This past week two of my spiritual mentors died on the same day. I had the privilege of preaching one of their funeral services. One of them led me to Christ and taught me how to preach, the other taught me how to live a genuine Christian life. Both of these men’s influence will continue into eternity because of the…
Choosing my top five books of the year is like deciding which piece of cheesecake to eat; I like pieces of all of them. Therefore, I have added the disclaimer, “So Far.” I reserve the right to change my mind or to recommend one of the other books if I think it might be a better fit for your situation.…
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together!” My friend and quintessential networker, Paul Fleischmann, in his book Better Together, sited this African Proverb. It is a perfect illustration of Influential Networking. Whether you call it networking, partnering, connecting, collaborating, or just plain “working together,” the reality is we can do more…
This...is the generation that seeks Him, that seeks Your face. Psalm 26:6 Why do students give up sleep, leaving the comfort of their beds every week to join friends for prayer before going to school? They come together to “watch and pray” as the scriptures command. After a brief time in the scriptures, they focus on praying for friends, teachers,…
Good leaders share ideas, but exceptional leaders facilitate opportunities. Leaders who constantly have to be the idea person, center of attention, or “credit hog” will rob their team of opportunities to: Contribute Fail Grow Bond Believe Gordon Leidner in his book, The Leadership Secrets of Hamilton, addresses this concisely when he says, “The art of turning followers into leaders encompasses…
Live long enough and you will discover many things in life are cyclical. I was reminded of this concept the other day in a discussion with a youth pastor about “skinny jeans.” Relax. There is no danger of my purchasing a pair; we were just discussing student fashion. I told the youth pastor a story about my uncle questioning me…
Directing a youth camp is a little like running a three-ring circus. There is always activity in one arena or another captivating your attention. You have the rapid movement of students from one event to the next and, like the circus, not all the animals cooperate. It requires a special type of person to be a camp director. This week…
Leadership is influence; if you are not influencing, you are not leading. As you grow as a leader so should your influence. The growing process requires you to be constantly honing your leadership skills. Doing so will help you continue to make a difference in the lives of those with whom you are working. Your goal is to influence those…
Just talk to any parent and they will tell you they have been bombarded with the question, “Why?” Little children constantly ask that question. There are days that every conversation, instruction, explanation, or clarification invokes a “Why?” So “Why” then do we as adults tend to stop asking “Why?” Why do we leave our curiosity unsatisfied or instructions unclarified? More…
The timing between waves was erratic, definitely not an exact science. The ocean would swell—anticipation would ebb and flow as the right wave would fail to materialize. Occasionally an impatient surfer would launch out on an imperfect wave simply from boredom. Watching the surfers from the distant shore was intriguing. Their commitment to the task was obvious by the cost…
