Personal Growth
21 Ways to Overcome Personal Discouragement
Ever get discouraged as a leader? It’s kind of like asking if you have a pulse. If you’ve led anything for more than a few months, you’ve been discouraged. Progress isn’t happening as fast as you like Or may it…
The ONE Thing that Should Characterize Every Christian Leader
The one thing that should characterize every Christian leader…often doesn’t. I’m hesitant to tell you what it is upfront because you will do what I would be tempted to do…say ‘well of course’ and move on. Who needs another lesson…
5 Personal Insights from a Recovering Control Freak
It’s amazing to me how many leaders I know tell me they struggle with control. When I tell people I have control issues, a surprising number tell me, in hushed tones, that they have the same issue. Then, usually, we…
How to Get Good Feedback: 9 Ways to Learn the Truth About You
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…
How I Recovered From Burnout: 12 Keys to Getting Back
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…
9 Signs You’re Burning Out in Leadership
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…
An Effective Way To Renew Passion Many Leaders Miss
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…
The Top 5 Ministry Excuses You Absolutely Need to Stop Making
Excuses. We all make them from time to time. But we should banish them from our vocabulary forever. And here’s why I believe that’s so critical: You can make excuses, or you can make progress, but you can’t make both.…
3 Questions That Can Help You Avoid Leadership Blind Spots
So how clearly are you seeing things as a leader? Really? Truthfully, there are important things in leadership that all of us miss. One of the toughest challenges for those of us who lead is that every leader develops blind…
7 Lessons from My Year Long Spending Fast
My year-long spending fast is over. For the last year, I’ve been on a 12-month personal spending fast. Basically, it meant I agreed to purchase no new technology, music, apps, clothing or other discretionary personal items for a year. I…
Can You Be Faithful and Still Fail?
Failure’s such an ugly word. This is, as I talked about here, why we all gravitate toward success. Who doesn’t want to be successful? But here’s the truth. Most of us are not as successful as we hoped to be.…
How Do You Kill The Cynicism Inside You?
Is any part of you growing cynical? I think you know what I mean. I have to: Fight the ‘been there” “done that” and “I can explain that in ten seconds if you let me” tendency that comes with having…