Yesterday, Forbes Online had a great article about serial entrepreneurs -- those men and women who love to start things. It's part of a series on entrepreneurship. If you're a church planter, I'd encourage you to read the entire series. Here are the three characteristics they highlighted. Serial Entrepreneurs: Believe that talented and motivated teams are the entrepreneur’s most valuable asset. They know that the persistence, expertise, ideas, and foolishness that they went though on their journey are all required. Tend to ask more questions and make fewer assertions. Often realize that the chase itself is the reward. Are you a serial entrepreneur or church planter?
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Several times in the New Testament we hear the phrase (or a variation), "come to your senses." The prodigal son "came to his senses" (Luke 15:17). In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes "come back to your senses as you ought" (v. 34). It's an interesting phrase. It could literally read, "Come back to your right mind." In other words, there are right minds and wrong minds. Right ways of thinking and harmful ways of thinking. There are times when we are thinking straight, and other times when our thinking is clouded and foggy. When a person returns to their senses, they are returning to their right mind. A change in behavior is often precipitated by a change in thinking. Unless you change the way you think, you'll likely stay in the same ruts. When a person "makes no sense," there is something out of alignment between their thoughts, words, or…
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Yesterday afternoon, while driving home from a radio interview, I got word that Junior Seau had died. The initial reports were saying it was a suicide; a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. For those who don't know, Junior Seau was an All-Pro linebacker for the San Diego Chargers for many years. I never met Junior Seau, though we were once in the same room together (that is, if you consider Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm one big room). But his reputation and image were well-known and much loved in San Diego. All deaths are tragic. Every person who dies was someone's son or daughter. But if it's true that Seau committed suicide, I have to wonder why. Why would someone so well-loved and so active in the community get to the point of taking their own life? One news report (in USA Today) said this came with "zero warning." These sorts…
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Over at the Gospel Coalition blog, I read a recent post by Paul Tripp about how one's perspective on their ministry changes as they grow older. In particular, I liked how he contrasted astronauts with archeologists. I've included a snippet below. I'd encourage you to read the entire post. ********* The longer you're in pastoral ministry, the more you move from being an astronaut to an archaeologist. When you're young, you're excitedly launching to worlds unknown. You have all of the major decisions of life and ministry before you, and you can spend your time assessing your potential and considering opportunities. It's a time of exploration and discovery. It's a time to go where you've never been before and do what you've never done. It's a time to begin to use your training and gain experience. But as you get older in ministry, you begin to look back at least…
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Because of the beauty of the Internet and six degrees of separation (clicking from Tim Spivey to Jim Martin to Ian Cron), I came across this great article by Ian Cron entitled "Is Jesus Just Background Music in Your Life?" The article was inspired by a coffee shop conversation with a friend, Rob Mathes, who said this about the music playing in the background: "“When brilliant compositions are used for background music it desensitizes people to their genius." It's an interesting article to read. Has Jesus become background music in your life?
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