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Feature Friday (09/21/18)

Too much to do and too little time. Ever feel like that? I do almost every day. I get to the end of my day and my task list still has multiple things on it that just didn’t seem to get done. So what do I do? Something I think a lot of us do…

I simply move the tasks back a day. I tell myself I will get to it tomorrow. I encourage myself by saying things like, “I won’t have as many interruptions tomorrow”, or “I will be more disciplined to get those tasks done tomorrow”. But the reality is tomorrow turns out to be very similar to today and I am again stuck with multiple tasks at the end of the day that just did not get done. So what can I do?

I (and you) can do exactly what great leaders have been doing for ages…delegate. Delegation is one of the top five practices (or disciplines) every great leader must learn to do more regularly. Tommy Bowman shares 5 Levels of Effective Delegation for leaders of all sorts to think through and utilize. So instead of getting to the end of today and not getting things done, why don’t we try one of these levels of delegation and see what happens?

As always enjoy the article and be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

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Feature Friday (09/07/18)

I have always enjoyed war history. Whether it was WWII, the American Revolution, or the Civil War. So when I heard the story of George B. McClellan I was intrigued. McClellan graduated 2nd in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He had a few stints as a military engineer and then because of his great military knowledge, organizational abilities, and logistical understanding President Abraham Lincoln placed him over the Union’s army during the Civil War. But his tenure in that position did not last long. Why not?

McClellan was arguably one of the brightest minds of history when it comes to military tactics and strategy. He could unify the troops, organize them quickly and effectively, and ready them for the next battle better than anyone else in his day. So why would President Lincoln discharge McClellan from his post at such a needed time for such leadership? McClellan had one flaw…he hesitated to engage in battle. McClellan was a great teacher and organizer, but a lacking leader.

The same can be said for many Christian leaders. Not because they do not know enough or even have an inability to teach. The reason Christian leaders, pastors, and disciple makers are not actually leading well when it comes to discipleship is because they, like McClellan don’t finish the task. Too often those who should be disciple makers stop short of the end game. Too many believe discipleship is all about information rather than transformation.

One pastor who does get it though is Jim Putnam. Discipleship has been at the core of who Jim is for years. While I have never met him, Jim has influenced me in many ways as I continue to think through the how and what of discipleship. That is why I think you will enjoy his article “The Key to True Discipleship is This: You Never Stop with Head Knowledge“.

Check out the article and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash

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Feature Friday (08/31/18)

“It needs to have a name”. This was a statement recently made by a co-worker of mine in a conversation about some new initiative we were discussing. He went on to talk about how naming things is important and will help others see the importance and value of the initiative. I could not agree more.

Naming is important. So important my wife and I have spent countless hours deciding the names of each of our four children. Naming is important because behind every name is a meaning. Behind every word we use lays a world of meaning. The problem is in today’s world that meaning changes not with the word, but with the one who uses the word. It’s called assigned meaning and Tom Pattison writes an amazing article discussing “Assigned Meaning vs. Inherent Meaning“.

I think you will be encouraged and challenged by the issues and discussion Tom leads you on in his article. Check it out. And as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

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Feature Friday (08/24/18)

Being a dad is one of the greatest joys of my life. I get to see my children grow, develop, and learn. It is exciting to walk with them, talk with them, and live life with them as I get to see life through their eyes. So often they see things differently than I do or in a way that I have not seen it for sometime.

It’s funny as you grow older it’s easy to become cynical or just apathetic to the everyday joys of life. Which is actually one of the greatest fears of mine as a parent. What if my kids grow apathetic or cynical in important things in life? What if they grow cold toward people? Relationships? Truth? The gospel of Jesus Christ?

These fears and concerns give rise to an important question as the leader of my home. How can my wife and I create a home that not only fosters real relationships with God and one another, but one that even doubters, seekers, and prodigals would want to come to? In answer to that question comes Jim Putnam’s article “Creating An Ideal Home That Your Prodigal Will Find Hard to Leave, But Easy to Come Back to“.

Read the article, you will not regret it. And as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day.

Photo by Andrew Amistad on Unsplash

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Feature Friday (08/10/18)

What do you do on your ride to and from work? More recently I have been discovering, listening, and enjoying podcasts. Up until recently I never had more than a few minutes in a car ride to and from most places. And the times I did have significant time in the car I almost always had someone else in the vehicle with me to converse with. That all change about 4 months ago.

When my family and I moved it meant I know had a 25-30 minute commute to and from work each way. That was a good chunk of time for me to not waste. So I entered the world of podcasts. And I have loved every minute of it. It engages my mind while I drive. It can challenge my thinking and encourage my heart. But the main way I have utilized podcasts is to keep learning how to improve personally, at home, and at work.

Being a pastor and the one primarily responsible for helping people connect and get involved in the church community, assimilation is something I am constantly trying to learn best practices about. Which is why I loved an episode of Rainer on Leadership podcast entitled “Eight Traits of an Assimilated Church“. It will encourage you, pastor or not, on how to best and most effectively help others follow Jesus.

Enjoy the podcast episode and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

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Feature Friday (08/03/18)

Questions. They fill our conversations. They take up lots of space in books and articles and letters. And they make up so much of our education and learning. Without questions, a dialogue would quickly become a monologue. Without questions, an interesting interaction would simply be the infusion of information. Questions are imperative to human learning, curiosity, and growth.

Yet we all know there are various types of questions. Questions that seek more information. Questions that are more accusative. There are good questions and then there are, well, bad questions. We have all been told there are no stupid questions, but the reality is we have all asked or been asked one at least once in life. However, there are more important questions to life.

Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? Is there anything after death? All of these and more can be considered “important” questions. But is there one question that stands above the rest as the “most important” question? If so, how you answer that question may be the difference between life and death.

Stating and showing two very different answers to the “most important” question is what Eric Davis does in “Differences Between Salvation in the Qur’an & the Bible” over at The Cripplegate.

As always, enjoy the article and be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

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