One of the best ways to remember Christmas's true meaning is to thoughtfully and methodically meditate on Christmas over several weeks leading up to the actual day of Christmas. To help you do that, I recommend several Advent resources you can read on your own or with your family. For those of you who are … Continue reading Preparing for Christmas
Eat The Word #3
(This week's post comes again from Michael Porto) At two times in the story of the Bible, both in books that employ a lot with figurative language, two men are instructed by an angelic being to eat a scroll of parchment with words on it. The first occurs in Ezekiel chapter 3. By way of … Continue reading Eat The Word #3
Never waste a good crisis.
MBC Man, I hope you are doing well during this COVID-19 pandemic. Life has changed for many of you, and I want you to know that I’m praying for you and am here to help if needed. I know that this situation is causing a lot of stress, grief, pain, and loss for many people. … Continue reading Never waste a good crisis.
Godly Friendship – pt. 3
This post is part three of a five-part series on friendship. I wrote earlier about friendship being part of God’s design. You could even say it is part of our DNA. I also mentioned in a previous post a benefit of friendship – that it halves our sorrows and doubles our joys. Here are two … Continue reading Godly Friendship – pt. 3
Leaders are Readers – pt. 2
Do you wish you were a better reader? Does the idea of reading frustrate you? Do you forget most of what you have read, so you wonder what is even the point? I’ve been there. Several years ago, I was frustrated with my reading ability but, eventually, I got better. As I mentioned in the … Continue reading Leaders are Readers – pt. 2
Leaders are Readers ~ pt.1
“Yeah, uh, I really don’t like to read much.” I can’t tell you how many times a man has said that when I asked them about reading. Most of the time, it goes back to one simple reason: “I’m not very good at reading.” You want to know a secret? I wasn't very good at … Continue reading Leaders are Readers ~ pt.1
Mind or Muscle: A false dichotomy
Men are often considered to use either their brains or their brawn in their work. Anecdotally, I think people assume that I am unsure of which end of the hammer to hold just because I'm a pastor (whether or not that is true is beside the point!). I recently saw the meme on the right … Continue reading Mind or Muscle: A false dichotomy
Manage or Lead?
Management is not the same thing as leadership. How so? Management is primarily focused on implementation while leadership is focused on inspiration. Management is primarily focused on making today better than yesterday while leadership is focused on make the future better than today. Management is primarily focused on how / what while leadership is focused … Continue reading Manage or Lead?
Responding to Complainers
Moses’ leadership almost didn’t happen. You remember his story, don’t you? He was conceived during an ethnic genocide against male babies (Exodus 1). If the leaders of his day had their way, Moses would never have seen his first birthday. I won’t go into the details of Moses’ journey to leadership, but suffice it to … Continue reading Responding to Complainers
“But I don’t want to!”
How many dads have heard their children say those words? A standard reply to that statement in our house is, “It doesn’t matter if you don't want to, it’s what you need to do.” Leadership is that way for many men. It was for me. When I read the Scriptures, it seems that I am … Continue reading “But I don’t want to!”