Leadership

Back on Mission

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It’s our first day back to work (after parental leave). As we get back to the cause of leading our churches in mission, I’m thinking about an image I saw while we were in Korea. During our tour of Kwanglim Methodist Church, I saw a large wall poster of John Wesley on horseback, which included … Read more

“Holy Discontent”

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I just finished reading another book by Bill Hybels, Holy Discontent. Last week I finished When Leadership and Discipleship Collide, which I wrote about here. I wanted to include both books in my dissertation, at the last minute. As I said before, Hybels is one of my favorite writers/leaders. Not only is Holy Discontent an … Read more

“When Leadership and Discipleship Collide”

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One of my favorite writers/leaders is Bill Hybels, founding/senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL). Hybels has more than 30 years of leadership experience, and I am always inspired and challenged when I read his stuff. It’s no different after reading When Leadership and Discipleship Collide, a brief book with about 57 … Read more

Appreciative Inquiry: A Transformational Leadership Strategy

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In our dissertation work (at Asbury Theological Seminary), Joleen and I chose Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as the strategy for our field research (at the suggestion of our mentor, Dr. Russell West). AI, which grew out of Dr. David Cooperrider’s Ph.D. work in the 1980s, is a response to more traditional approaches that tend to focus … Read more

{Parenting} Shaping a Servant Culture

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Christ-followers are servants! We want to raise Ethan in a culture where serving God and others is part of the DNA. A culture where serving God/others is part of the DNA is a culture which says … It’s not about me! Rick Warren begins his book, The Purpose-Driven Life, with the words, “It’s not about … Read more

{Parenting} Shaping a Leadership Culture

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One of the things I look forward to as a parent is raising Ethan in the context of a leadership culture. Leadership is important to us; we’re both leaders. While we don’t yet know what gifts God has given him (and others God may develop in him in the future), we certainly want to provide … Read more

{Parenting} Shaping a High AQ Culture

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Shaping culture. That’s what we’ve been thinking about lately as we prepare to bring Ethan home in a few weeks. So far, we’ve talked about shaping a God-centered culture and a learning culture. Next up, we want to shape a high AQ culture. Behind this idea of a high AQ culture is an excellent book, … Read more

Learning from Mistakes

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One of the best things you can do is to learn from other people’s experiences, including their mistakes. Learning from others and their mistakes is certainly a good and necessary habit for leaders. Someone put it this way … Learn from the mistakes of others — you can never live long enough to make them … Read more

{Parenting} Shaping a Learning Culture

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What kind of culture or environment do we want to create for our child? That’s the question we’re asking ourselves as we prepare for parenthood. So far, we’ve talked about cultivating a God-centered culture. Another component of the culture we want to create is a learning culture. We believe that all of life is a … Read more

A Leader’s Prayer

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I recently came across the following prayer from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (edited by Arthur Bennett). The language is a bit archaic, but the spirit of the prayer is relevant. O GOD, I know that I often do Thy work without Thy power, and sin by my dead, … Read more