Confucius is credited with saying, “The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.” It is a statement about focus, and it is true. If you chase two rabbits at the same time, you won’t catch either one because they will pull you in different directions. Right as you are close to catching one, you will…
Leadership
5 Big Lessons I Have Learned From a Long-Time Senior Pastor
In the last six months, I have been exposed to a plethora of Kenton-isms – statements Kenton Beshore employs to teach a point to me or to a group of pastors he is mentoring. Kenton served in one place, Mariners Church, for 40 years with 35 of those being as senior pastor. So when he…
4 Voices About the Power of the Word in Our Lives and Churches
Earlier this week I was sharing some stories of transformation I am aware of taking place in our church. And those stories are connected to people who are new to the faith spending time in the Scripture. As we talked, we reflected on the reality that the Word does a work on us. The Word…
4 Lessons From a Great Tom Brady Leadership Moment
While football is a team sport, each year the National Football League hosts a game between players who have been recognized for their individual performance. The game is called the Pro-Bowl and to be invited to play in the game a player has to excel in his individual performance and be deemed once of the…
What Research Says About How Self-centeredness Grows in Us
According to research, the more isolated you are the more self-centered you are. And the more self-centered you are, the more likely you are to live isolated. University of Chicago Professor John Cacioppo led a ten-year study on self-centeredness using a scale he called the “Chronic Self Focus Scale.” He concluded that focusing on yourself…
4 Possible Reasons Team Members “Over-Quote the Leader”
Over-quoting the leader is a common practice in organizational life. Here are some examples you have surely seen: You are at a meeting at your kid’s school. A teacher stands up and says, “The district says we need to talk about this.” Or “our principal is asking us to talk about …” Immediately you get…
5 Ways to Grow your Leadership Team’s Heart for your Church’s Mission
Every leader needs a compass in their head. The mission answers “Question Zero”: “What are we ultimately supposed to be doing?” It makes the overall direction of the church unquestionable and points everyone in that direction. The mission is a golden thread that weaves through every activity of the church. It brings greater meaning to…
Armchair Quarterback and Armchair Leaders
My little brother lived in Chicago for a few years, and Kaye and I loved to visit and still enjoy trips to Chicago. We went there for my 40th birthday, just the two of us. It is a great city, and a great sport’s town with deeply committed fans. But Chicago fans can notoriously be…
Urban Meyer, Oswald Sanders, and the Pain Leadership Can Bring Your Family
Urban Meyer coached his last game for the Ohio State Buckeyes on New Year’s Day. He is respected as one of the greatest coaches in the game, having won multiple national championships with two teams. Because he is only 54, which he admits is relatively young, he is definitely walking away from the profession earlier…
5 Books You Perhaps Haven’t Heard of That Impacted Me in 2018
John Wesley famously quipped to a group of young ministry leaders: “Read or get out of the ministry.” Oswald Sanders, in his classic work Spiritual Leadership, devotes a chapter to the subject of “The Leader & Reading” and insists that “the leader who intends to grow spiritually and intellectually will be constantly reading.” Each year, I…