I want to lobby for a new day in the way we think of ourselves and engage the world around us. I am tired, impatient, angry, even embarrassed by a consistent trend in the Christian community. There are times when I hear the diatribes of those who claim the name of Christ and I feel [...]

Every once in a while it seems a window opens that blows fresh air into my soul on a deeper than normal level. I never expected the emotional journey of grief to be one of those windows. Two weeks ago Margaret and I spent the day in a hospital cafeteria while our son had surgery [...]

I had a breakthrough I hadn’t sought. I recognized the linkage between annual, monthly, and weekly rhythms that are key to maintaining perspective and focus as a leader. Being a “P” and not a “J,” I think I’ll call it "the Pirates’ Code for Greater Leadership Focus." If I wanted more grandiose phrasing, I might call it, “Keys to Strategic Life Management for a Leader.”

It was early Friday morning and I really wanted to get out for a bike ride. I needed the exercise, I knew the outdoors and sweat would do me good, but I had a long list of projects that needed to be completed. Then it hit me. Self-Care will always feel self-serving.

When you are a child, you are typically oblivious to the dangers that surround you. When you are a teenager, you feel downright indestructible. As a young adult, it seems we are just too busy with a million irons in the fire to notice our own mortality. But somehow, as you get older you come [...]

Gandalf…Dumbledore…Yoda… fictional icons of wisdom and in the minds of many the epitome of the perfect mentors. The only thing is, they aren’t real. They are part of the fiction that actually inhibits mentoring.

"Ultimately, becoming a Christian was THE MOST REBELLIOUS AND RISKY THING I'VE EVER DONE." After all, "who's the biggest rebel to ever live?" Can you guess who said it?

I have a theory: courage is the sinew that connects our thinking to our behavior. It's not good intentions that get things done, it is courage. We can talk the right talk, we can understand key ideas, and we can have all manner of good ideas, but without courage we won't act on them.

Meeting with God is not about what I do to manage my "quiet time," but what I do to quiet the noise inside of me in order to listen. He is the one who fills the space, I need to make the space.

When I was a kid, honoring my father and mother was a pretty simple concept. It meant obeying them, not talking back, doing my chores without attitude, etc. These days it is a mandate with far more subtlety.