Why I Preached With Two Goats and Not One

Last month, I preached with live animals for the first time in my life. We were in a teaching series on anger and we began with God’s anger—as many Christians wrestle with thinking that God is constantly mad at them. The Scripture is clear that God is angered, but His anger flows from His love; […]

God’s Righteous Anger vs. Man’s Unrighteous Anger

The Apostle James wrote that “human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness” (James 1:20). There is a difference between God’s anger and human anger, righteous and unrighteous anger. Not all anger is bad. God is holy and loving and His anger is holy and loving and always good. So, there is a good anger. It […]

Israel, Palestine, Hamas and Some Things That Are True at the Same Time

Just over a year ago, just outside Jerusalem, I took this picture overlooking “shepherds field” where many believe the angel announced to the shepherds the birth of our Savior. Bethlehem is in the distance, four miles away, now in modern day Palestine. Some things that are true at the same time: Lord Jesus, we long […]

The Rewards Are Greater Than the Risk of Developing Younger Leaders

Wise leaders often think about the risk and the reward in their decision-making, and when it comes to the decision to develop younger leaders, the reward is always greater than risk. The Low-Risk The risks revolve around younger leaders being unproven and uncertain—unproven in their skill and uncertain about where they want to go in their […]

A Framework for Evaluating Risk and Reward in Decision-Making

Wise leaders often think about the risk and the reward in their decision-making. Here is a tool that I have used with my team to help frame our decision-making. Many leaders have used “risk and reward” language in making decisions, and I have simply put the sentiment into four boxes. If making a small tweak […]

Gifted From Him, for Them

Many pastors have made a distinction between abilities and spiritual gifts, that an ability is something you received at birth and a spiritual gift is a supernatural ability you received at your re-birth, when you became a Christian. The distinction can be helpful as long as we remember that both abilities and gifts are from […]

How Christians View This Brief Life Differently

Christians and the broader culture agree with the declaration to “make the most of the time!” The Apostle Paul exhorted Christians to make the most of the time (Ephesians 5:15), and there are countless articles, blogs, and books written with advice to make the most of the time. We see constant reminders of the brevity […]

Give Young Leaders an Unreasonable Seat at the Table

In the marketplace, leaders of different departments and divisions often make the case to “have a seat at the table”—meaning that they, as the leader of the particular division, should be on the leadership team. By being “at the table,” they would be able to influence the direction of the overall team and give the […]

Pay Careful Attention to Time

The Apostle Paul encouraged us to pay careful attention to how we live these really short lives. Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless […]

How to Build a Leadership Pipeline (A Framework)

You need a leadership pipeline to scale leadership development. Wise leaders insist on having systems for what is important. If church leaders believe following up on guests or givers is important, then they put a system in place to ensure it happens. If marketplace leaders believe that annual goal setting or financial scenario planning is […]