Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
There are two times when I am most susceptible to feeling bad: (1) browsing through the books in a bookstore, and (2) looking through the books in our personal home library. In both places, I come across way too many good books waiting to be read! A few years ago I talked about our Reading … Read more
It’s often said that leaders are readers. I’ve always loved what Rick Warren says: “Leaders are learners. The moment you stop learning, you stop leading!” I have put together a list of 15 books that have shaped me as a leader. These aren’t necessarily the best books on leadership—they’re not even all specifically leadership books—but … Read more
Everyone says change is hard. It may be hard, but it’s normal. I often think of a quote from SoulTsunami by Leonard Sweet: What is the difference between a living thing and a dead thing? … in the modern medical world, a clinical definition of death is a body that does not change. Change is … Read more
I’ve been fleshing out some of the reading from The Balancing Act by Bishop Robert Schnase. Previous posts include: “The Balancing Act”, Pray More Than Criticize, 5 Practices to Make the Most of Time, and Change Takes Faith. In one chapter, Bishop Schnase talks about a field he once saw that was no longer being … Read more
I have a couple more reflections on The Balancing Act by Bishop Robert Schnase (previous posts: “The Balancing Act”, Pray More Than Criticize, and 5 Practices to Make the Most of Time). By definition, leaders are change agents, so Bishop Schnase’s thoughts on change caught my attention. Schnase points out why change is hard: When … Read more
I’ve been writing about The Balancing Act by Bishop Robert Schnase (see “The Balancing Act” and Pray More Than Criticize). Bishop Schnase writes on “Redeeming Time.” By that, he means “making time sacred, useful to God, holy” (119). Schnase adds: … redeeming the time involves discovering the holy, gift-like quality, the grace of time. It … Read more
In my last post, I suggested that Leaders are Pot-Stirrers. Before I get into some specific ways that leaders stir the pot, I should say that being a pot-stirrer is not a license to be a jerk. I’m not talking about making life difficult for people for the sake of being difficult. It’s all about … Read more
A number of years ago, I stopped on a channel long enough to catch part of the movie, Runaway Bride. In one particular scene, the “runaway bride” (played by Julia Roberts) yelled at a reporter (played by Richard Gere). The reporter made her life difficult by writing in a newspaper column about her practice of … Read more
In the last couple of years, we (and our congregations) have been impacted by Bishop Robert Schnase’s book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (see posts we’ve written on Five Practices). Bishop Schnase, who blogs, also wrote a small book that can be used as a 30-day devotional called The Balancing Act: A Daily Rediscovery of … Read more
One of the books we read before writing our theology papers for ordination was Mainline or Methodist?: Rediscovering Our Evangelistic Mission by Scott Kisker, who teaches at Wesley Theological Seminary. We both loved the book. As the title suggests, the book addresses an identity problem in the UMC. In the foreword, Bishop Timothy Whitaker writes: … Read more