

As I have been writing and thinking about leadership, it caused me to think about how I have sought to grow over the years. Without realizing it, I have regularly practiced the following cycle. If I had time I would picture these components in a complete circle. For the sake of writing, though, I will lay them out in a linear fashion. Let me start with a foundation. I believe an effective Christian leader will be convinced of two things: 1. The Lord wants to continually teach me. The Lord is continually bringing circumstances into my life to make me…
The following is from a section the current book I am working on. In it, I argue that learning to care for your children teaches you how to care for the church. Let me know your thoughts. – Chap “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord has compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14 “I thought I was a patient person—until I had children. Then I learned how impatient I really was.” I have lost count of the number of men who have said…
A mature leader will know he needs wisdom to honor the Lord and not hurt people. As mentioned in the introduction, knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the art of skillful living. It is living in line with God and the way he has made the world work. It is weighing all the biblical information and knowing which principle to apply now given the current situation. Leading well, whether in the church or home, requires wisdom. As Solomon began his reign, the Lord appeared to him in a dream and invited him to request anything. Solomon asked, “Give your servant therefore an…
Several months ago our church hosted a marriage conference. You can hear one of the speaker’s sessions on conflict here. During the last session, there was a panel with couples who had been married for different amounts of time. Sharon and I were asked by our senior pastor to be on the panel as the older couple. At first, we objected. “We are hear to learn,” we told him. On the panel, we were open and honest about how hard we have had to work at our marriage. In Sharon’s words, “If marriage is a dance, then there are times it felt…