Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Recently, I read two articles on the Harvard Business Review blog: Fatigue Is Your Enemy and Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time. Tony Schwartz writes … Two years ago, I began hearing the phrase ‘It isn’t sustainable’ over and over from senior executives. They were talking about the everyday demands at work. The day of … Read more
When I read The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson this past year (I wrote several posts; the last one was 5 Takeaways From “The Circle Maker”), one section that struck me was the idea that as we age, we typically follow one of two paths: we either move toward memory or imagination. Batterson writes … … Read more
Health and well-being has been a focus of mine over the last several months (most recently, Hitting the Wall). Today, I read that three United Methodist general agencies joined forces to focus on clergy health. The result is a report on 13 Factors That Influence Clergy Health. The intro paragraph from the PDF states … … Read more
Earlier this week, I blogged about the The Pain of Discipline vs. the Pain of Regret. The pain of discipline is future-oriented, while the pain of regret is past-oriented. Another way to think about it is with the two terms “next time” and if only” (this idea isn’t original with me; I just don’t remember … Read more
Yesterday, Joleen and I attended the Catalyst One Day event in Lancaster, PA. It was a great event in which Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel talked about creating healthy organizational cultures. Here are some my favorite quotes from the day, most of which I posted on Twitter … “Healthy people are problem solvers, not problem … Read more
Recently, I wrote a post on Wayne Cordeiro’s book, Leading on Empty. Cordeiro writes, “Sooner or later every long-distance runner encounters the wall. Regardless of how well-trained the athlete, he will meet it one day, and he will meet it head on (34).” Well, I believe I hit the wall five months ago, on June … Read more
A little over a year ago, I wrote about our conference’s Matthew 28 Initiative. I wrote that post on the eve of our consultation weekend in September 2011, and I recently realized I haven’t written anything about it since then! The consultation, which was conducted by Rev. Roz Mason (Consultant), Rev. Rich Morris (Coach), and … Read more
In 2006, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro gave a talk at the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit called, Dead Leader Running. The talk struck a chord with me, at the time, and Cordeiro’s experience has stuck with me. In fact, when my ordeal began 19 weeks ago, it was one of the first things I thought … Read more
Last month, I wrote 3 Steps I’m Taking to Manage Stress Better (one additional step was the vacation that ended yesterday). In the days ahead, I will be writing more about my experiences and learnings over the last five weeks, starting with this one. This morning, while praying, I remembered listening to Chuck Swindoll’s talk … Read more
Over the years, some statements I’ve heard or read have stuck with me. One statement I read sometime around twenty years ago, I believe came from a book by James E. Means, Leadership in Christian Ministry (1989). The statement, as I recall, was … Great pastors don’t build great churches. Great pastors build great people, … Read more