Socks and underwear. There's a good chance that either socks or underwear will be in my Christmas stocking (again) this year. My mom gave me socks and underwear as a child. Tonya has continued the tradition. If I weren't married, there's a good chance I would buy myself socks and underwear. The reason? I need socks and underwear. When I was a child, my Christmas list was filled with things that I wanted. Bikes, baseball gloves, or the latest game. I don't remember ever putting toothpaste on my list, although it had a way of showing up in my stocking (and still does). At some point, Christmas became about getting what you want, not what you need. Retailers exploit this through sales that begin before Thanksgiving. Five and six-year-olds put iPads and iPhones on their list. So do forty and fifty-year-olds. Maybe you'll get a Lexus wrapped in a bow.…
Read More
According to Jim Collins ("Good to Great"), a Level Five leader is self-confident enough to set up their successors for success. This implies three very important things. First of all, it implies that the Level Five leader is most concerned with the health and success of their organization -- not just personal success. There are many men and women who have achieved personal success; a Level Five leader is interested in organizational success. A Level Five leader will put the needs and interests of the group before their own. Those who do not, do not become Level Five leaders. Secondly, a Level Five leader will not be threatened by other good leaders. Many organizations never benefit from the gifts and talents of their team because a leader is too insecure to let another person shine. A Level Five leader is competitive but the competition is not internal but external. Finally,…
Read More
As a senior leader, I try to read various perspectives on leadership -- from Biblical sources, Christian authors, and business leaders. I've even read a few books on the neuroscience of leadership. One of my favorite authors is Jim Collins, a researcher who approaches leadership and organizational health from a business perspective. His book "Good to Great" should be required reading for leaders of all types of organizations. In a nutshell, he examines what enabled a good company to become a great company while other good companies either stalled or failed. Not surprisingly, one of the distinguishing characteristics of great companies was leadership. Not just good leadership, but what Collins calls "Level Five" leadership. According to Collins, there are five characteristics that contribute to the Level 5 leader's success. Here they. I will spend the next several posts fleshing them out. They are self-confident enough to set up their successors for…
Read More
A few weeks ago, Mark shared this quote in a sermon: "I would rather light a candle than curse the darkness." Adlai Stevenson, a former governor of Illinois and twice a candidate for president, once used this quote in reference to Eleanor Roosevelt. Only he took it a step further: "She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world." As Christ-followers, we are told to live among unbelievers in such a way as to "shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life" (Philippians 2:15-16). In other words, our glow should warm the world around us -- in our homes, around the neighborhood, and at work. My prayer for 2013 is that our church will become a glowing reminder of what God wants this world to be.
Read More
At Christmas time, one of the carols we often sing includes these words from Scripture: "peace on earth, goodwill to men." Since the beginning of recorded history (3,100 years), do you know how many years have been without war? Only 286 years. That amounts to approximately eight percent of recorded history. During this same period of time, 8,000 treatises have been signed and broken. Our track record with peace is not so good. Even when you move from a global perspective to individuals, are we any better? The answer is simple: no. We experience interpersonal conflict, strife at work, hostilities at home. Most importantly, apart from Jesus, we are not at peace with our Creator. In fact, the Bible refers to our pre-Christian experience as being "enemies of God" (cf., Colossians 1:21). Through Jesus we can become friends with God. That's the message of both Christmas and Easter. The hostilities…
Read More