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 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: […]
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 […]
How to Humble Someone on Your Team (and Yourself Too)
How does a leader help an arrogant team member learn humility? How can a leader help someone on the team walk in humility rather than pride? It is a common leadership question because the leader knows that others don’t enjoy working alongside arrogance and that pride and hubris corrode trust. In his book, Leadership Strategy […]
Finding Oneself on the Other Side of a Pandemic
More than any other time, I am hearing people say phrases like “I need to find myself again,” or “I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore.” Some are changing zip codes, switching careers, ending marriages and relationships in a pursuit to “find themselves” and where they fit in this world. Perhaps one […]
4 Ways to Live Wisely Through a Season of Being Overwhelmed
According to Gallup’s research the only people whose mental health increased from 2019 to 2020 are those who attend church every week. Other than those people, mental health reached a twenty-year low in 2020. No one was surprised. 2020 was filled with news and moments that angered, scared, and frustrated people. We dealt with those […]
4 Ways to Know That You Are Leading Like This Is a Disruption (Not an Interruption)
When I was a child there was a series of books that I loved to read; they were called “choose your own adventure.” Shortly after the book began you, pretending to be the main character, were confronted with a choice. If you chose one path you would turn to a certain page, and you would […]
How to Use Exercise as One of Your Leadership Tools in 2021
Exercise an important tool in a leader’s toolbox. Exercise increases the longevity of the leader. Exercise helps the leader fight stress and anxiety so that the leader is emotionally healthy for people he or she leads. Exercise helps the leader sleep better at night. Exercise increases the leader’s energy and mental acuity. Exercise helps the […]
Where Leadership Development Fails and 3 Ways to Overcome
In his book Leadership Pipeline, Ram Charan articulates the biggest reason leadership development efforts fail in organizations. It is a big claim to make, to say that there is one overarching reason leadership development, as a practice, fails. And here is what Charan claims is the culprit: Leaders are trained for their current roles and […]