Two extremes.
Two in-your-face, He-can’t-be-serious statements made by none other than Jesus Christ.
Two simple statements of fact covered up and made sleepy by years of self-initiated religion.
I’ll tell you right up front – you’ll say you believe it. But I would gently challenge you that on typical days you probably don’t.
The statements? Read this slowly as if you’re reading it for the first time (maybe you are!): [click to continue…]
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Quiet.
Quiet?
Yeah, quiet. You ask how I am… I’m quiet.
In what way? Are you upset?
No. I don’t think so. Just quiet.
Worse ways to be, I guess.
I suppose so.
And what brought you to this place of being so quiet?
I guess it all started with this sense of yearning – of longing for something more in my walk with the Lord.
That’s a good thing.
Sure, ‘til I realized what’s in the way.
Which is…? [click to continue…]
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Nobody who takes on a leadership role sets out to blow it. I’ve never heard of a CEO who dreamed of halving his market share, a pastor who fantasized about getting the right foot of fellowship, or a government leader who longs to go from hero to zero.
But leadership failure happens. Often. And while it can happen quickly at times, usually there are warning signs. Unfortunately, most of the time we wait for hindsight to convince us of what foresight and insight have probably been hollering all along.
If you’re a leader, or have the ear of one, you may want to pay attention to these seven warning signals before it’s too late. [click to continue…]
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The world is full of complex, overwhelming problems.
It’s also full of all sizes and shapes of problem solvers. [click to continue…]
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Take me again to the Chamber of the Beloved –
To the place where I can remember my place again.
Sing over me with love and delight.
Restore my soul, oh, restore my soul. [click to continue…]
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I found myself strangely moved.
The other day a pastor friend, who is walking through new beginnings of his own, sent me a copy of this Thomas Kinkade painting from 2005 titled “Gate of New Beginnings.” I have always appreciated the work of “the Painter of Light,” but mostly at a distance. This one felt up close and personal.
Here’s what Kinkade himself said about it: [click to continue…]
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Try this simple, powerful prayer…
I dare you.
Say this to God in faith, then brace for impact: [click to continue…]
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Years ago I was shopping for a stereo and learned an interesting lesson in the store. I cranked up the volume on a set of speakers and was impressed with what I heard. But the sales assistant told me that even a mediocre set of speakers could do that. The measure of a speaker’s quality, he said, was how low you could turn the volume and still hear quality sound. Then taking the volume all the way to zero, he slowly raised the level. Before the dial reached “1” I was hearing a full range of music from a quality set of speakers.
The same idea is true in the spiritual realm, as no less than Elijah from scripture can testify. [click to continue…]
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You probably won’t read about this in your favorite leadership book – even the Christian-flavored ones. You almost certainly won’t read about it in the latest wave of business tomes or political memoirs. And yet nearly every significant leader of every stripe in the Bible practiced this.
The politicians did it.
The prophets did it.
The priests did it.
The preachers did it.
The patriarchs did it.
I’m running out of things that start with “p,” but if you think of something, they probably did it too.
What’s this “secret weapon” of leadership? This so-obvious-it’s-embarrassing-we-missed-it practice of every revolutionary influence I can think of in scripture? [click to continue…]
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(Sort-of-random thoughts from the Gulf Coast after a memorable Christmas, my first real vacation in four years, and the delicious taste of clarity, vision, and blackened grouper…)
You know it’s time for something different when going through airport security seems preferable to the schedule you’ve been keeping.
Our recent travels have been a nice reminder that all of life doesn’t have to be lived in the bunker – even if you love the people or causes you fight for when you’re in it.
I’ve been reminded lately that life was meant to be lived connected with other lives. The kind of connections may vary, of course, from lives that profoundly touch us once to love or friendship that lasts forever. Regardless, the bottom line is that “solo” equals “so low” or “slow go” if you stay in that gear too long.
Show me the lives you have crossed paths with in the last 24 hours, and I will show you the lives you have influenced somehow, to some degree – whether you necessarily want to be an influence or not. [click to continue…]
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