My Sermon Preparation Schedule
Finding the right time to sermon prep has always been a task for me. Ever since my preaching ministry began, I’ve struggled to ensure that my time outside the pulpit best prepared me for my time inside the pulpit. For years I seemed to always be in fear of the next time I spoke because I was preparing right until...
Finding the Balance Between Rest and Work
Mornings have always been hard for me. I wake up one brain cell at a time. I’ve learned if I can start the day off right it will set the tone for how the rest of the day hums along. The last few weeks I’ve been trying to be more efficient with the first hours of each day. In order...
Leading Through Email
I will never forget the first days on a job when I realized my boss was going to manage primarily through email. It was overwhelming to say the least. Every few minutes my computer would “ding” as a new email arrived. His management style was a turn off for me. In fact, I am sure there was more than one...
Process for Writing a Post
One of the ways I am trying to avoid silly mistakes is by making sure each post goes through an assembly line process. This ensures that there are several checkpoints where small mistakes can be spotted and fixed. When I write a post, I try to follow these steps: Write. No matter how messy it is, I just try to...
Christ as the Main Priority
I have a nerdy confession to make: I love lists. In fact, I love making lists that are color-coded, categorized, and checked-off, one at a time. I have even tried to live my life according to a list that looks something like this: One: God Two: Family Three: Church Four: Friends… and the list goes on However, I’m realizing I can’t live my life...
Avoiding What Must be Done
I’m pretty sure if you locked me in a room for the rest of my life I would never get bored. My mind goes about a-million-miles an hour, and I have a rare talent of visiting far-off dreams without ever leaving my seat. If my mind goes that crazy locked in a room, you can only imagine how restless...
Is God on Facebook?
I remember when Facebook first started. It was one of those seemingly faddish websites that was sweeping college campuses, and I refused to be a part. Eventually, my sister convinced me to register – she was sure it would be the key to keeping our communication intact over the 1016 miles that separated us while I lived in Chicago. Now...
Handling Unexpected Conflict
Recently I found myself in an unexpected heated discussion. It had been awhile since I had seen this gentleman, and without a greeting or even a simple “Hello” he entered into a discussion with an attacking tone as if I had previously threatened all that was precious to him. Not only did this conversation take me by surprise, but I...
The Rest of God
Summer is usually a season where we get to kick back and enjoy some long weekends and a vacation here or there. I believe God desires for us to rest and enjoy life, even more than we allows ourselves to at times. We too often are like Jonah – instead of finding our peace in the sovereignty of God,...
God Speaking or Indigestion?
If you’ve ever been to Monroe, Ohio and driven on I-75 then you’ve probably seen the 62-foot tall statue of Jesus off to the side; that is unless you’ve been there within the last month. In June that statue of Jesus was burned to the ground after a lightening strike. The press seemed to have a heyday to see what...
Leadership Requires Thinking Outside the Helmet
Leadership takes nerve. It demands a willingness to risk comfort, acceptance, and peace-of-mind, in order to find or create something that will impact people like nothing else ever has before. Even as a pastor, I am having to think beyond what has been done and reach deep into the caverns of my imagination for ideas inspired by God to change...
The Lamb and the Cliff, The Cross and Me
Nearly a decade ago I was speaking at several churches in Ireland. The locals had told me about a beautiful Crucifix of Christ carved out of white stone in the side of a mountain somewhere near Dingle Bay. I was with my family and we made our way up the windy road with the mountain on our right and...