Leadership
Creating a Biblical List of Goals for the New Year
One day while Molly and I were riding in the car I asked her, “Next year, at the beginning of 2012, what do you want to look back and say you accomplished in 2011?” She begin her answer with a quick review of what she had wished she had done differently last year and then said, “So here is...
Write What You Read
I’ve been reading more than usual lately. This is most likely because my current sermon series is demanding a lot more of my time in the books. I’ve also read from a few other guys who talk about the importance of reading – such as C.J. Mahaney, Mark Driscoll and Michael Hyatt (to name a few). All this has...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Finding Confidence in the Way I Was Created
God is a creative and commissioning God. He never lacks a strategic plan, nor the power or ingenuity to make it happen. That was clear in the creation account captured in Genesis chapter one. There is something to notice in God's creation account for those of us who struggle with confidence. Our God did three things that should cause our shrinking...
When Brokenness is a Great Strength
At times it seems that the economy of heaven is upside down. We are used to a this fight-to-win-it world which declare loudly that only the weak will fail. Yet, in God's eyes, the only way to succeed is to spend your soul at the deepest level. We are called to lose our life. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will...
5 Keys to a Great Start to Your Day
Mornings are a killer. I am not the kind of guy that usually rises with a pep-in-my-step. I wake up one braincell at a time. This is just the way that I am wired, and as much as I wish I could change it, I really can’t. So I have come up with some routines that help me get...
How To Be A Great Boss To Your Assistant
I am one of the world's luckiest pastors (Is it okay to use "lucky" and "pastor" in the same sentence?). I am lucky - or should I say "Blessed" - because I have the world's best administrative assistant working with me. She does an amazing job at helping me steward the ministry of the church well, and in turn, shepherding...