a. Life is ministry Main pastoral responsibilities are to family and team. When mission comes first, ministry happens.   b. Do it with a few, for the many With your team, aim for depth; with everyone else, aim simply to inspire. Deep teams will birth more deep teams.   c. If you aren’t willing, it’s unlikely […]

‘Just enough’ is the place of neither too little nor too much. In music, the place of ‘just enough’ might be something like this: just enough technique to execute and contribute artistically and just enough disciplined practise to be natural. It might be just enough study to be aware of the the depths without becoming lost […]

Some observations about ants: a. They are consistent and diligent at searching b. They are not systematic c. Their movements are a sort of fast-chaos d. The speed and determination of an ant makes up for the apparent lack of sure-fire plan e. It’s a numbers game f. They don’t mind crashing into each other g. There’s no despair in […]

We build things so that the world outside becomes like the world we long for on the inside. People and situations change, but built-things don’t, not very easily. So people build something that they fit perfectly into. And then they change, or somebody else does. Then they don’t fit, or the built-thing doesn’t fit, or something. So when […]

This post is dubious at best. But I won’t delete it yet… Introverts live in an internal world. They need to shape the world around them in such a way that they can interact with others authentically (according to who they are on the inside). Some examples: An introverted thinker may express their ideas in […]

A final and to-the-point finish to this talk: a “can do” attitude goes a long way. Whatever your issue is, a “can do” attitude is determined to find a way through. No problem is too big for resolution; no struggle is too hard to persevere through; no lie is to powerful to overcome. A “can […]

Here is an approach to reverse the damage caused by “The Three P’s“. It helps first to write down the problems. 1. Dispute the Negative Stuff With Truth: Identify the lie, and say “that’s absolutely wrong.” Put it into perspective, look at the good stuff… be objective! It’s all to easy to take mistakes too personally when you’re stuck […]

These three things initiate the Downward Spiral that leaders can find themselves in: 1. Personal: “I’m no good; why did I think I could _______?” Dr Cloud tells a story to illustrate that although we all make mistakes, those of us who are naive, oblivious or cheerful enough will survive these critical times by refusing to take […]

Some time during the hard-work of leading, it starts to happen. What does? The downward spiral. If you haven’t experienced it yet, just keep succeeding… it will come! Leaders start Here and move on towards There… and somewhere along that path, the surrounding circumstances cause them to go Out of Control. It’s a kind of learned-helplessness. When what […]