Jesus came to be a Savior! As we unwrap the presents of Christmas this week, we must not forget the wonderful gift of forgiveness!
I read a sign once that went something like this:
If we had needed healing, God would have sent a Physician.
If we had needed knowledge, God would have sent an Educator.
If we had needed information, God would have sent a Scientist.
If we had needed money, God would have sent a Banker.
But, we needed forgiveness, so God sent a Savior!
I was thinking about successful leadership recently…actually, I think about the subject a lot… I guess because I want to be a successful leader and, because I know so many “leaders” who think they are, but aren’t successful. You know the kind…. I talk weekly to ministers serving on church staffs around the country who are struggling with the leadership of the church where they serve, mainly because of the leadership…or lack thereof…coming from senior leadership in the church. Perhaps you understand…
I decided, since I have such awesome Twitter followers…and most people have an idea of what they think successful leadership looks like…that I’d put the subject to the test. I simply asked: What does successful leadership require?
I primed the pump…so-to-speak…with these suggestions:
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” Luke 1:46 NIV
Let’s unwrap our second gift of Christmas… (If you missed our first gift, click HERE.)
Christmas brings the gift of JOY! God wants to give you joy this Christmas!
The Jesus born on Christmas day was God’s gift to the world, but if that’s true (and it is), then what exactly are we getting for Christmas?
This week we are going to unwrap Christmas looking at a different gift each day…
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men on whom His favor rests.” Luke 2:14 NIV
Peace! It’s an amazing word. In the cluttered life in which we live, peace is a word we strive to achieve. Peace is something we all need…and the faster the world gets…the more peace we need…
This short video blows me away. It demonstrates the changes in the world over the last 200 years in age expectancy and poverty levels. I saw it on my friend Greg Atkinson’s blog, but I thought it was worth sharing here also. This shows how things can change in a couple hundred years. That may seem like a long time, but in view of history, it’s fast paced. What are the implications here for the church? For the future?
Yesterday we made a decision to delay our youngest son’s flight home from Chicago until today, because of the threat of bad weather in Nashville. It was a hard call, because he had finished exams, he was ready to be home for Christmas, we miss him dearly, and I’ve already purchased bacon….
Here in Nashville the general talk was that we were on the verge of the next big ice storm. Schools closed early, grocery stores were packed, and games and activities were canceled or postponed. We’ve experienced ice storms in the past where everything was shut down, electricity goes out and motorists are stranded. Our area of the country has had it’s share of disasters in the past few years with floods, tornadoes and ice storms. I called Southwest twice. His flight, the last of the day, was already showing a delay of two hours. The two customer service agents I talked with (who were great BTW) both said the flight was subject to be cancelled and he would be bumped to the next day. They were offering free weather changes until the next day and their advice was to pick a flight after noon today. There were only three seats left on the afternoon flight.
With this information, for fear of losing a flight altogether, I pulled the trigger and decided to delay his trip home until today. As it turned out, the weather predicted never came, his normal flight arrived on schedule, and had I left things as they were he would have slept in his own bed last night.
I felt awful…but…
There is such a fine line between panic and preparation.
On one hand…
I recently discovered that a favorite blog of mine had some artificially inflated numbers…
I discovered it by accident…I wasn’t looking for it, but there it was…something I thought was true…I thought the blog did better than it really does…wasn’t true…
I was disheartened…saddened…confused…
Then I remembered…
The main battle for your organization’s long-term success doesn’t exist where you are…it exists where you are going…
Regardless of how great something may be now, this moment will pass. The successes created today will soon fade.
Take writing for example. Unless you are Rick Warren or a handful of others, the best selling authors have to continue to create new stuff to stay on the best sellers list for long. In the business world, the hottest products are only as hot as the next great update or until another “greater” product is introduced.
The fact is momentum dies. People lose interest. Motivation for what you are promoting fades. That’s more true now than ever before. If an organization wants to be successful over time, then it must be winning the battle for the future.
Here are three aspects or planning for future growth every organization must have:
Here’s a fun way to tell you about a cool app or two…
What would you name this guy? I created him with my Touch Board application on iPad. I use this application to illustrate when I’m meeting with a few people or less and want to draw out what I’m trying to say.
If you are an iPad user, here are some of my other favorite apps:
In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. 2 Chronicles 34:3 (Emphasis mine.)
I read this verse this morning and it spoke to me. I’m sure I’ve read it dozens of times, but today a new thought occurred to me while reading.
Here’s my dog NaJe…She’s named for our boy’s Nathaniel (Nate) and Jeremy. She’s been a special dog.
In honor of my dog’s 11th birthday…Let’s talk pets today…
Are you a dog lover, a cat lover, or neither?
As a leader, there are two qualities that really I value in other people, drive & selflessness. In most circles, these two words seem contradictory & rarely used in the same sentence. However, both of those words describe my good friend, Wayne Elsey. Wayne is the Founder & CEO of Soles4Souls. His drive has lead Soles4Souls to become one of the fastest growing non-profits in the country, but his attitude reflects total selflessness. A few months ago, I interviewed Wayne in my leadership series. You can read it HERE.
Don’t rush every decision…every movement you make doesn’t have to be made at rocket pace…
I recognize the pace of life and the speed at which the world is moving…
But sometimes wrestling for a while with a decision is the better option…
A few examples I’ve learned the hard way:
Tim Elmore is an incredible leader. He has one of the best understandings of how to reach the next generation of anyone one I know. I recently had dinner with Tim and can attest to this man’s incredible heart for people. I’m blessed to have Tim share his thoughts with us here today as a guest post.
In our recent work with students, Growing Leaders has drawn some interesting conclusions. We have seen a shift take place among the young people in Generation Y. (The kids born in the 80s are different than the kids born since then.) The research is in a new book called: Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future.
One of the shifts we’ve uncovered is that kids have moved from “activists†(who want to change the world) to “slack-tivists.†They still want to change the world — but sort of. They often don’t really want to work hard or make sacrifices. They’d rather sign a petition on a website, get a wristband and then return to a video game or YouTube. They’re more self-absorbed than their earlier counterparts. So, how do we grow a heart for service in our kids today?
Try this.
Driving back from Nashville yesterday I listened to sports talk radio. The subject was the same I have been hearing for weeks. Everyone wants to talk about what’s wrong with the Titans. Everyone has his or her own theory. As I said in a previous post, (Read it HERE) I am a not an avid sports fan. I love sports, I love watching sports, but I don’t memorize player’s names or keep up with many statistics, I just enjoy sports.
I do keep up with leadership however, and as I said in my previous post, I think the main issue for the Titans now is a leadership problem. When leadership is uncertain or unsettled, it will impact the entire team. That’s an organizational leadership principle, and it’s true because it deals with people, which mean you can see the principle at work in business, in churches, and on professional football teams.
So, as one who does understand the subject of organizational leadership, here are 5 leadership suggestions I offer the Tennessee Titans leadership:
