Recently I had the delight of speaking at a ministry conference in England. While there, I encountered some people who explained the way in which the British government mandates that churches safeguard children. Based on a law known as the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act of 2006, a new process for protecting children has been put [...]
Trashing the Servant
Thirty-plus years ago, both before I became a Christian as well as after I encountered Jesus Christ and asked Him to take over my life, I was involved in the politics, managing election campaigns and conducting polls for candidates. It was fascinating and occasionally satisfying. One of the most interesting aspects was the characters whom [...]
Are We Developing Great Theater?
I just returned from a week in England during which I was blessed to attend four plays. One was Les Miserables, marking the fourth time I have seen that stage production. I remember reading the book in high school; it blew me away with its scope and depth. Now, as a Christian, seeing the play [...]
Vision at the Grammy’s
I had the pleasure of attending the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last month. It’s quite a spectacle, a day-long affair with all kinds of distractions and surprises. It’s an interesting way to spend a day, especially if you’re into music (which I am).
There were many memorable moments. There were the wanna-be’s in the audience, [...]
Pastoral Turnover
John Feinstein recently wrote an article for The Sporting News regarding the turnover among coaches. He quoted heralded college coach Steve Spurrier as saying, “Coaching is a lot like preaching. After about nine or ten years you need to move on to another church. People have heard your message enough times that you need to [...]
The Bible Lacks Leaders?
I recently read an article about leadership in a magazine from one of the country’s leading seminaries. The author opined that “the Bible doesn’t offer many ready-made examples of leadership. The obvious exemplars, like Moses and Jesus, are not easily imitated by us ordinary mortals. Looking elsewhere in Scripture mostly gives examples of what not [...]
“Just” Prayer
I hope this doesn’t seem petty.
I can’t stand it when people use the word “just” as the adjective in their prayers preceding what they want God to do. Why do we minimize God’s activity on our behalf? Why do we attempt to diminish the significance of what we ask Him to do? Should we just [...]
Championing the Christ-without-church Movement
The Internet is a fascinating compendium of thoughts from millions of people. I could spend countless hours reading blogs from around the world on which people offer their ideas and many other people react. I have been fascinated by many of the exchanges I have read – at the depth of thought, the profanity-laced and [...]
Leaders That Set Vision
One of the joys of conducting the personal interviews for my latest book, Master Leaders, was learning from some of my leadership mentors. Lou Holtz is always fun to be with – but, in the midst of fun, he teaches invaluable lessons. During one of our conversations, Lou reminded me that great leaders can measure [...]
