Church leaders do it all the time. Ask them who they’re trying to reach. Their answer? Everyone. It sounds appropriate. I get that. What else are you going to say? After all, the Gospel is for everyone. But that’s not…
It’s surprising what you learn when you’re least expecting it. About yourself. About leadership. About 6 years ago I bought my non-garage sale bike as an adult. It was a mountain bike, and while I love the trails, I found…
I had one of those rare Sundays off as a church leader yesterday. I went to our church, Connexus, with my family. (I took this picture from where we sat in the back row.) I didn’t serve, I didn’t have…
You know the frustration. You put in a full day. You worked hard. But you didn’t even touch that important project. You’ve been meaning to. You intended to do it. It was first on your list. But the message isn’t…
In the United States alone, 70% of the people who will go to work today will tell you they don’t like their jobs. I don’t think that’s just an American issue. It’s a people issue. So many people I know get…
Every time you lead change, someone inevitably complains “It will never be the same again.” In fact, some of you are wincing at the mere mention of that phrase. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Almost every leader at some point faces…
If you’re truly going to develop as a leader, you can’t do it without great feedback. The dilemma for a lot of us is that we long to hear ‘well done’. And we crave positive feedback enough that it’s tempting…
I had never been through anything quite as deep, or frankly, personally frightening as my burnout back in 2006. Burnout moves fatigue and the darkness from a place where it was in your control to a place where you can…
Burnout. Been there? Seven years ago, I entered the darkest period of my life. People had always warned me I would burn out. I thought I could prove them wrong. And usually, I did. I would get tired – out…
Most of us would love passion to fuel our life and work every day. That’s always how it starts, right? When you begin something, it’s pretty much all passion. Whether you’ve felt a call into ministry, you’re starting a new…
Most leaders are ambitious, or at least somewhat ambitious. And some of that’s good and God-given. But let’s ask an awkward, difficult, and at times piercing question: What motivates your ambition? Mostly I don’t like that question because I don’t…
Remember your first date? You were so focused on making a great impression: You thought through where to take her about 1000 times. You were deeply interested in her and listened more than you spoke. You held the door open.…