Four Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah (Part 1)
The Book of Nehemiah is often used as a case study for visionary leadership, and for good reason. His leadership was formed by a God-induced burden for his city and the people within it (Neh. 1:4). He increased urgency by creating dissatisfaction with the status quo (2:17), rallied people around a shared vision of rebuilding […]
Seven Reasons I Am Thankful
As we approach Thanksgiving, it is wise to remember the blessings of the Lord. Since He has been most gracious to me in the people He has placed in my life, here are seven reasons I am thankful: My wife: Kaye has been a constant reminder of God’s grace to me. We just celebrated 16 […]
We Can’t Keep Our Vows
Like a movie that leaves you with an unsettled conclusion and unanswered questions, the book of Nehemiah concludes abruptly and sadly. As exciting as the book of Nehemiah is with the rebuilding of the wall and the public confession of sin by God’s people, the book leaves the reader craving more, longing for a new […]
The Burden of Earning
Each year as Veterans Day and Memorial Day approach, TV networks often play epic war movies that help Americans remember the sacrifice and the service of the soldiers who have protected and defended us. Perhaps the most popular war movie is Saving Private Ryan. As the movie reached its climax, some of us preachers sat on […]
Five Date Night Tips
The Authentic Manhood team asked me to contribute to their new blog. I am really grateful for these leaders as they seek to build the lives of men. The 33 resource is incredible and you can get more info here. While there is not a biblical mandate to have a date night every week with your spouse, there is the […]
When Tragedy Strikes a Church
Below is one of the videos I recorded for The Nines conference on the topic of dealing with tragedy in the church. They chose to use the teaching on “How to Gracefully Kill a Church Program” instead of this video, but I thought I would post it here. In January 2011, I was serving as […]
Stories and Heroes
Two weeks ago, Matt Chandler, Josh Patterson, and I led a time of teaching and discussion centered around our new book Creature of the Word. We challenged leaders to center their churches, not merely their confessions, on Jesus. One of the questions from the audience revolved around analyzing and changing the culture of a church. […]
How to Gracefully Kill a Church Program
Last Friday I was privileged to speak at The NINES, an online leadership conference sponsored by Leadership Network. In this five-minute video I talked about how to gracefully kill a church program. After writing Simple Church several years ago, it is one of the questions I have been most frequently asked.
Culture Trumps Everything
Martin Luther referred to the gospel as “this article.” He said, “Most necessary is that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.” Luther knew that we have this proclivity to wander from our foundation. Thus we must constantly and continually beat the gospel into our hearts […]
Culture Reveals What Is Truly Important
Since the 1950s, mountain climbers have traveled to Everest to stand on top of the world. They endure horrific conditions on a grueling climb to the top, including a difficult passage through the “death zone” where lack of oxygen leads to exhaustion and the extreme cold will cause frostbite to any exposed part of the […]