Today was one of the hardest days in ministry that I’ve had in many months, yet it was a confirming day at the same time. Let me explain.
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Cheryl Smith is an author, speaker and consultant who understands the power of social media. As an online friend, Cheryl has inspired me with her leadership and networking skills. Cheryl is consistently connecting me with other pastors she feels would mesh well with me. She’s always right. I suspect she does this for others also.
I wonder about the Queen of Sheba who went to visit King Solomon. She had heard of his great wisdom and when she arrived, she realized that Solomon was far wiser than she had even imagined. I wonder if she was more popular when she went home, because she had been to see the “wise oneâ€. That’s what leaders do, isn’t it? They search out wisdom. They try to find answers. They seek knowledge.
It’s a great story and I hope you will read it again. My purpose of this post is not the main theme of the story; my focus is the little boy. We tend to read this story for the purposes of David and Jonathan, and while they are certainly central characters in God’s story, so was the little boy.
This year, after years of encouragement, I finally published some of those devotionals into a book. Today (again after much encouragement), I decided to give copies away on this week’s Free Fridays. I will give away five (5) copies today.
I’m participating in a long, massive blog post project Stuff Christians Like is conducting. It’s called the “Is that contestant on American Idol a Christian Scorecard .
Kent Shaffer is an influencer, a creative genius, and apparently never sleeps. One of the best church leadership blogs I follow is Church Relevance. It is considered an honor to be considered for one of Kent’s lists of top churches or top Christian blogs. He is the co-founder of Acre Scout, which helps connect buyers to commercial real estate, including churches. He is an active part of Lifechurch.tv. He consults regularly for churches and ministries wanting to become more effective and efficient. You can follow Kent on Twitter HERE.
I have talked to dozens of marriages in need of help, but the couples are too ashamed or proud to ask for it or accept it. Somehow, I think if we admitted that all marriages struggle at times, it would help the ones in trouble to seek the help they need.
I was reminded recently that God is powerful enough for the giants in my life. Reading the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) recently challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and attack some of the current challenges I have in my life.
“It happened, late one afternoon…†2 Samuel 11:2
…and the rest is history…
It was just a normal afternoon, until David crossed the line…
It reminds me of an important principle about leaders. Real leaders don’t need to have a position to make a difference.
All eyes are always on the minister’s family and having been on both sides as a full-time vocational minister and years as someone with a full-time secular job, let me assure you that most pastors feel the pressure to live up to the standards of excellence people have set. I’m thankful I have a great marriage (most days) and two great boys. I’m fine with you making decisions about me based on my family life, but still, I, too, sense the pressure to live up to a set of unrealistic expectations at times.
I have posted many times before about my attempt at discovering my strengths and weaknesses. The older I get the more I realize things I’m not good at doing. This discovery process has led me to what I believe is the perfect combination on a team:
Jon Acuff is a funny, intelligent, mega-blogging leader at Stuff Christians Like. When I originally started this series I honestly overlooked some of the best leaders, because I falsely limited myself to people that have positions in a church or ministry. Jon has one of the most read blogs in the church world today. If Jon posts something, others instantly take notice. I call that influence, and if leadership is about influence, Jon is one of the best.
I have tried this quick assessment with marriages in distress several times and it opens the couple’s eyes and my eyes to the real state of their marriage. If you are dealing with a marriage following a major event, mistake or disappointment, considering trying this process. If the marriage in distress is yours, considering a self-assessment of your marriage.