Tag Archives: learnings

Learning from the Church in Southeast Asia

Geri and I recently returned from a ten-day trip to Singapore/Malaysia, our fourth in the past five years. Habakkuk 1:5 describes the wonder of our experience there. Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. The following are a few highlights: 1. The power and the size of the move of God in Asia is difficult to describe for us who live in North America. Every time I sat through worship, whether it was with the Pentecostal Anglicans, the Pentecostal Methodists, or the Assembly of God Pentecostals, I found myself in awe of the experience. (Oh yes, most everyone seems to be into Pentecostal in that part of the world – regardless of denomination). 2. Pastors and leaders, along with the churches, face the same challenges we face in North America. We. Read more.

Learnings from Peter Drucker

I have been reading Peter Drucker for years. I recently finished Bob Buford’s new book, Drucker and Me, where he records his learnings from being mentored by Drucker over a thirty-year period. The following are the insights that challenged me to pause, to pray, and to ask God what adjustments He might be inviting me to make in my own leadership. 1. “Build on islands of health and strength.” 2. “The predominant need in our culture is for individuals to make their lives useful to themselves and other, and nonprofits are best suited to do that.” 3. “The best nonprofits devote a great deal of time to defining their organization’s mission.” 4. “The fruit of your work grows on other people’s trees.” 5. “When the horse is dead, dismount.” 6. Have people you mentor meet with themselves before meeting with you. Drucker forced Buford to write a letter outlining the challenges he faced. Read more.

Christian and Secular Leadership – What is the Difference: Part 1

Much of church leadership today is more secular than Christian. We learn from the best practices and strategies from the most successful global leaders and then do our best to implement them. We “manage” to lead without God. We “do so much so well by ourselves that there is no need for God,” even if we do engage prayer and worship. We believe that ultimate responsibility for everything rests with our efforts. As one Japanese CEO remarked, “Whenever I meet a Buddhist leader, I meet a holy man in touch with another world. Whenever I meet a Christian leader, I meet a manager at home only in this world like I am.“ (Os Guiness, The Call). All truth is ultimately God’s truth so there is a great deal we can learn from best secular leadership practices. It is very helpful to learn from excellent models, insight, and research in books such as The 12 Bad Habits that. Read more.

Christian and Secular Leadership -The Difference: Part 1

Begin the Journey with the Daily Office

I am in the process of finishing a Daily Office book that I have been working on since last Fall. It is going to the printer within 2 weeks and I recently made a change in one of the Offices (there are two per day, five days a week for eight weeks and are based on the themes from the workbook/book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality). One final change I made was to replace a devotional from one of the Offices to the one from Leighton’s Ford excellent new book that was recently published: The Attentive Life: Discerning God’s Presence in All Things (IVP, 2008). The book is filled with insights and learnings from his 76 years as a follower of Christ. I highly recommend it. He has been a personal mentor of mine for over 25 years. Geri, in fact, is with him now in North Carolina for 4 days on a spiritual mentoring retreat.. Read more.

NEW E-BOOK

LeaderSHIFT: 8 Pivotal Breakthroughs of Emotionally Healthy Leaders

LeaderShift eBook

Personal Assessment

How Emotionally Healthy Are You?
Take a free 15 minute personal assessment now!