I made a remarkable scientific discovery in the fifth grade. Actually I did not discover the principle: I just became aware of it. I was playing with two magnets, watching them attract each other when it happened. I turned them around and voila! …they repelled one another. I know this is not “earth shattering” information. Most of us know about…
Leadership by nature can be demanding, time consuming, draining and stretching; and that’s on a good day. It takes a special type of person to love leadership enough to give this type of effort. Leaders don’t march to the beat of a different drummer; they are in an entirely different band. Usually people do not get selected for leadership because…
Authenticity is when who we really are matches the image we portray to others. “Esse guam videra,” means, “to be rather than to seem.” Look up the word authentic in a dictionary and you will find clarifiers like real, genuine, credible, dependable, faithful, reliable or trustworthy. The Bible uses some of the same words in reference to a steward’s (worker/leader)…
For over four decades I have studied the DNA of leadership. Yes, I have read books and attended seminars but primarily I have just closely watched as leaders did life. These leaders were intergenerational, representing multiple leadership styles, personalities, experiences and language groups. It is no coincidence they share some of the same “DNA” traits or that they are consistently…
Okay, sing along with me, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, oh…” Perhaps you remember singing this song as a child in Sunday school or maybe at camp, but what does it really mean? In Matthew 5:14 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” and in verse 16, “Let your light so shine…
Can you imagine people actually paying for the privilege to: Stay up late or even all night? Ride on old school buses? Give up one of their week nights, week after week, for years? Be called at all times of the day and night? Sacrifice a night’s sleep for the weekend? Be involved in the lives of students with no…
I was only fifteen when I made a decision that changed the course of my life! The decision was simple: I wanted to be like the pastor and leaders at my church. I wanted to be a “Pay it Forward Leader.” “Pay it Forward Leaders” are people who invest in the next generation of leadership. They do so graciously, intentionally…
I had a love-hate relationship with recess in elementary school. I could not wait to get out of the classroom: however, I dreaded the ritual of team-picking on the playground. A couple of self-appointed “cool” guys always declared themselves the Playground Team Captains. The games we played became all about being “Used” to help them win or look good. As…
Once upon a time there was ONE leader who simply wanted to make a difference in the world. He had no illusion that he could do it alone and wanted to build a team. Guided by biblical principles he practiced biblical discipleship as he ministered to men. He frequently experienced failure and frustration discovering not everyone was willing to “count…
How would you define the irreducible minimums of your student ministry? Can you write them into a sentence, paragraph or a list? What would that look like? I suggest every youth leader do this exercise to establish a baseline for their ministry. Recently my wife and I attended a Poetry Recital for our Granddaughter’s third grade class. Each student chose…