Leadership
The Best Books I Read in 2018
Second to last day in 2018. That means lists. I am going to do a two-parter here. Part 1: the best book I read in 2018. Part 2: a few books you should read in 2019. I love finding out what books people are reading. Novels, non-fiction, theology, cookbooks, books students read to get an…
Read MoreLove Does Indeed
I am presently at a conference called THRIVE in Northern California, hosted by Bayside Church. Yesterday Bob Goff of Love Does fame spoke. Here is his deal if you don’t know. He is one of the most inspiring people you could ever meet. I had the privilege of hanging out with him a couple of years ago…
Read MoreOvercoming the Monster: What Story Are You Telling?
In Christopher Booker’s book The Seven Basic Plots, he outlines the fact that every story we tell ourselves as human beings – since the beginning of time, whether around the campfire or in a big budget superhero movie – all fit into seven basic categories: 1 – Overcoming the Monster – The protagonist sets out to defeat an…
Read MoreTwo Thoughts on Prayer
The other day I was pondering the deep difference between our public and private lives – loving God in public versus loving God just because he is God. A couple of major ideas hit me around the same time. The first was from Charles Spurgeon. He pointed out that Jesus taught his disciples not to…
Read MoreWhy Church Leaders Need To Stop Hanging Out With Each Other
It is pure invention that popes, bishops, priests, and monks are to be called the ‘spiritual estate’; princes, lords, artisans and farmers the ‘temporal estate’. That is a fine bit of lying and hypocrisy. -Martin Luther (1483-1546) I love my friends who work in churches (pastors, directors, etc.,) but I have come to realize that…
Read MoreQ & A Friday: Is there a profile for a church planter?
Hey Mark. I was looking for some advice on church planting. I feel a strong call to plant a church in my city. I was just wondering how do I know if I am called and gifted to start and lead a church? This is a delicate question for two reasons. First, because I don’t…
Read MoreTransformation Trios: how they work & the 15 questions.
In light of another pastor/leader I admired years ago having moral failure and being removed from ministry this week by his church, on Sunday I talked about the accountability that I was pursuing in my personal life to help me grow closer to Jesus devotionally, and to help guard against sin and temptation in my…
Read MoreHow serving makes us like Jesus
People generally want resurrection without cross. People want to see a great movement of God without personal sacrifice. But that’s not the way it works. When you study revivals and renewal movements throughout history, they have great healings, miracles and social reform, but they are also coupled with great suffering. And one thing that often…
Read MoreBe Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle.
I am reading a book right now by Brad Lomenick (a leadership consultant and founder of Catalyst) called H3 Leadership. The thesis is simple. Good leadership takes 3 ingredients: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. I shared these three concepts with our staff last week. If you are a leader, pastor, church planter, business leader,…
Read MoreInspired by Walt Disney himself – kind of.
I was sitting in a submarine – the Nautilus – submerged under water. Pitch black. Pale blue light. 20 people crammed in and staring out a small round window at sea life, underwater mines and Nemo. Wait. What? Sorry – I forgot. It was a Disneyland ride. The captain of the submarine came over the…
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