The most common worldview of people is to seek promotion and you’ll find value in yourself. The target, therefore, becomes promotion to a position where countless others are fighting for the same. We compete for a prize that fades away because once achieved, we discover it isn’t enough to find value. So we look for…
I can never work hard enough to arrive at a place of rest. I think if I sprint now, working fast and furiously, I’ll be able to stop and rest a while from my labors. Not so. More work produces more tasks, requiring more hours. I can get so stressed out that my stress won’t…
In the latter years of my son’s teenage days, I began a year-end tradition. We’d go on an overnight retreat in December (or January), stay in a cabin, build a fire and reflect on the finished year’s achievements and losses. We’d go over the goals from our last retreat that we’d hoped to achieve and…
In my first and second church plant, we experienced successful growth. Because of this, on two memorable occasions, my arrogance displayed itself like the fanned tale of a peacock. It’s embarrassing to know how silly I must have looked. In my late twenties, a man twice my age came to me—a seasoned saint—looking for a…
Leadership is a gift on loan from God, just as all gifts are. And with every leader comes a unique, dominant gift or ability to be used to benefit others. Paul brought this home when he asked, “Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive [from God]?”…
Whenever I speak to a small group of thirty or less, before the session I privately ask each person their first name. I repeat it several times in my mind to lock it in. I also try to notice a distinguishing feature that helps me recall their name. As I go to the next person,…
Jesus understood the necessity of retreat for his disciples. They were constantly pressed by the needs and demands of the crowds, not to mention the relentless scrutiny of the Pharisees. There were several ways Jesus withdrew himself and his disciples from the frenetic pace that consumed them. He took them out on the fishing boats…
A car battery keeps its voltage when the car is running because a magnetic field is created by the alternator to keep it charged. If the alternator breaks down, the battery will be drained. Alternators are critical to the lifespan of a battery. Think of your life as a battery that needs to maintain its…
Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote in his book—Lectures to My Students—about a young man who allowed his learning and knowledge to go to his head. Here is the excerpt of Spurgeon’s conversation with him:[1] One young gentleman with whose presence I was once honored, has left on my mind the photograph of his exquisite self. The…
“How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold.[1]” Mining for gold is a sweaty, dirty business. Before the industrial revolution, it required a rock hammer, candle light, gun powder, sluice boxes or…
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