Leadership is intense –both inside and outside the church.  The pressure, conflicts, and resistances we encounter touch “raw material” and powerful dynamics deep beneath the iceberg of our lives. We go to seminars and conferences on how to do better strategic planning, cast vision, delegate, better manage conflicts, and hire to our weaknesses. We read books on leadership and listen to podcasts on how to grow and expand our impact. That is good and commendable. I do those things myself.  It is simply not enough. Our executive leadership team at New Life recently had two half-day meetings around a recent difficult event that we experienced together. We resolved the leadership/organizational issue well, but I was painfully aware profound “hot buttons” deep within our icebergs had been touched (i.e. issues coming out of our own early family histories). I knew God wanted me, and us, to stop and listen to Him. These “triggers” needed to be. Read more.