It seems we’ve all grown too accustomed to settling for being told ‘half-truths’ obviously designed to deceive. Politicians are likely at the top of the list of half-truth-tellers — but half-truths are also featured regularly on our nightlight news, radio ads, commercials, the Internet, and even many companies’ sales reports.
The problem with any half-truth is it’s actually a whole lie.
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Calm is the “unicorn” of virtues in a world gone mad.
all-is-calmSomewhere along the line, it became cool to be loud and bitter.
It became an expectation that, for us to change the world (our job, apparently), we had to become social activists. Not the good kind — the Rosa Parks type of social activist. I mean the other kind. The abrasive, snarky, shaming, Jesus-juking, share-button-hitting, constantly outraged kind of social activists.
Read More >I want to take a moment to encourage you, as a leader, to embrace it, cherish it, and make the most of it. We can get so busy with the hustle and bustle that we can find ourselves looking forward to it being over. I get that — but truly, what a mistake that is.
Let me encourage you to do a few things to make the most of your holidays together at a family and spiritual level this year.
Read More >What is your favorite type of hat?
Mine is, by far, baseball caps. I have a whole wall and more in my garage of probably 60 to 70 baseball caps. Right now, I’m wearing my Chicago Cubs hat with a Santa cap on the historic Cubs “C” — love it!
Whether or not we love to wear hats on our head, we all wear them in life. I submit to you that all of us should have no more than two hats of commitment at any one time in the major areas of our lives.
Read More >Good leaders are both analysts and catalysts. Leaders must accurately describe reality. Leaders must create for a better future. An analyst has a proper understanding of present reality. A catalyst knows what to create for a better future. The analyst helps followers understand the present. The catalyst inspires followers to move towards the future.
Read More >I’m in the process right now of setting up the annual learning trip for our church’s leadership team. We plop down in a city for a few days and discuss the best practices of several churches.
This year, I had two churches that I had relationships with and lined them up right away. However, as I’ve been looking for a third church to meet with, I have run into three churches in a row that have had a senior leader resign in recent years due to a moral failure — again, all in one city!
Leaders blow it sometimes, don’t we?
Read More >The “established” side of the established church is often viewed with some derision. I certainly understand why.The establishment can be stodgy, stuck and stuffy. Being established, however, is what you make it.
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The requests come through different means — email, in-person, lunch meetings, over coffee, phone calls, and social media. The asks all differ slightly, but the spirit of most of them is the same: Will you support my ministry?
Read More >They’re watching you. They’re noticing you. They’re evaluating you. They’re mirroring you. Who are they? They are the people you’re leading.
Read More >If you’re like me, you want your voice heard — even at the top levels of leadership. I may not be able to have lunch with the President of the United States, but I do want to feel like he’s listening to me. I don’t believe it’s an unreasonable expectation of followers to want their voices heard by top leaders.
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