Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret (John 18:20).
Want to lead like Jesus?
Stop hiding your agenda. [click to continue…]
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Don’t confuse your business with your delivery system.
What do you mean?
Your “business” is the value you bring to people. Your delivery system is the way you deliver it.
Okay… I’m still not sure I get what you’re saying.
Okay, let illustrate it. Let’s pretend it’s the year 1900, and you own one of the dominant businesses of the day – a railroad company. What’s your business?
Railroads?
AAAANNNNK! You lose. Twenty years from now you’ll be out of business and replaced with trucks. Anyway, who gets up in the morning wishing somebody would give them a bunch of steel and cross timbers? Let’s try it again. What business are you in?
Uh, transportation?
Good. You may survive this after all.
Okay that makes sense, I suppose. But I’m not a business owner.
Of course you are. [click to continue…]
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CNN had an interesting story yesterday. The headline: “When Christians Become a Hated Minority.” Like so many other current cultural debates, it assumes that Christ followers are camped out on one issue. Maybe that’s because that issue is the one place, seemingly, where the world has managed to join forces with the tide of popular opinion. Now anybody who speaks out against homosexual behavior or gay marriage is a hate-filled bigot.
The article fairly raises the question of whether Christian-haters are the new bigots. It points out that many believers avoid saying anything about, well, anything for fear of the backlash.
This raises a painful question for Christians: Why are we being trampled on? It sure seems that anywhere you turn anybody and everybody has the right to say whatever they want, do whatever pleases them, and demand to be accepted. But let somebody mention Jesus or the word “Christian” and the arrows fly from all sides.
Here’s the problem: We’re asking the wrong people. [click to continue…]
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In a slumbering, snoring world, always far away in some other place…
Dreaming of another time like tomorrow or yesterday…
Can you be the one who stays awake
To the rhythms and breathing of the here and now?
Could you stay here in this moment?
Could you rest here in His love?
In a tenacious, tight-fisted tribe of self will run riot…
Demanding life on its own terms as if it were theirs to demand…
Can you be the one who joyfully lets go
And surrenders to the sweetness of His way and truth?
Could you stay here in this moment?
Could you rest here in His love? [click to continue…]
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Who are you?
No, that’s your name. Let’s try again.
Who are you?
You’re already answering that question with what you say, how you spend your time, how you spend your money, how you relate to other people, and how your emotions are triggered. But let’s look a little deeper.
Who. Not what are you, but who? I was scrolling through LinkedIn the other day and was fascinated by the “what” language people used to describe themselves. Of course, there are the standard job titles such as Senior Loan Officer and Whatever Bank. But then there are the more creative types like, “Thinker, Writer, Philanthropist,” “Dreamer,” and “Solution Architect.”
Sorta made me want to come up with my own list. Recliner tester. Dog herder. APA Policeman (if you have to ask what APA is, never mind). I don’t think I’ll list any of those, however. There is a difference between what you do and who you are. [click to continue…]
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A few years ago I was having coffee with an old friend and colleague. I was in a pretty wounded state at the time, and felt compelled to tell him my story. He was compassionate, listened attentively, then asked, “How can I help?”
“I was thinking about visiting your church,” I said, “and just wanted you to know.”
“Well, I’ll be honest with you,” he replied. “We’re not much of a healing place.”
Wow. There it was. Translation: We’re more interested in fresh blood than spilled blood. But to be fair, his church was and is true to its mission as they perceive it. And at least he was kind enough to be honest.
For years I have heard the old saying, “The Christian army is the only army in the world that shoots its wounded.” Let me say right up front, that’s not accurate. If you really believe that, you’ve never been in a corporate “army” or a political one. The wounded get eliminated there all the time.
But the church is supposed to be different, right? We’re supposed to be trophies of grace, havens of love, lighthouses of hope and (make your own cliché here: [blank] of [blank]). So what’s up with that right foot of fellowship? [click to continue…]
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“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” – Yogi Berra
Had any punked-out plans lately? Any disappointments or unforeseen disasters? Have you lost someone dear to you or had your dreams shoved back into your face?
Have you noticed how the news seems to report more on what may happen than what just happened? Here’s a headline from Wednesday: With Dow Industrials at Record Highs, When Will Gravity Take Hold? Sheesh! Even the good news begs for more bad news.
Or try this one: Have you ever had something surprise you with such joy, so much delirium that you had no clue what to do next?
It was Benjamin Franklin who first said that in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. And yet we try, because nobody likes uncertainty. So what do you do when you’re standing face-to-face with a completely unpredictable future? You can offer money to people who promise to reduce your uncertainty – policemen, politicians, preachers, and “prophets.” You can bury your head in the sand and hope tomorrow never comes. Or you can find a way to confront your uncertainties with God’s power and courage.
Now just to be clear, I’m not just referring to bracing for imminent disaster or catastrophic losses. I mean even those every-day surprises and disappointments. One source that has always been an example to me is the Apostle Paul. At the end of his first letter to the Corinthians, he runs through a list of travel plans. Travel plans! In the Bible! What’s his travel agenda doing in God’s holy book? Check this out: [click to continue…]
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Economics doesn’t have to be difficult. Just ask my three-year-old grandson…
Cohen: Papa can I have a treat?
Papa: What do you want? [click to continue…]
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Nehemiah discovered a gap between what was and what should be.
What was – local thugs were keeping the holy city of his fathers in ruins as the people there had tried to rebuild it for 40 years.
What should be – a city with a wall around it.
In that discovery, he made a risky decision. It wasn’t enough to pray or weep over it. He needed to take action. So Nehemiah aimed for The Gap. And 52 days after his arrival in Jerusalem, the wall was completed.
Moses was hiding from his past on the back side of the desert when he discovered a gap between what was and what should be.
What was – the cries of the oppressed Israelites had reached the ears of their God.
What should be – a nation of slaves set free to inherit the land of God’s promise.
In that discovery, he made a risky decision. It wasn’t enough to stand there and try to argue with a burning bush and the God who was calling him. He needed to take action. So Moses aimed for The Gap. And weeks later, he and a few million of his family members stood at the edge of the Red Sea.
This is the essence of leadership. [click to continue…]
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Did a face plant a couple of weeks ago. On concrete. It was ugly, and so was I for a few days.
The irony of the situation was that I was bolting from one meeting to another, with a cross-town drive in-between. And the place I was in a hurry to?
A radio interview about the mental health of people in the ministry.
I wasn’t exactly expecting to have my own tested in the process. But that’s the price you pay when you’re trying to move at the speed of light on a sidewalk designed for the speed of pedestrians.
For just a minute I thought I was seeing the light of eternity. Turns out I was just seeing stars.
Aside from the wounds to my forehead, knees, hands and pride, I did learn a few things, such as what an “orbital nerve” is. Oh, and that there is more than one kind of black eye.
But the most important thing I was reminded of is that my ability to maintain my rhythm and step in this world of the falling is no comparison to God’s ability to hold me, heal me, and shepherd me home. Regardless of how I may stumble in a temporal world, in the one that matters most, He won’t let me fall. [click to continue…]
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