The Power and Pitfalls of Nostalgia
Nostalgia touches not just our minds, but our emotions—our deepest fears, insecurities, loves, and ideals. As such, it can be an incredibly powerful force for good. However, if nostalgia is allowed to be a dominant force in the life of any individual or organization, it will undermine the ability to fulfill the mission.
If You’re Not Developing Other Leaders, You’re Not Leading
Developing other leaders is an essential component of any effective leader’s job. If you’re not helping raise up other leaders, chances are you are not leading
Built to Last: Forging and Keeping Christian Friendship
Just because a friendship seems to come easy does not mean it does not demand work. But the work is worth it.
Leadership and the Reality of Finite Capacity
We know better, but most leaders tend to overestimate their limits. With regularity, I’ve met with team members and leaders who articulate different versions of the same story.
The Peril of Organizational Hubris
What happens when hubris embeds itself within an organization? Unfortunately, the cost is high.
Higher Education and the Great Commission
Many of us struggle to connect the dots between what happens on our college and university campuses and God’s mission in the world.
Why MLK Day Matters More Than You Think
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day matters. It’s a day that should force us as Americans–and especially as evangelical Christians–to pause and remember.
The Leadership Limp
In a culture obsessed with image and bravado, what I’m about to suggest might surprise you. In fact, for many leaders it’s outright scary. But I am convinced that effective and resilient leaders are those who walk with a visible limp.
Body and Soul, Both in Life and in Death
Whether in an operating room or in our nation’s capital, Christians can rest in the Lord. That is no call to cultural retreat or to a passive fatalism. But it does call us to a better way than that of the world.
Three Threats to Any Leader
On any given day, there seems to be an infinite number of threats to leaders. Those that are committed to the long haul, to providing steady and capable leadership to their organizations, cannot afford to be naive about those dynamics that would undermine their sustainability.
Leadership and the Resiliency of Hope
Effective leaders are invariably characterized by hope. And Christian leaders, in particular, are to be those with the surest and steadiest hope. Unfortunately, it far too often seems to be the opposite.
The Waiting Is the Hardest Part: Advent and Waiting on the Lord
The Christian season of Advent is one that deliberately builds into calendars, into the rhythm of time, a reminder of our waiting.
Fully Mature In Christ: Spiritual Formation & The College Campus
The Christian life is a lot like the instructions on the back of your shampoo bottle: lather, rinse, and repeat. In the ordinary rhythm of life, as the word of God is heard, received, and applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, we gradually grow in Christlikeness.
Books Make Great Gifts: A Christmas List of Favorites from 2020
The best books help us to clarify our thinking, to strengthen our confidence in the Lord and His promises, to facilitate our own development in our various vocations, or even just to expand our sense of wonder at the world God has made.
Thankfulness in a Time of Pandemic
It is often in those times of greatest hardship that we are most aware of the Lord’s faithfulness and kindness.
Leading Through Criticism
The heat of criticism has only escalated for leaders in the middle of a global pandemic. When every decision gets second-guessed and comes with the weight of seemingly heavier implications than ever, criticism can almost feel crippling. So let me suggest a few ways for Christian leaders to handle criticism.
Toward a Recovery of Evangelical Orthopraxy
We need a renewal of evangelical orthopraxy in our time, a kind of revival that will make demands of us as the people of God.
The Unspeakable Weight of Loss
There are seasons of life in which the Lord seems to work in especially powerful ways, to capture our attention, to develop our Christian maturity, to redirect our ambitions, and to call us to a closer walk with Him.