What Snorkeling Taught me about Selecting Leaders
Several years ago I spent ten days with my family vacationing in the Bahamas in a condo literally steps from the beach. The snorkeling was dazzling. I saw over two dozen varieties of fish, excluding the nurse sharks, dolphins, and a giant starfish I found. My experience with three specific fish reminded me that we leaders must
Do Pastors Wield Too Much Power?
Several years ago during our weekend services I realized how much power I wielded as a pastor. I’ve served in vocational ministry over 35 years and I knew intuitively that my position brought with it power over people, but not until then did I understand a unique power my position, and every pastor, carries. When I say
8 Indispensable Qualities Every Leader Needs
Israel’s second king, King David, poses a question about character in Psalm 15.1, “God, what do you look for in those who draw close to You?” He them summarizes the answer in the first part of verse 2 with the words ‘blameless’ and ‘righteous.’ The NASB version uses the word ‘integrity’ for ‘blameless.’ These eight
What this Leader Learned about Life from 10 Kindergarteners
Several years ago I visited the pre-school that my church ran. It included a kindergarten class. The morning I peeked in I noticed that all 10 kids were sitting in a circle holding hands. Their teacher, Autumn, invited me in to join them in their morning prayer. Delighted to do so, I sat between two dainty girls, one with
Need More Energy? Five Ways to Build It.
Energy management is the new time management. And I’ve asked my friend, Tom Harper to share his insight on that crucial subject. He just released his latest book, Servant Leader Strong which is the result of his three-year search through the Bible for wisdom on how to achieve results through servant leadership. It is a
What Mac & Cheese Taught me about the Needs of Others
A very successful businessman inadvertently taught me a lesson about paying attention to other people’s needs … with mac & cheese. Several years ago I ate breakfast at my favorite diner with one of our church’s key leaders. He owned a flourishing business and gave quite generously to our church. As I enjoyed the blue plate special of eggs,
Leaders Need Adequate Sleep: 10 Ways to Get It
Get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Decreased light at night. Use ambient noise machines or smart phone apps. Try to get at least 7-8 hours each night. Don’t work in bed. Don’t bring your iPad or smart phone to bed. Stick with the same routine each night. Don’t use caffeine more
7 Holes that Can Swallow Ministry
I have four earned degrees and my toughest by far was an industrial engineering degree from Ga Tech. That degree taught me to think systematically. In addition, I’ve added to my competency tool box many books on church planning plus two churches where I’ve served have engaged in year-long visioning processes with church consultants. So, I’m
Are You a Catalytic Leader?
The book, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leadership Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom, highlights the value of what the authors call, ‘leaderless’ organizations. Although I don’t advocate leaderless organizations, one chapter describes tools that successful non-leader leaders use to catalyze their respective organizations. These qualities also apply to catalytic leaders. I’ve summarized them below. Qualities
A Counter-intuitive Way to Manage Ministry Pain
Pain and ministry go together like peanut butter and jelly. Once you make a PB&J sandwich, there’s no separating the two ingredients. Neither can we isolate successful ministry from the pain it inevitably brings. I don’t like rejection, disappointment, or criticism. I don’t know any pastor who does. Sometimes, however, I do everything I can