In an earlier post, I wrote about listening as a leadership discipline. That post focused on what leaders choose to attend to and how intentional listening shapes discernment over time. This post addresses a different, and in many ways more sobering, reality. Even disciplined leaders can lose sensitivity. One of the most dangerous leadership failures is … Read more
God. Authority comes from God. All authority belongs to Him. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s dig in a little deeper. Authority is one of the most misunderstood words in leadership. For some, authority is equated with position. Titles, credentials, and organizational charts become the primary sources of influence. For others, authority … Read more
One of the most underdeveloped leadership skills is not vision, communication, or decisiveness. It is listening. That may sound obvious, but most of us confuse listening with hearing. Hearing is passive. Listening is not. Listening is a discipline, and like all disciplines, it must be practiced, protected, and cultivated over time. In leadership, what we listen to … Read more
“There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.” – Eugene Peterson In the little town of Bethlehem, a man named Jesse had a son named David. As … Read more
“Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning.” – Dallas Willard If you look for an excuse, you will find it every time. I know, because I’m an expert in making excuses! I find myself thinking about excuses often. Sometimes it comes up in conversation with people walking through real pain. Sometimes it surfaces when a student is feeling every piece of … Read more
I remember sitting in a massive conference room at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa almost seven years ago, sweating through my jacket and trying to slow my breathing. This was Canada in the fall, so the temperature wasn’t the problem. I’m a big dude and sweating is not abnormal, but this was different. My chest … Read more
I hated school for most of my life. That may sound strange coming from a university president, but it’s true. I loved to read. I loved to learn. I loved to think. What I hated was traditional school. I could never understand why I had to sit in class for a set amount of time and follow someone else’s predetermined curriculum. I hated … Read more
I hear a lot of people, especially in Christian ministry, talk about a shortage in leaders. Frankly, I don’t think there’s a shortage of leaders. What we lack are good leaders. Ethical and moral leaders. Servant leaders. Christ-like leaders. You know, the kind of leaders with character that can sustain the weight of their influence. What we lack is patience, commitment, and the posture to build those leaders at … Read more
Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. Dr. King’s story is not simple. However, it is an invitation for us all to reckon with the kind of leadership his life demanded and the kind of formation it required. I’m the son of a Puerto Rican father and Black American mother. This places me firmly in both the … Read more
“Leadership is hard and traumatic. Deal with it.” I formed that sentiment in year 11 of my now 21-year journey in vocational ministry. I’ve had the privilege of serving as an associate pastor, lead pastor, teaching pastor, chaplain, and professor. I’ve served at large denominational churches, storefront churches, and one of the largest churches in the United States. Regardless of the … Read more
