There are two words that have been the most common path to mediocrity. I’ll get to those two words in a moment. In reality, I doubt if any of us want to be mediocre. I always want to be above average. After all, being undistinguished, unexceptional, unremarkable, run-of-the-mill, lackluster and barely adequate is not […]
Over the last 37 years, I’ve hired dozens of church staff at many different levels of responsibility. I’ve learned to filter every potential team member through the five C’s: Calling, Character, Commitment, Competency and Chemistry. If you had to pick only one of these five, which one would you say is more important than […]
It was 30 years ago. May 7, 1986. The final leg of our move was completed. The adventure for our family of five was about to begin. We pulled our Ryder moving truck into the driveway of our rental home. Cape Coral, Florida. Excited. Nervous. Anticipating. Expecting. Fearful. Eager. Called. Called to start a […]
Change is constant. Change is hard. Change is ____________ (you fill in the blank). There are hundreds of things we can say about change. There are thousands of great quotes on change. And we all know what it is like to experience change. We can hug it or hold it at arms length. Yesterday, […]
Apostle Paul was in the spotlight. Standing before King Agrippa. On trial. In Caesarea. Beside the Mediterranean Sea. Questioned about his faith. One line burns in my mind. “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven” (Acts 26:19). If you were questioned about how you have lived out your calling […]
Thirty years ago tomorrow, Linda (my wife) and I were sitting at the dining room table with our realtor in Elmira, NY. He presented us a purchase offer on our home. We were planning to move but had no destination. After pastoring an established church for nearly seven years, we were fairly certain that […]
About 15 years ago, someone gave me an idea. It was one of the best ideas ever. It has changed my life for the better. It has sharpened my focus. It has boosted my productivity and efficiency. In reality, possibly the best idea ever! That idea was this. Like a company or an organization, […]
The last 14 months have been personally filled with anticipation, planning, waiting, wondering, worrying, relief, profound gratitude and now, anticipation all over again. It was 14 months ago that I made a decision to apply for the 2013 National Clergy Renewal Program grant funded by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. Thirty-five years of being […]
On a wind-less day, the lake behind our home is as smooth as glass. Throw a rock in to the lake and you will see an ever-expanding circle of ripples gradually spread across the water. You’ve seen it before. We call it the ripple effect. It happens in many ways and many places. One […]
Growing up, my dad always said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” My Hebrew professor in seminary would joke, “Where’s there’s a will, there’s an anxious relative.” My father was trying to instill in me the characteristic of innovation. He had another saying that would make an animal-loving PETA member faint, “There’s more […]