“Don't plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me - choke those little bad days. Choke 'em down to nothing.” Tom Waits I recently preached on the passage from Exodus where Moses strikes the rock to … Continue reading 3 strikes and you are out!
After Thanksgiving thoughts
OK, it is more of a Thanksgiving sermon! I don't always like to share my videos of my preaching, mainly because it is easy to get a little self conscious! But, I enjoyed this service, felt good about the material I prepared, and the overall time with the good folks at Kildonan Community Church was … Continue reading After Thanksgiving thoughts
How’s your timing? Personal, generational, organizational…
This weekend I get to preach for the first time in a while, and I am a little excited about the title: Is God on time? That is a pretty loaded question for a person that is admittedly late for just about everything in life. My Dad used to joke that I would be late … Continue reading How’s your timing? Personal, generational, organizational…
A Ragamuffin Gospel and pastoral expectations
If we consider the church as a consumer body, one that participates by showing up and giving input on how much they enjoy being served, then the place of the visible leader is one of customer service at best.
A few views on vision
How do you view the term 'vision' when it comes to your church? Your personal life? Your work group or team? Vision has earned a bad rap in many circles because of how it has been used to manipulate a number of situations. A leader gets up on stage and starts sharing about their dream … Continue reading A few views on vision
Leadership categories got you down?
Believe it or not, I am not much for categories and titles. It may seem ironic when you consider that I like to walk people through the Myers-Briggs types from time to time. (You can read more about that here: Why chose the MBTI?) The saying goes that 'no one likes being put in a … Continue reading Leadership categories got you down?
What’s in a name? A lot!
I originally sent the following to my email friends, kind of a personal note on some of the changes here on the website, reflecting the work that I do. I decided to send it out to everyone! So, here are some reflections on the name, the reason, and the future around these parts... I have … Continue reading What’s in a name? A lot!
Thank you Riverton Gospel Chapel!
This is a little overdue, but thank you to the good folks of Riverton Gospel Chapel, for inviting me into your circle and creating conversation about the life of your church! Here are a few of my takeaways from our weekend together... Something you do not see everywhere these days is a group of people … Continue reading Thank you Riverton Gospel Chapel!
Do you have a community of active participants?
How many meetings have you been to and wondered, "Who is going to do all of this?!" I have been to my fair share. I know how it feels to 'organize' volunteers and suddenly realize no one has committed to anything. Or, as the much quoted legendary statistic says, you have the 'top 10%' do … Continue reading Do you have a community of active participants?
What’s the most important metric?
This is a trick question. You will not find a perfect answer at the end of this post. Sorry, but so much of what determines success for you says something about what you see as most important. We can say we all agree on what is most important, but how we define it will differ. … Continue reading What’s the most important metric?
Creating space to grow
I had a bit of nostalgia take hold of me this week. You can read more about this awesome time with the folks at Pioneer Camp Manitoba (as well as a few others) here: Great Learning and Growing Experiences! – Lead Freely There is nothing quite like a good memory finding its way forward in … Continue reading Creating space to grow
Does change take time?
Yes. The initial decision may take a moment. The realization that something has to give may be quick. The plan may seem like it was nothing to dream up. Everybody said, 'Yes!' But you know there is more to the story. You need to make time and space. Think of it like a spiral, not … Continue reading Does change take time?
