Skip to main content
Category

Leadership

Thoughts and insights on how to be a better leader.

The Generous Life

By Church, Leadership
A 2018 study from the University of California - Berkeley found something fascinating: humans are biologically wired for generosity. In other words, we’re born to give. But if that’s true, why do so many of us struggle with selfishness? Simple answer: we grow up. And somewhere along the way, that generous instinct gets drowned out by a culture screaming, “Get more. Keep more. Be more.” As someone who follows Jesus, I love it when modern science catches up to ancient truth. Because long before Berkeley ran a study, God already knew this: Generosity changes lives — starting with your own. God’s Wisdom on Generosity In 1 Timothy 6, the apostle Paul is coaching a younger leader named Timothy. And he begins by reminding him of something that sounds almost countercultural today: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6) Translation: you won’t find real wealth in a bank account.…
Read More

The Motivation for Change

By Church, Leadership
Someone once asked me if I played baseball growing up. The short answer: yes. The longer version? Let’s just say my dream of playing for the Cubs ended in 9th grade — thanks to an indoor tryout because the baseball field was covered in snow. The same tryout may have involved a bad throw shattering a window. While I don't completely blame Coach Birdrose for ending my dream of playing for the Cubs, he did make the right call cutting me from the team. It hurt at the time, but looking back, I get it. In sports, if you want to improve, the motivation is clear: win. Beat the competition. Get better or get cut. That’s how the system works. But when it comes to our spiritual lives, it’s completely different. In fact, one of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned is this: God’s grace is the best motivation for…
Read More

The Difference Jesus Makes

By Church, Leadership
What difference does Jesus actually make? What does it really mean to think and act like a Christian? To be like Jesus ... not just on Sundays or in a small group, but in the grind of everyday life? Malcolm X used to ask people coming out of church, “What difference does your Jesus make in your everyday life and in this world?” It’s a powerful question. And it’s one that the book of James answers head-on. James doesn’t give us a bunch of vague religious jargon. He asks pointed questions that hit us where we live. And in James 1, we find three big questions every Jesus-follower has to wrestle with: 1. How do I deal with people who offend me? James 1:19–21 says: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires…”…
Read More

Faith and the Life of the Mind

By Church, Leadership
Is it possible we've been looking at Christian academics all wrong. For many students, school feels like a blur of lectures, assignments, and exams. Sometimes boring. Occasionally stressful. Rarely inspiring. But when you begin following Jesus, it flips the script. Suddenly, education becomes something more than a GPA. It becomes stewardship. It’s about asking, “How am I developing the gifts God’s given me, including my mind?” One of the ways faith influences our academics is by reintroducing us to wonder. Say you’re in a general biology class, staring through a microscope at some mysterious little cell. What are you looking at? To be honest, I don’t know either. But I do know this: you’re looking at one of God’s many miracles. We need to help students understand: they’re not just killing time before practice or chasing a grade. They’re discovering something God created. That’s not boring. That’s breathtaking. But Christianity…
Read More

Work as Worship

By Leadership
In one of my business classes, I was talking with students about how business can be more than just a paycheck or a promotion. It can actually be a vehicle for doing God’s work in the world. I wanted them to hear this clearly: their faith doesn’t begin and end in chapel. It doesn’t clock in when class starts and clock out when the lecture ends. When you start to grasp what it really means to follow Jesus, something shifts. Your work becomes worship. One of the ways that happens? Purpose. Paul writes in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” In other words, your job isn’t just about a boss or a salary. It’s about serving God. Whether you’re a nurse comforting a patient, a businessperson making an honest deal, or a teacher inspiring a…
Read More