust is the bedrock out of good trust comes productive conflict management. It you get good clarity on goals and objectives. People feel like that they can speak into something you begin to see outcomes that really are transforming a leader. Transforming the organization. Transforming communities. And now we're even witnessing how it's transforming nations.

00;01;00;19 - 00;01;04;15
Michael Martin
Well, hello, Tami. Welcome to the CFA podcast.

00;01;04;15 - 00;01;08;26
Tami Heim
Hi, Michael. It's so good to be with you today. Thanks for having me.

00;01;08;26 - 00;01;19;25
Michael Martin
Yeah, you bet. And I know you were just sharing as we go to record, you're in the midst of a busy week. You have board meeting and so many other things taking place. So we just appreciate you setting aside some time to be with us.

00;01;21;04 - 00;01;27;24
Tami Heim
Well, of course, I appreciate so much the good work that you do at CFA and grateful to be part of it.

00;01;27;24 - 00;01;46;12
Michael Martin
Wonderful. Well, we consider you part of our family, which is why we've invited you to be with us on this CFA podcast behind the CEO. We're going behind the scenes just inviting folks into, yeah. Conversations with many of our friends in ministry, and we certainly consider CLA to be one of them.

00;01;46;12 - 00;02;00;21
Michael Martin
And I know many folks who are tuning in they're going to be familiar with you and also CLA Christian Leadership Alliance. We should be sure to share that. Why don't you just tell us a little bit about you. Tell us about CLA. For those who may not be as familiar.

00;02;00;21 - 00;02;06;04
Tami Heim
Well, absolutely. So Christian Leadership Alliance, we just celebrated last year or 45th year.

00;02;07;05 - 00;02;39;26
Tami Heim
It was really the heart beat of Ted Engstrom back in 1976 in the early seventies when he was known as a man of excellence and he cared a lot about the stewardship of finances and the integrity with how nonprofits operated. And so there was a lot going on. In fact it was back in the days of Tammy Faye and Baker and all of the things that were coming down and the misappropriation of charitable funds and kind of a scandalous time, if you will.

00;02;39;27 - 00;03;19;11
Tami Heim
And so Ted had been rethinking about the financial structure and the reporting of World Vision International And then he saw these things coming, and so he charged Jim Canning, who is still alive and with us so very much a part of CLA to gather actually CFOs together. And the purpose was to share some of the changes that they had made in World Vision relative to charitable donations and the impact of those donations, and just to teach them the things that they had done, but also requiring those that attended to bring their own best practices.

00;03;19;24 - 00;03;35;12
Tami Heim
And that has been the heartbeat of Christian Leadership Alliance for well, now it'll be 46 years. Leaders coming bringing the best of what they know and learn and investing in another leader so that the other we can have greater kingdom impact.

00;03;35;12 - 00;03;50;00
Michael Martin
Wonderful. Well, congratulations on that significant anniversary. And you mentioned Ted Engstrom and so many who were instrumental in the founding of CLA were also instrumental in our story as well, you know here at ECFA.

00;03;50;03 - 00;04;07;25
Michael Martin
And I'm just so grateful for that and the partnership between the organizations across the years. So congratulations on that milestone. And I, I think there's some congratulations also in order for you as well coming up on has this been what, your 10th year there at the helm at CLA

00;04;07;25 - 00;04;14;10
Tami Heim
Celebrated my 10th anniversary earlier this month. So yes, not anything that I ever expected.

00;04;15;18 - 00;04;43;29
Tami Heim
You know, it's just that part of God's journey that we would be here and now in a time of great transformation, a Christian leadership alliance. So there's some sweeping changes that are taking place as we begin to think deeply about how do we equip and reach the next generation of Christian leaders how do we remain timely and relevant so that we can be part of their leadership development and growth.

00;04;44;03 - 00;04;50;09
Tami Heim
So it's an exciting time And, you know, I just pray God that I get to continue to be part of that.

00;04;50;09 - 00;05;04;11
Michael Martin
Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's let's spend a little bit of time there, actually, and unpack that a little bit. As you know, this is behind the seal, a behind the scenes type. Look into just these friends that we have here at ECFA.

00;05;04;18 - 00;05;16;27
Michael Martin
You've been one of them and yeah, just maybe tell us a little bit. We always like to ask, you know, what is something that maybe a little bit behind the scenes, you know, either in your life and leadership or that of CLA.

00;05;16;27 - 00;05;30;18
Tami Heim
So in October of 19, we had our board meeting, our board retreat. And at that meeting, God showed up quickly and we changed the vision of Christian Leadership Alliance to every Christian leader thriving.

00;05;30;29 - 00;05;57;21
Tami Heim
And we could tell that it was a sacred holy moment, Michael, because it came quickly in fact, it came so quickly that the board step back and said, let's put this on and pray for it for another quarter just to make sure because you know, sometimes when you make that kind of a change, well, you, you spend months sometimes organizations spend years just making sure that it's clear.

00;05;58;03 - 00;06;22;06
Tami Heim
So I love the wisdom of the board. So we stepped out and we did that. And we were also at a point where there was great momentum in the ministry. So the normal metrics, things were just going so well. And then we got to 20, 20 and COVID hit. Mm hmm. And actually, we were the first Christian organization to be on the front line of doing a conference.

00;06;22;20 - 00;06;44;17
Tami Heim
In fact, it was March 12th, which is infamous in many people's minds. Yes. That morning we were reviewing with the Hyatt and we didn't know, but we were going through this intense manual of all the things that we would need to do to anticipate being in a time when people were sick and it was utterly overwhelming. And I remember after it was over, I was like, Lord.

00;06;44;23 - 00;07;07;22
Tami Heim
But but you have to intervene in this for this moment. In time. And then shortly after that, the governor shut down Texas. Mm hmm. So we weren't able to have the conference. And literally, Michael in that in that hour, I just had to reckon with the fact that maybe it was the end of Christian Leadership Alliance. Mm hmm.

00;07;08;01 - 00;07;31;16
Tami Heim
And we were just at a point where, you know, it was difficult to see how we might go on without that, without the conference and just the other things that we did. And instead of saying, oh, Lord, why God, why God? I just said, what do I do? How do I lead through this? How do I do this with as much grace as possible?

00;07;32;07 - 00;08;02;20
Tami Heim
And just surrendered it? If we were going to be the first COVID case, you know, God, you have another plan, maybe something dies to be reborn again. I didn't know And soon after that, I got a call from a tech firm that we had been working with for three years, and I had been on the back end and we had been looking at that technology and pursuing acquiring that kind of technology to do what we believed coming out of that 2019 board meeting that we were going to do.

00;08;02;20 - 00;08;26;18
Tami Heim
And they called and they said, Hey, we noticed hat you're still have in your conference. And I said, Well, I know we've got some things we have to take care of before we can announce that we're not doing it. Hmm. And he said, Well, you've been in the back end and you're pretty tech savvy. And I just had a meeting and we said, if you would team up with us, we think we could convert the platform you've been looking at to do an event.

00;08;26;19 - 00;08;47;26
Tami Heim
Now, this was again, Michael, before anybody was doing virtual events. I mean, this was the beginning, right? Mm hmm. And and he said, and if you will help us build that, then we'll just give it to you. Wow. Now, think about that. So a moment when you think the door is closed and it could be the end of something, God immediately opens another one.

00;08;48;10 - 00;09;09;02
Tami Heim
So we went and we had the event we ended up training more leaders than we ever had in the history of a gathering. And then two months later, God revealed that he wanted us to take it global and global was something that was like for 20, 25 in our in our plan. Right. And Mike, I had no idea.

00;09;09;02 - 00;09;35;01
Tami Heim
I was like, I don't even know how to begin to think about this. And and I did. I went to bed for 16 hours because I was so overwhelmed by the task and immediately when I woke him, I can't even explain the rush of doors that opened. And in 30 days we opened Christian leadership training in equipment to leaders in 40 countries, and 20% of them had a Christian population of only 5%.

00;09;36;10 - 00;09;56;28
Tami Heim
And I'll just share this one story because it'll probably be marked on my life forever. There was a leader named Raj, and I met him in 2012 at my very first CLIA conference, and he was from India and he said, Ma'am, I've come because the Lord has told me to plant a thousand churches in India, so I'm here to learn how.

00;09;57;07 - 00;10;18;03
Tami Heim
And I said, Well, Raj, as long as you keep coming, I'll make sure that you have a way to come. And he would come year after year after year. And in 2019 at that last conference I did not see Raj, but I knew he was there. He comes up and he says, Ma'am, ma'am, I want you to know that the churches in India have been interceding and praying 20 47 for this event.

00;10;18;03 - 00;10;47;22
Tami Heim
And I said, Well, Raj, that explains everything because God had just done so many things during that event. And he said, and we're over 1000 churches. And so I asked Raj to just share that story. Well, Michael, you fast forward part of what we were able to do in 30 days is I located Raj and Raj set up a network in India, and I had the opportunity to see the faces of those pastors.

00;10;47;23 - 00;11;10;06
Tami Heim
Wow. That he had spent seven years planting those churches. And in that one event, they had access to the knowledge that Raj took seven years to accumulate. And I just remember, I mean, I just keep thinking in a Lord, it doesn't get better than this, because as Christian leaders and in our ministries, we don't always see the ripple.

00;11;11;07 - 00;12;02;18
Tami Heim
But to sit there at two in the morning and watch Raj weaving in this extraordinary way and the interaction and the hunger and the thirst of all those pastors, I consider that one of the defining moments in my life So all of that feels like this fast rush forward in this transformation of Christian leadership alliance as leaders recognizing what God's making possible, even a podcast like this today that we are in time, that we have been entrusted with to us.

00;12;03;12 - 00;12;27;27
Tami Heim
And it's easy in this world to be seduced and consumed by technology. But if we step back and we see that that can be redeemed for a greater purpose. Well, it changes everything. And so when we think about future generations of leaders and those that have grown up not knowing any other way to connect, how do we rethink?

00;12;27;28 - 00;13;02;15
Tami Heim
So for Christian Leadership Alliance, we're looking at 45 years of wisdom based on timeless truth. How do we package it in different containers so that it can travel a digital bridge and arrive to the next generation so that they can build upon all of this wisdom that's come before them, and that they will find a way to take that and through the power of the Holy Spirit and God in that moment, make it timely and relevant for the generation, their end, and then that next generation Wow, that is amazing.

00;13;03;05 - 00;13;21;13
Michael Martin
There's there's so much packed within that. But I just want to say thank you for sharing. Thank you for sharing that story. With us and just being authentic to you and sharing about in that moment. And I know there's so many leaders that have, you know, just very similar stories of what we've all processed over the last couple of years.

00;13;21;13 - 00;13;47;01
Michael Martin
But just admire your courage, you know, in that moment to really just surrender it to God. And it's amazing to see you know, what all he's done. But I want to shift gears to a little bit to and unpack. There may be some who are listening that haven't heard as much about your story prior to CLA. And just speaking of the ways that God prepares us for our current assignments.

00;13;47;07 - 00;14;08;27
Michael Martin
So you spent many years in corporate America and executive leadership prior to coming into ministry leadership. So one of the questions that I wanted to ask you is just when you look at ministry, when you look at leadership in a ministry setting, you know, is leadership different when it comes to ministry versus corporate America? How are they similar?

00;14;08;27 - 00;14;09;22
Michael Martin
How are they different?

00;14;12;23 - 00;14;45;16
Tami Heim
I would say that the fundamental principles of leading in Oregon is that organizing a business or a ministry, I mean, there's fundamentals so there's a stewardship issue to all of it, whether it's for profit or not profit. You have financial responsibilities. You have laws that govern the activity within the organization. You are mobilizing people to accomplish, you know, a bigger vision, a goal, a task there's the need to connect people to your organization.

00;14;45;17 - 00;15;13;03
Tami Heim
So there's branding that happens in the for profit world and in the nonprofit world. We're branding to make this emotional and intellectual connection with the champions God already has out there to come and be part of the ministry so when you think about that technology and you think of leadership principles, of course, I would say in the Christian space where we endeavor to model more like Christ.

00;15;13;23 - 00;15;37;25
Tami Heim
So here's what I would say about leadership, especially for a Christian leader. So I did spend most of my life in the marketplace, but I was saved the day after I graduated from college. And in that moment, God rewrote the text of my life as I was opening the book of my heart before his eyes and all of the dreams and ambitions I had.

00;15;37;26 - 00;15;59;12
Tami Heim
And I was very eager to have a different life than the one that I had growing up, that that God completely flipped that and I had to surrender again. All my plans and sit back and wait for his plans. Now, I thought, Okay, Lord, I'm all yours. Send me wherever you want to send me. Right. Right. And I was ready to go anywhere.

00;15;59;12 - 00;16;33;11
Tami Heim
But God had prepared me all the years before and in my education to go into business. And so business was my ministry before business as ministry was a thing. Mm hmm. And so I went into my professional vocation so that on Christ. And so I wasn't thinking about my next promotion or what do I need to do? I was learning what I needed to do to do the best job possible and looking for every possible door to open that might I might that I might be able to share Jesus with someone.

00;16;34;21 - 00;17;01;28
Tami Heim
And that was the story of my career. And it wasn't actually until 2000 when I became the President of Borders, I actually got involved with the CEO Forum, which was a subset of Focus on the Family. Mack McQuiston found me, and I entered into this arena where I filled this fellowship of other believers who were leading major corporations.

00;17;02;25 - 00;17;28;27
Tami Heim
And the thing about it is it's our heart, right? And it's the motivation of the leader. And today, I'm so thrilled to see the faith that work movement that's taking place right now. Yes. I mean, I actually serve on the liaison and Advisory Council for that Faith at Work movement. But it's it's another mission field. It's another thing that different people have been called to do.

00;17;29;12 - 00;17;55;08
Tami Heim
And I think there's something very different in the motivation and outcomes in a for profit. When you have someone who is really trying to do things according to biblical principle. And it's possible and we see it every day. So that the functions are the same. But the heart of the leader makes a complete difference about what happens and the difference that those organizations make.

00;17;56;11 - 00;18;27;26
Michael Martin
Yeah, that's exactly right. And as I'm just hearing your story, I'm hearing, Tami, this theme of just transformation. You mentioned the spiritual transformation. You mentioned becoming more like Christ as we all grow and progress. Leadership is challenging, right? It's it's hard it's a sacrifice and investment when God calls us to that. How do you see leadership also being used by God for leaders who are open to it?

00;18;28;03 - 00;18;46;24
Michael Martin
How do you see leadership playing into spiritual transformation, spiritual formation? How does a leader like like you said, who has surrendered? How can God use that uniquely to grow a leader in terms of their spiritual formation?

00;18;46;24 - 00;18;53;08
Tami Heim
Well, you know, Michael, we don't have to go very far for that. I mean, all you have to do is open the word of God all throughout Scripture.

00;18;53;08 - 00;19;25;21
Tami Heim
I mean, even if you think about it, Adam was appointed a leadership job in the Garden of Eden, you know, and it is leaders. And I hold to that definition that we're leading when we're influencing the thinking behavior in the development of others around us. So all throughout Scripture, you see God calling different men and women to leadership roles, and they're never easy, and they always require a step of faith beyond anything that they ever imagined.

00;19;26;02 - 00;19;59;21
Tami Heim
And it required that they really had to trust God in it. And again, the path is never easy. I mean, I mean, we could point to anyone, I mean, Abraham or Moses or Joseph. I mean, the life is never easy. And there is this constant verification and we witness in every story. I mean, I really challenge you to find a story in Scripture where there wasn't this refining difficult moment that said, I have to do this in partnership with God, and then I have to trust that he's going to do it.

00;19;59;21 - 00;20;23;27
Tami Heim
And then when he shows up, he will do the things that I cannot do and he will be glorified in the midst of it. So I think that I mean, the way I see it is that, you know, leadership is never going to be easy. But I, I also don't know that I know a leader who can say I really learned my most in an easy season right.

00;20;23;27 - 00;20;47;18
Tami Heim
Right. You know, I love our pastor. He always says the gospel came to you on its way to someone else. And that is so true. But I also believe that the experiences we have as a leader come to us on their way to someone else. So in Scripture, we learn the lessons from, you know, all of those that lived before us in the preparation of Jesus.

00;20;47;18 - 00;21;20;12
Tami Heim
We see Jesus as this perfect model who flipped the leadership model. Yes. In a way that had never been flipped before. And then we saw him train, equip, and empower a team that would go on to transform the world. And then we get to be part of that. So there are some that are called to that role. And again, I would say the sanctification of the heart and the things that we go through are really intense when we're on that front line.

00;21;21;23 - 00;21;50;00
Tami Heim
And we know I mean, we've heard that, you know, you know, a leader changes everything and a leader can make a difference in that. So I feel like those that are called to leadership are the first in the fire often, and that some of the things that happen along the way are as much for that leader as they are for the organizations or the responsibilities that they have, because he really wants our heart first.

00;21;50;15 - 00;22;09;11
Tami Heim
Because we know if like with Esther, if you're not going to do it, I'll find someone who will. Yeah. Yeah. We're not going to stop what God intends to do. But by saying yes to get to be a part of it, he does a work in us that really does change us forever.

00;22;26;18 - 00;22;49;12
Michael Martin
That's so good. May we all just be more like Christ in our leadership? I was just thinking about that as you were sharing and so much about just the mission of CLA. Like, right now the world needs more leaders who are like Jesus in these times, more seems like more than ever before. So those are just some incredible insights.

00;22;50;03 - 00;23;11;29
Michael Martin
I also want to hear from you, too, Tammy. I know you work with so many leaders, so many organizations all across the country that are doing so many different kinds of work. What are some of the trends that you're seeing in leadership? Just unpack that a little bit for us. Just some overall leadership trends that you're seeing.

00;23;11;29 - 00;23;23;07
Tami Heim
Well, I think we're living in an exciting time, first of all, because for the first time in many of our organizations, we can glean from five generations of experience and knowledge.

00;23;23;27 - 00;23;50;12
Tami Heim
And so I think a lot of leaders are tapping more into how do I maximize a generation totally diverse type of organization. We know that diversity has been a big part of what we've done and you know, how do we get in other kinds of perspectives? Many ministries talk a lot about, well, I need to look more like the world that we serve.

00;23;51;20 - 00;24;32;12
Tami Heim
We see organized nations raising up leaders if they're global in nature that are within those countries and letting go. So we don't need to send us missionaries to a place to run organizations, but to maybe go to train and equip so that leaders in those countries can lead in those cultures. And in those times, I think we're in a much more collaborative time where ministry leaders are looking to partner with other ministries where, you know, there's a lot of people that might be doing the same kind of thing.

00;24;33;01 - 00;24;54;21
Tami Heim
But when they come together, they can find opportunities that they can support and help each other. And that's very, very exciting to see. So God, even in the midst, said sometimes when you read the news and you think about the things that are going on in the world today, I believe that there is a great movement as God bringing his body together.

00;24;55;15 - 00;25;19;02
Tami Heim
And I also think that there's a respect for everybody has a different assignment and a place and that it all matters. You know, for a long time, people would say, well, I'm not I'm not on the front line. I'm just working back in the office and I'm doing things well now that matters. That is equally as important. If you didn't do that, then this wouldn't be enabled.

00;25;20;19 - 00;25;45;04
Tami Heim
Or for people to say Well, you know, I'm in the church and obviously in the church, I'm not I'm not as good as or I'm less than because I'm not. But I think people are coming to this awareness that in first Corinthians 12, four, three, seven, you know, Paul was writing about many different gifts, many different activities, many different works, and that God is present in all of them.

00;25;45;23 - 00;26;17;25
Tami Heim
But the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one for the prophet of all. So in this, this diversity of the things that we do in ministry, it's just it's, it's like the puzzle piece in God's Master Plan for redemption and that it matters and that we need each other to be submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit and what God's doing to accomplish His purpose alone. That's really exciting to see that coming together.

00;26;17;25 - 00;26;40;02
Michael Martin
I totally agree. It's just such exciting time for ministry. No doubt. It's it's hard times, but exciting times for ministries and for leaders. Tami, what would you say as you look and see some of the most effective leaders in organizations, what sort of heart posture do you see in those leaders?

00;26;40;02 - 00;26;56;17
Michael Martin
As you were talking about, kind of the move of God in these times? What is the posture of a leader that you see being most effective to cooperate with what God's doing It's always those that really surrender it to God.

00;26;56;17 - 00;27;15;00
Tami Heim
I think it's the leaders that you see not leaning into their own core competencies, but willing to set that aside and when you've led for a long time, you just get used to knowing things and doing things, and your intuition is developed and it's easy to bypass going back to God.

00;27;15;00 - 00;27;58;17
Tami Heim
And I believe effective leaders go to him every day. They pray over their days and their schedules. They are diligently seeking God's will for themselves and for the ministry that they've been entrusted. And out of that comes this great humility, but then also this great confidence. I think when leaders demonstrate pride or fear or give an air that maybe they're better than someone else or other ministries, then I think that's where the door opens and there can be danger as like the red lights go off.

00;27;59;04 - 00;28;27;26
Tami Heim
But those that are most effective are really the ones that are just so humble. They never lose that sense of awe and wonder about God in their midst, and they may not know what's on the other side of where they are, but they're confident enough to know that because of who God is, I can take that next step and I can trust Him with the rest and that's great confidence.

00;28;28;03 - 00;28;54;00
Michael Martin
Yeah, that's exactly why I love what even the Holy Spirit is doing in this conversation between us. Just continuing to hear that word surrender. That just seems to be this common theme of what we're talking about and humility. So I just appreciate all of those great leadership insights for us. Tami, kind of coming back full circle to where we started and just so grateful for the relationship.

00;28;54;00 - 00;29;40;24
Michael Martin
Again, that we have with CLA, the Christian Leadership Alliance. And when I think about really both Clay and SFA and UCF's mission, being all about enhancing trust in Christ Center churches and ministries, trust can be enhanced in so many different ways. But as I think about that relationship between CLA and ECFA, a word that always comes back to me as excellence, like really striving to bring God glory in all that we do Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that. You know, that common thread that I think we see between both of our organizations and excellence, how do you see excellence especially in leadership, really going the distance to help enhance trust?

00;29;40;24 - 00;30;12;04
Tami Heim
Well, I believe trust is at the very base of it all. I think it's it is the ultimate game changer one way or the other. And again, I believe we see that model, even in Christ's life, so he made time to get away and be with the father, and that shaped his perspective. And, you know, Scripture tells us there wasn't anything that he said or did that wasn't ordained by the father. I think he deliberately called people out and he said, come follow me.

00;30;12;05 - 00;30;36;22
Tami Heim
I mean, that's a big trust in visitation right there. And then he invested his best in them so that together as a group, they could move on and do what they needed to do. And again, all of it with this level of excellence to the father. So when I think about you know, where Christian leadership lines, so we're training and equipping.

00;30;36;22 - 00;31;10;03
Tami Heim
So we're we're we're embracing the best practices. We're teaching people how it needs to be done. And I think e CFA is this amazing extension of that because if we're doing our job right, then ministries can go through with e CFA and be accredited and get the seal of excellence. I also think that they can also go to a best Christian workplace and institute and that they can be evaluated and critiqued in such a way so that they know that it's a flourishing culture.

00;31;10;23 - 00;31;45;06
Tami Heim
And that's Christian workplaces should also kind of had its origins in clay too, I mean people within that. And so I have always thought of SFA and Best Christian Workplace Institute and is it like that we're this three legged stool? Yeah. And that if we are all doing what we do with excellence, then we have this foundation that when God says go, men and women are equipped and prepared to go and to do what it is that He's calling them to do.

00;31;46;00 - 00;32;14;13
Tami Heim
And you know, trust, trust is the bedrock. Out of good trust comes productive conflict management. You get good clarity on goals and objectives and people feel like that they can speak into something and that you begin to see outcomes, outcomes that really are transforming a leader, transforming the organization, transforming communities. And now we're even witnessing how it's transforming nations.

00;32;14;21 - 00;32;36;06
Tami Heim
Yes. So one thing leads to another. But I you know, we always talk about, you know, transformed leaders transform. And it has to begin with that leader. And trust is just at the very heart of it. It's the trust in God. I mean, it starts there and then it overflows into other relationships.

00;32;45;23 - 00;33;07;19
Tami Heim
That is so good. Well, thank you for all that you do, really, to come alongside. We consider you family in this mission of enhancing trust. And I couldn't agree more with so much of what you just said. And just on a practical level, as we begin to wrap it up here to tell us a little bit about some of the different opportunities these things that are coming down the pike there at Clay.

00;33;07;19 - 00;33;30;11
Tami Heim
Like what are some ways that those who are listening in on this conversation, how can they practically engage with some of the training and the different components there at clay? Well, we're just right around the corner from our 46th annual conference. We always hold our annual conference in the spring. Now we had to make a little adjustment last year again just with where we were in COVID.

00;33;30;11 - 00;33;58;04
Tami Heim
So it's a short window. So we were together in June in Orlando And so in the spring will be in Louisville. And Michael, we're so excited to have CFA. Well, well-represented. And I just want to thank you not only for your involvement in that conference, but the things that you did in the digital conference and also just your role in the global conference that we did and just helping leaders around the world understand trust.

00;33;58;13 - 00;34;22;07
Tami Heim
And I know that's near and dear to your heart because you also spawned off the Global Trust Partners So, you know, there's this thing that God is doing everywhere. So the conference is April 26th of the 28th. We're going to be at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky, and the theme of the conference is I Belong. And I don't know about you, but I want to get back to the things that were for the things that unite us.

00;34;22;15 - 00;34;46;24
Tami Heim
Our sense of purpose. The division is exhausting and it's really just trying to break us, break us down. Right? So for Christians to come together and focus on the things that are really most important because they're most important to the heart of God, I think it's going to be a meaningful time. Part of what's new and coming is we're going to launch a new version of Outcomes Academy Online.

00;34;47;17 - 00;35;12;09
Tami Heim
We're getting ready to do the soft launch. But in the past, we have always trained people on a quarterly basis so leaders can enroll in courses. And so now we're opening the doors so that leaders can have access to free content, self-paced courses, faculty led courses. And it'll be a whole variety. But you won't have to wait for enrollment in a quarter.

00;35;13;01 - 00;35;56;05
Tami Heim
Those kinds of things will be available when and how leaders need them. So we're excited about that happening, and we'll see the soft launch of that early next month. So God just continues to do things that maybe we hadn't imagined or we never thought that we'd be able to do in this time and place. But I would say to join and be a part of this community where you can collaborate with other leaders where you can engage in all sorts of levels of learning and where you can come together in fellowship at least once a year to go deep into your training, but also to be inspired and just to see and hear from others, all

00;35;56;05 - 00;36;32;23
Tami Heim
that God's doing is kind of a kick we need right every year just to say we got to keep running our race. So those are, I think, the two big things because again, we're all about educating and the personal and professional development. And I guess there's one more thing. We've been on a journey on what does personal leadership look like right now in this place and we just completed work and research with us is a Pacific University, so we're going to introduce a new language for personal leadership within the alliance and make it one of our core disciplines.

00;36;33;16 - 00;36;57;13
Michael Martin
All right. So much to look forward to. I love the theme that I belong and Tammy, I really appreciate to you sharing. This isn't a conference where you go and, you know, just not that all the training and those things that are wonderful and we need them but really what sticks out to me, especially in times like these, so much value and community and not doing it alone.

00;36;58;24 - 00;37;19;10
Tami Heim
And so just really appreciate that. And I encourage all who are listening. Don't just don't do it alone. Be a part of the community. So I love hearing that that's going to be the theme and that's just such a valuable part of that experience every year. Thank you. Thank you. Well, and it's an experience that the leaders within the alliance create.

00;37;19;11 - 00;37;44;06
Tami Heim
So again, Michael ECFA and all the ministries that are involved, I mean, they really bring their best. I know you bring your best because, you know, the hours urgent, the need is great and we want to be found faithful. And what God has called us to do and the things that you bring in everyone else brings really enables us to do that and have a greater kingdom impact.

00;37;45;10 - 00;37;59;18
Michael Martin
Amen. Well, Tammy, that's a great place to bring this conversation to a close. Thank you again. Also, tell us, where do folks go to find out more information about Clay or to connect with you?

00;37;59;18 - 00;38;17;23
Tami Heim
Well, they can easily access the website at Christian Leadership Alliance dot org. And if you specifically want to learn more about the conference, you can go to Outcomes Conference dot org and we'll guide you all throughout the sites and the information and the things that you need to know.

00;38;17;23 - 00;38;33;16
Tami Heim
But we would just welcome leaders to be part of it. We're so much stronger together. I know that. You know that. And we know that that is the heart of God, that we be united and that we work in unison to accomplish a big plan.

00;38;33;16 - 00;38;44;01
Michael Martin
Wonderful. Well, again, Tammy, this has been such a great conversation and we honor you, your leadership, that of CLA and just our relationship.

00;38;44;01 - 00;38;49;06
Michael Martin
And thanks again for taking time to be here on the ECFA podcast today.

00;38;49;06 - 00;38;53;05
Tami Heim
It was great to be behind the seal with you today.

00;38;53;05 - 00;38;54;14
Michael Martin
All right. Thanks so much.