What makes a leader? Rank? Status? Celebrity? Caste? Clout? Style? Is leadership automatically bestowed by a box on the organizational chart? Where do position and power figure into the formula for leadership? And what is the ideal model for leaders? Is it the corporate CEO? The military commander? The head of state? Jesus answered all…
How to Find a Church: 7 Things to Look for
So, you’re in a new city or a new town and you need to find a church, but how do you do that? If you grew up in church, picking one was pretty easy; you just went wherever your parents went. Even if you left your parents’ church for a new one, you probably chose the…
Learn to Love to Pray
Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty. —E. M. Bounds Falling in love with the Father means falling in love with prayer. But learning to love to pray can be a different story. Andrew…
Jesus and the Gift of Touch
So, today I’ve been thinking about the gift of touch. It is probably because it’s a cold morning, and I’m sitting here by the fireplace, wishing someone else were sitting here with me rubbing my freezing feet. My heart warms up at the mere thought of physical touch. It makes me happy to hold the…
Why Study a Failed Leader?
What kind of leader blows up and throws a spear at one of his most trusted commanders? What kind of leader attempts to kill his own son, his designated successor, in the middle of a conference?What kind of leader customarily sits with his back to the wall so that he cannot be taken by surprise? What kind of…
Dirty God: Jesus with the Lepers
The Bible teaches us that God “demonstrates his own love for us” (Rom. 5:8) in how he came to us in Jesus. He didn’t expect us to climb up to him. He climbed down to us. He got his hands dirty so that we could have our hearts cleaned. And by that example, he taught…
7 Best Practices for Authentic Leadership
I’ve realized a great lesson about leadership: I’m best when I’m being me. Every leader faces a temptation to project a persona rather than be themselves. They think that in order to maintain the confidence of their team, they must appear faultless, flawless, and ever wise. Yet most organizations need authentic leadership, not perfect ones. I’ve…
Kindness is a Calling for all Christians
When we were growing up, my sister and I brought home stray kitties and puppies that had missing fur, broken limbs, and in one case, missing a leg altogether. The animals that had absolutely no hope of ever being adopted and were one breath away from their last—those were the ones we loved the most.…
Teach Kids to Love Others Like Jesus Loves Us
When we see people the way God sees them, we look at everyone from a totally different perspective. It takes some effort, some intentionality, to rid ourselves of the hidden veins of prejudice in our lives and begin to embrace everyone around us with the love of Christ, to love others like Jesus loves us.…
Yearning for Fluency in Prayer
Even when prayer seems a duty, like a homework assignment, we sustain the hope that it could grow into something more. A hidden treasure lies inside, if only we can quarry it. A new country awaits us, if only we can find the language in which to converse. We babble like infants, yearning for fluency.…