Saving your Family without Killing Your Ministry
My wife and I have 3 grown kids. One has survived a brain tumor, one was a straight arrow, and one was a challenge. My oldest daughter Heather (our challenge) even co-wrote a book with me about the experience in our family called Daughters Gone Wild-Dads Gone Crazy. I’ve excerpted 5 insights from our book about
How to Overcome Spiritual Vertigo
My friend Dwayne Mercer, pastor of CrossLife Church, one of the largest churches in central Florida, just released his book Overcoming Spiritual Vertigo. He writes from the perspective of a seasoned pastor and a believer who has faced personal challenges in his life. Today he is my guest blogger. I highly recommend reading his book.
What Walmart Greeters Taught me about Leadership
Looming over six feet tall with a scraggly beard, wire-rimmed glasses, a 12 inch ponytail tied with a rubber band, and a vest dotted with military patches, George would be at home riding a Harley with a motorcycle gang. Instead, he holds a clear plastic jug plastered with yellow smiley-face stickers and filled with dollar
5 Benefits of Working Outside the Office
Although I’ve been a pastor 35 years, only in the last few years have I discovered the value of studying/working outside my church and home office. I’ll either go to McDonalds (cheap food) or when I lived in Chicago, Panera (good atmosphere and the place I preferred). Both provide free Wi-Fi. While I don’t advocate spending
What Drew 1200 New People to our Church on a Monday
I serve a great church of about 750 in Southern Ontario in Canada, West Park Church. Unlike in the U.S. where our church would be considered a medium sized church, here in Canada we are considered a large church, though not a mega-church. We’re in a growing area in the city of London and are
Leading Well for the Long Haul
Larry Osborne, one of today’s most influential pastors and author of many books is my guest blogger today. He’s one of the most unassuming guys you’ll ever meet, but very wise and a great leader. You’ll enjoy this post. Everybody wants to leave a legacy. But the reality is we can’t control the impact or
A Millennial’s Search for Finding His Sweet Spot
I’ve been following one of the most influential leadership bloggers who is in his 20’s, Paul Sohn. He is an award-winning writer, speaker and executive coach. His new book, “Quarter-Life Calling: How to Find Your Sweet Spot In Your Twenties” is out today and I highly recommend it. I asked Paul to share a bit
Are you an Anonymous Leader?
I love reading books on leadership. And recently, The Anonymous Leader: An Unambitious Pursuit of Influence by Ralph Mayhew, a pastor in Australia came across my desk. It is an excellent and convicting book about being a biblical leader, from a fresh angle. I asked Ralph to be my guest blogger today. His post gives
The iPhone App that Improved my Ability to Concentrate
One of the most precious commodities a pastor has is time. Ministry always beckons us to do more than time permits. I once heard a researcher state that most people have 35 hours of unfinished work ahead of them. However, if we use the time we have most effectively, we’ll become more fruitful for the
4 Questions Leaders Should Ask to Avoid Burnout
For my second book I commissioned Barna Research, Lifeway Research, and Christianity Today to survey almost 2,000 pastors to discover what issues can cause a ministry or a leader’s passion for ministry to die. I based my book on those findings. Out of those findings, four key questions emerged that every spiritual leader should ask him or herself at