My Current Top Three Resources for Engaging My Kids with the Bible
The problem in American Christianity is not that we don’t own Bibles, but that we don’t read the ones we have.
Research Reveals the 5 Biggest Influencers on Your Child’s Spiritual Health
What do you think makes the biggest impact on a child’s spiritual development? Dinner as a family? Parents who don’t miss special events? Having church friends? Being at a good Christian school? Being at a church with a vibrant kids and student ministry? While surely those are all good things and things I want for […]
Don’t Be a Perpetual 300-foot Leader
“Give me the 30,000 foot view.” “What are you thinking, from a 30,000 foot level?” If you have been leading long, you have been asked those questions before. Or you have used the metaphor of leading at 30,000 feet to describe getting a macro view, a view from above the clouds and turbulence, looking further […]
3 Reasons You Must Have a Strategy if You Blog
As I shared recently, I never intended to become active on social media. My boss intended it for me and I am glad he did. It has helped me formulate thoughts more clearly, has pushed me to keep learning, and has broadened the types of people I can connect with. At first, I did not […]
Why I Jumped on Social Media and 3 Reasons I Am Still Here
I was not an early adopter to social media. When I moved to Nashville from Miami I was not on Twitter and wrote a blog post every few months. A month into my role, Dr. Rainer suggested I use Twitter and a blog. Because he is my boss, I took the suggestion as more than […]
4 Failings of the 60,000-foot Leader
Leaders are often encouraged to lead at 30,000 feet, which is a metaphor to lead above the daily grind and think further out, plan ahead, and navigate towards the future. Just as airplanes fly high to rise above the turbulence and above the clouds, leading at 30,000 feet allows a leader to rise above the […]
5 Great Things That Happen When Leaders Get Out of Their Offices
It takes a love for the people and the work, coupled with a discipline to throw oneself into the work, for leaders to leave their offices. The pull to stay in your office can be strong. There are plenty of emails and plenty of meetings to keep leaders stuck in their offices. But wise leaders […]
Menus Create Church Consumers
For years church leaders have lamented church consumers, and rightly so. Church consumers treat their local churches like a country club; they have paid their fees and deserve a certain level of service in return. They threaten to join another club if things are not to their liking. Church consumers are not motivated by the […]
3 Bad Excuses for Avoiding Leadership Development
Great leaders intuitively know they are responsible for future leadership, and all leaders have heard these catch phrases: “There is no success without succession” and “Work yourself out of a job and you will always have a job.” Yet few leaders plan and prioritize developing others. There is always something else to do, always an […]
What Kind of Dog Are You? [Thoughts from Shoe Dog for Ministry Leaders]
I just finished reading Shoe Dog, the memoir from Phil Knight, the creator of Nike. While the title is catchy, you don’t learn what a “shoe dog” is until page 186 when Knight describes them: “People who devoted themselves wholly to the making, selling, buying, or designing of shoes. Lifers used this phrase cheerfully to […]