“We have a problem,” Perry said. Thus began the conversation the led to my first senior pastorate. The problem he alluded to was an open church conflict that led to a lot of angry words at a time when the church Perry attended was without a pastor.
He was asking me to come and preach (I was the associate pastor at a nearby church). I did, and the rest, as they say….
As long as businesses, churches, and other types of organizations are comprised of humans, they will eventually experience setbacks, upsets, dysfunction, and problems. Nobody gets it right all the time, and even healthy organizations must confront serious problems.
Broken organizations, however, are different. [click to continue…]
I was going to write a piece about words today; guess I’ll have to do that next week. Today it’s more about a wordsmith, and a great sense of loss.
It’s hard to put into words the significance of losing a public figure whose work or life has touched yours – an individual who became something of a fixture in your life.
That’s who Skip Caray was to me. He was a legend and an institution, and legetutions aren’t supposed to die. But people do.
I never met the legendary broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves. But he met me – again and again, first through radio, then through a cable channel humbly self-named The Superstation. Skip became a companion who, like so many other broadcasters in the 20th century, made the national pastime interesting, fun, and so incredibly human.
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The question was relevant and greatly needed. A wife in couples counseling once asked, “How do I deal with resentment so that I don’t explode at my husband and say things I’ll regret?”
“You toss the Oreo,” I replied.
To their honestly-delighted quizzical looks (she loved Oreos), I explained:
Here’s a communication technique that can help you communicate your feelings and ask for your partner’s help. I call it “tossing the Oreo.” And no, I don’t mean getting mad and hurling cookies at your spouse!
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