Developing people to their fullest potential

Developing, Leadership

If you give people the answers, you truncate their growth. That’s why I prefer asking them questions. If you want to develop people to their fullest potential, ask them questions that they have to wrestle with, think about, and answer. If you take the time to dialogue...
Catch the seashore vision

Catch the seashore vision

Coaching, Leadership, Visionizing

As a young church planter, knocking on doors in the 70s and struggling to get a new church up and running, I had a vision that has since directed the rest of my life. In my vision I was standing at the seashore in southern California. I was joined by other church...

One of my favorite stories

Leadership

Some of you who have heard me speak may have heard me share one of my very favorite discipleship and church planting stories. It’s out of Honduras, and goes to illustrate how effective ministry can be with almost no resourcing, no technology, no telephones, no...

Affirmation as the foundation of change

Leadership

When we see someone doing something poorly, what’s our natural inclination? To tell them what their problem is, of course. How else would they fix it unless we tell them what they’re doing wrong? Advice, “constructive” criticism, unsolicited feedback… these are our...

There’s always time to do God’s will

Leadership, Prioritizing

Whenever you find yourself truly genuinely overloaded– and I’m not talking about those temporary blips on your calendar where there’s a seasonal crunch– but when you find yourself genuinely overloaded long-term, then one principle is true:  something you...

Half a loaf vs. half a baby

Leadership

When is compromise appropriate and when is it not appropriate? I first learned a helpful rule of thumb from Carl George. There are times when half of something is better than none of it: half a loaf of bread is better than no loaf of bread. It may not be all you...