Fresh snow has fallen on the CornCob City, my prairie home. The Town has the parks adorned with decorations and lights. It’s quite pretty - the twinkle of the lights and the Merry Christmas signs. And yet not so heartwarming because over the past few years, in reaction to a manufactured War on Christmas,…
Read more
Everyday Spirituality
Once upon a time, there were two carpenters; framers to be precise. Each day they would arrive at the building site to pound nails and erect walls. The first, a glum man, was asked what he was doing. “I hammer nails,” he replied, looking sour. “Every day, hammer nails and more nails. Day in,…
Read more
Keep your Goals to Yourself?
Conventional wisdom tells us it is a good idea to share our goals with others for the purpose of vocalizing them and soliciting help with accountability to help keep us on track. But Derek Sivers suggests this may, in fact, be counter productive to realizing your goals. Sivers argues based on the work of social…
Read more
Posing: a Pastor’s Problem
" I desire relationship, not your posing." - Timothy Warren It is happening all around us. In fact, maybe you have felt it happening within you? The shaking of what we thought we understood it was to be an authentic pastor or a minister. You have been a faithful leader, worked hard and been what…
Read more
Peacemakers vs Peacekeeping: Dealing with Conflict
Do you cringe at the thought of conflict? Do you often go to great lengths to avoid conflict at all costs? Do you tend to appease when you probably should confront? You may be a peacekeeper. There is a difference between the peacemaker and the peacekeeper. Peacekeepers will go to great lengths to avoid or…
Read more
The difference between Coaching and Spiritual Direction?
What an excellent question and while volumes have been written on Spiritual Direction and life coaching, it is important to understand the two are not the same thing as if Coaching is a more contemporary term for Spiritual Direction. Coaching Christian Life Coaching can be an incredible tool in real life of everyday people, but…
Read more
Relationship as a Value Proposition
Many of us in our respective businesses are well aware of our competition. We may have similar products and services which serve the same function or meet the same need. We may even utilize similar equipment and technology to do so. So the challenge is how can we create an edge in the minds of…
Read more
Prayer for Busy People
It's a no-brainer to say life can be incredibly fast-paced and busy for many people! There are more demands for our time than time in a day, yet we strive to do it all, aware that many things fall through the cracks. Time with God (prayer) can be one of those things that fall through…
Read more
How Meaning Inspires Overcoming
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” - Dr. Viktor Frankl Viktor Frankl, the founder of Logo-therapy (aka Meaning Therapy) was interned in a Nazi concentration camp as a laborer. The living…
Read more
12 Traits of Inspired Leadership
"The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve." - John Stott Inspired Leadership flows from a growing maturity on the part of the…
Read more