When I began in ministry, the churches I served were small and traditional. So small in fact, that I actually sang in a choir. Some Sundays there were as many people in the choir as there were in attendance. The…
I celebrate a birthday in a few weeks, and I’m reminded once again that the calendar doesn’t turn back. In a culture that celebrates youth, it’s easy to believe the only key to impact is to be young. But is…
If you’re like me, you like to track with people who are ahead of you in age and stage, and probably ahead of you in their level of ‘success’. Chance are you do this in real life (I hope you…
Chances are you want to change something. Or a lot of things. You’re a leader. You have a vision. A passion. So do members of your team. But so many visions die because of opposition to change. And leaders grow…
So you walk into a co-worker’s office to open up about something that’s bothering you. Two minutes into the conversation all you start hearing from your colleague are phrases like: It’s not that bad Why don’t you just try X?…
We leaders are dealers in hope. Not hype, which is completely different. But hope. One of our key tasks is to move people toward a promise that’s real. Toward a better day. Toward a future that is better. But how…
A friend of mine from seminary days told me that every leader has a number on his (or her) back. 50 100 200 1000 10,000 His theory? Basically everyone has a natural number that reflects the size of organization (or…
Why on earth would pastors and church leaders have a hard time attending church of all things? Kind of a strange thing to ask, isn’t it? After all, wouldn’t leaders who have led churches be the most anxious to attend them? Strangely, not always.…
Donald Miller’s blog posts about his decision to not attend church very often has spawned a huge discussion. In some ways, as much as all this leaving breaks my heart, it’s good the discussion is happening. Here’s what’s happening all…
Sometimes you and I make life out to be more mysterious than it actually is. You ask why you keep getting speeding tickets (why me God?!?) when the simple truth is you usually speed. You ask why your friendships are…
Self-confidence. Almost every leader I’ve ever met struggles with it at some level. I do. And my guess is you do too. Most of us swing between trying to avoid arrogance at all costs and having an unhealthily low self-esteem.…
If someone asked you how your heart is, what would you say? I know, it’s a weird question But what I told you that the answer to that question would determine: How long you’ll last in leadership. How effective you’ll…