When I became senior pastor of Mariners Church, a four-week study break for the senior pastor was the existing practice of the church. And I am so thankful. I recently returned from my third study break and have learned that taking an extended break each year is fruitful for me, for my team, for the…
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Olympics, Leadership, and a Better Identity
A recurring struggle in my life is finding my identity in something other than Jesus – which is always something less than Jesus. I think being a leader who loves the role and the people can exacerbate the struggle with misplaced identity. Of course, we are to love our roles and the people we serve,…
Ministry Leaders—Pay Careful Attention to Your Teaching
I recently challenged the pastors on our team to watch carefully both their lives and their teaching. The challenge is a repeat of the apostle Paul’s challenge to pastor Timothy: Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere…
Ministry Leaders—Pay Careful Attention to Your Life
Last week I led a session on the importance of guarding our lives and our teaching with our Mariners Church pastors at our annual pastor retreat. Together we walked through a section of the apostle Paul’s challenge to Timothy (I Timothy 4:11-16). As Paul reminded Timothy of Timothy’s past, the moment when he became a…
How Leadership Is Impacted by God Existing Outside of Time
“Are we going to stop the plans we had in place?” “No.” “Why not?” “Because God is eternal. Let me explain …” That was a conversation that played out several times during the pandemic. God is eternal and this weighty theological belief practically impacts leadership. God has always been and will forever be. Moses declared:…
Lessons From an Epic Treasure Hunt That Ended in 2020
This book, Chasing the Thrill, tells the story of an amazing treasure hunt that ended last year, in 2020. Ten years earlier an art dealer named Forrest Fenn hid a treasure in the Rocky Mountains and placed a map and a poem in a book he wrote and self-published. The poem and map contained clues…
Leaders, Pain and Beauty Seem to Go Together
I first started blogging because Thom Rainer, my former boss and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, encouraged me to use a blog to encourage and help ministry leaders thus the vast majority of my writing was for them. But after a few years of blogging Chris Martin, who helps with my blog, surveyed all the…
Back from Blogging Break and Why I Did Not Feel Like Writing
The break is over. I am going to start blogging again. If you are wondering where the blog has been, whether you read via email or check the webpage, there is a reason I took over two months off from writing. Yes, I realize it was unannounced, and many bloggers take months off but have…
How Do I Pull My Friend Out of the Rabbit Hole of Conspiracies?
In the last few months more and more people have asked me, “How can I get my friend out of the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories?” Pastor friends, on phone calls and over dinner, have asked similar questions, “What will it take to help some people come of out of the rabbit hole, and how…
Leading in Babylon or Leading in Israel?
Kaye and I were once at a movie theater, early in our marriage, in Miami. There was a box of popcorn on the row in which we were seated, with more than half the box still filled with buttered popcorn. I viewed the box as trash, as the remnants of a thoughtless moviegoer from the…