TOKYO AIRPORT—Preaching the gospel is a privilege. It is also a burden. And a calling. I have been a preacher since 1982. I love my job. I love to read, study, teach, and preach. Every day I am thankful that I get to do what I love. I am not a natural communicator. I...
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—A consultant once asked me what I mean when I say that certain positions can only be filled by a “leader.” Without thinking I said I expect a leader to do the following: 1. OWN IT. Good or bad, success or failure, if it happened on their watch,...
I was recently talking to a pastor whose church was leaking people. As soon as a family joined the church, another family vanished. As we were trying to discover the cause of the leak, I made up the following three points on the spot. I told my friend that as a...
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—In our well-intended desire to send fully-funded, relationally connected, culturally sensitive, professionally trained, church planters and campus missionaries, I sometimes wonder if we have made ministry too easy. Lifting heavy weight builds...
A few weeks ago I was talking to a young leader, trying to upgrade his vision casting skills. I gave him four simple tips about communicating vision. 1. CLARITY. Leaders must create clarity by narrowing the focus when casting vision. A vision to do everything that can...
I recently had a situation where someone boldly and bluntly disrespected me. This guy should have been expressing gratefulness, but instead, he was ungrateful and dishonoring. While I was troubled by this young leader’s attitude and action, I have become more troubled...
