January 13, 2012 in
Devotionals, Leadership with
Have you ever wanted a guaranteed formula to find success in life? I think everyone desires this. We know this because our bookstores are full of “self-help” books. In fact, it’s one of the largest selling genres of books now. I’m learning that I’m not very good at “self-help.” Most of the time when I try to rely on my own way of doing things it usually does not go very well.
God's Answer for Self Help!
While in a staff meeting the other day I came across this verse. I’ve read it before at least a bazillion (is that a word?) times. For some reason I was drawn back to this verse again and again. In fact, it seems that the Lord wouldn’t let me shake it until I really started to understand it. Continue Reading…
October 14, 2011 in
Leadership with
I believe in great leadership. I’m currently reading the book, EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. It is a practical and relevant book on leadership and business. The principles taught in this book are easily transferable to any place of leadership that you might find yourself leading in. At the end of this post, I will explain how you could get a FREE copy of this book.
In the age in which we live we need great leadership now more than ever. I’m not talking about the kind of leadership that we see publicized on TV between political parties. I’m talking about the kind of leadership that has been somewhere and knows how to take people on the journey with them.
Fitting in is overrated!
I’ve really been blessed to serve under some great leaders. I currently serve under a strong leader who has grown our church from 400 people to over 4200 in weekly attendance. In the process I have learned many things from his life and from the lives of other leaders that I have had the privilege to glean from. Continue Reading…
September 27, 2011 in
Leadership, Personal Development with
Do you ever wonder what is the key ingredient for successful entrepreneurs? Have you ever asked yourself the reason why some people are successful in business and in life and others are not?
Ready set...
We could list many key traits but there is one trait that every successful entrepreneur or leader has. The writer of the book of Proverbs spells it out for us in Proverbs 14:23, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
Continue Reading…
September 14, 2011 in
Leadership with
It takes a lot to get noticed among a crowd of people. You cannot be an average Joe if you want to stand out among the crowd. I was at an Atlanta Braves game about a week ago and was part of the massive crowd of people. It was a good game until the end and they lost. However, amidst all the noise of the crowd I learned something.
Are you standing out from the crowd?
I noticed that some people in the stands were doing a better job of getting noticed by the cameraman. Many people were trying to get on the jumbo screen at the stadium. Some people didn’t do a very good job of getting noticed. On the other hand, some people made signs, wore costumes, sang a dirge, danced and other things that are not rated “G” for this blog! In any case, some of them figured out that in order to get noticed from the crowd they had to do something different. Continue Reading…
August 15, 2011 in
Leadership with
Heroes are made and not born! If you ever had a childhood hero you admired this person because they accomplished something great. In history we have admired great leaders because of one overwhelming trait: courage. I don’t think courage is the absence of fear, but the ability to stand up to it. Fear is a mean bully that must be dealt with.
Do you have the courage to stand out?
In the Bible we see countless leaders who have had courage to “stand their ground.” In 2 Samuel 23:10-12 we meet two Mighty Men who were made famous because they stood their ground in the face of overwhelming odds. Continue Reading…
August 12, 2011 in
Leadership with
As a leader I hate conflict! Why do I hate conflict? I hate conflict because it stretches me and makes me uncomfortable. I also hate conflict because I want to be liked by everyone and to make people happy. I usually try to avoid conflict but this is usually difficult because it usually catches up with us like the IRS.
Are you ready to go a few rounds?
Conflict is inevitable in our lives. If you’re a leader and if you live near people then you will face conflict. In fact, the only place to escape conflict is to go live in a cave somewhere! If we are breathing then we can expect conflict at some point. Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Continue Reading…
July 23, 2011 in
Devotionals, Leadership with
What keeps you going while enduring pain in your life? Have you ever thought about this before? My pastor has a great quote about pain. He often says, “To the extent that you’re willing to endure pain is to the extent that God can use you.”
Are you in for the distance?
I think most people would agree that Jesus endured great pain in his life. I heard someone say that it was love that kept Jesus on the cross and not the nails. This is actually a profound thought. In fact, Jesus even said that he laid his life down and no one took it from him. Jesus chose to endure death for his people. Continue Reading…
July 22, 2011 in
Devotionals, Leadership with
In the first post in this series we talked about finishing well in life. Later, in the second post we discussed developing perseverance and learning to stay in your own lane. If you have not read these posts yet I would encourage you to start with these as this is the third post in this series and they all build upon one another. In this post we will discuss the prize.
What's Your Prize?
In racing whether it is the Boston Marathon, Tour de France, Nascar or Formula 1 there is one singular thing that everyone is after. The one thing that everyone is after is the prize. The prize motivates us and keeps us going when nothing else will. Even when we are tired, sore and frustrated we still keep going because of the potential prize. The prize is what we fix our eyes on. Continue Reading…
July 20, 2011 in
Leadership with
We’ve already talked about the first step that leaders need to know about finishing well. Now we will talk about developing perseverance and staying in our own lane. I’ll admit that I’m not much of a runner but I do consider myself a cyclist! In order to win you have to know how to race!
Stay in your own lane!
What’s the key to winning a racing? The key to winning a race is perseverance and staying in your own lane. You can’t win a race if you don’t finish! In a race you also get disqualified if you don’t stay in your own lane. Do you see where I’m going with this? Continue Reading…
July 18, 2011 in
Devotionals, Leadership with
In the next few posts I want to focus on helping leaders to finish well in life. In the day and age that we live no one is guaranteed a good ending, not even pastors. In fact, in the past few years we have seen more high profile ministers, politicians, athletes and stars take the fall. It seems that no one is immune to destruction. Does this concern you a bit? It certainly does me! However, what if we could do one thing to increase our chances of finishing well? Would you be interested in knowing what to do? If so, keep reading!
Ready to Finish Well?
If you made it this far then you’re serious about finishing well. Are you ready? Here it is: Don’t get tangled up in sin! That’s it. That’s all there is to it. No more, no less. Continue Reading…
