Leadership
Thoreau: “to live deliberately”
He wasn’t a believer, but Henry David Thoreau was a thoughtful and articulate man. This piece from Walden inspires and intrigues me. I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, [...]
Good Books
I once read a survey which listed top books recommended by evangelical leaders. It was fascinating to discover which books had influenced the minds of great pastors and leaders. Theological titles comprised most of the list, while some were biographical or fictional. Have you ever considered what books have impacted you? I browsed the bookshelves [...]
Deliberate living: death of spontaneity?
Does deliberate living spell death for spontaneity? I’ve been thinking this through over the last two weeks as several people brought it up in the comments here and here. Here are my thoughts. 1) The opposite of intentionality is not spontaneity. The opposite of intentionality is traditionalism. Traditionalism does something because “that’s the way we’ve [...]
The deliberate Christ
To be deliberate is to always move forward with the destination in mind. Perhaps the most striking picture of the deliberate Christ is found in Luke 9:51: “He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” This is at least six months before his crucifixion, and yet Jesus Christ—the deliberate Christ—is moving forward with the destination [...]
Deliberate living
Every believer is responsible to conduct himself deliberately. Let me explain what I mean. To live deliberately is to live on purpose. It’s the opposite of letting life happen to you. It’s the opposite of going with the flow. To be deliberate is to be careful, not careless. To be thoughtful, not thoughtless. To be [...]
Time for a thinkathon
I just spent what may be the most valuable $17.45 of 2010. That’s 2 x $4.60 for two flat whites, $5.50 for a large strawberry thickshake, and $2.75 for a pen when my other pen ran out. Oh, and I spent about four hours. This is an annual New Year’s ritual I’ve been doing since [...]
On the leader’s personality
1 Samuel 16 Saul was anointed while seeking asses; David while tending sheep. The kings came from things commonplace. “God looketh on the heart” (v. 7). Skill, fine features, pleasing manners—”personality”—can be had by external imposition, and God cares little for such. His eye is on the heart. Now external effects are not bad—David had [...]
Succession by Atomic Split
Churches do, for a variety of reasons, split. Divisions and problems in assemblies, even those with the best teaching, are as old as the early church. The believers at Corinth were so divided it was remarkable there was a church left for Paul to write to. Churches split due to:- 1. Doctrinal reasons; 2. Personal [...]
Succession by Death or Misadventure
Pastors die, get sick, have to leave town to look after infirm relatives, just as other people do. Sometimes their churches are not ready for their hasty departures. So what does a church do when they are left without a pastor? Perhaps these points should be made:- 1. Don’t panic. The Head of the Church, [...]
Succession by Transition
This is probably the best way to ensure a smooth, seamless transition of leadership in a church. When we moved to Cairns in February 2006, this is what we in fact witnessed. A long-time pastor handing over to his assistant of a couple of years. This was of course voted on and approved by the [...]
Dictators Breed Cowards
When a dictator rules, one of three things will happen to the courageous: The courageous will stand up to the dictator and be mowed down. The courageous will stand up to the dictator and escape/survive and will be hated and feared by the dictator. The courageous will do nothing and will slowly become cowards. Those [...]
Let No One Despise Your Youth
Paul chose Timothy to accompany him on his second missionary journey because of his shining example as a very young Christian. Scholars believe Timothy was in his teens or early twenties when he first travelled with Paul. This is because about 15 years later when he writes to Timothy in his first pastoral epistle, Paul [...]
