The average distance between the head and the heart is 18 inches. That is, unless you have a really long or short neck. When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, he wants both our head and our heart. God's desire for us is that our love may "abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight" (Philippians 1:9-10). A life that bears fruit is one that grows in its "knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:9-11). The problem lies when there is a disconnect between our head and our heart. It's not enough to simply believe an assortment of facts -- or even to know all the right answers to all the right questions. Why? Because Jesus wants your heart, not just your head. Isaiah addressed this problem centuries before the birth of Christ: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but…
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I can remember when having a pair of shoes with velcro was considered cool; I can foresee another time in life when having shoes with velcro will be practical! Velcro is used in a variety of products and settings because it's an effective way of linking together two objects. It's replaced zippers, shoe laces, and more. It has the familiar "ripping" sound when pulled apart. When it comes to relationships, compliments and criticisms are like velcro strips ... once we've said either one, we're linked to the person on the receiving end. Compliments reinforce and rebuild. A well-placed compliment recognizes a strength and reinforces it. It takes latent potential and brings it closer to the surface. It also rebuilds, breathing new life into a damaged relationship or wounded dream. Criticisms live on in the heart well after they've left the mouth. Intentional or unintentional, they fasten themselves to previous hurts…
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Here's a thought-provoking article by Tim Stevens on the percentage of people who may never visit church but consider themselves on a spiritual journey. It challenges us (and me) to rethink how we reach out to an increasing percentage of people who are interested in Jesus but not the church. The Shrinking 40%
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One of the blogs I regularly track is Mac Lake's. Last week he posted a great reminder about how we need to minimize the "friendly fire" that happens in a work environment, be it church or business. Here it is: Hit by Friendly Fire Just months after the September 11 attack on US soil Pat Tillman, safety for the Arizona Cardinals, turned down a 3.5 million dollar contract in order to join the US Army and defend his country . While serving on patrol in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, Tillman was killed in a friendly fire incident. Friendly fire is a strange term isn’t it? It means to fire inadvertently on someone on your own squad. It isn’t intentional, they don’t purposely cause harm, it happens because someone isn’t paying attention. Unfortunately there are people in offices all across the country who are struck by “friendly fire” everyday. Leaders…
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An old Russian proverb states, "Success has many fathers while failure is an orphan." Nearly everyone I've met wants to be successful -- though the definition of success may vary, the desire is there. I've met few people who aspire to be failures. Because of this, there is a great temptation to take credit where none is deserved. When an idea goes well, it's everyone's idea. "I knew that would work." Of course, at the time they may have thought it was the craziest idea out there. On the other hand, when an idea or project fails, it's like dropping a skunk in the middle of a party -- everyone scatters. No one wants to own the smell. This is where great leaders (and spouses and parents and coaches) stand out. They are content to let others get the credit and are willing to accept the blame. Perhaps the most…
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