I was in Memphis one snowy morning recently. A CRM teammate we affectionately call “Hound Doggie” and I were designing curriculum for the upcoming reFOCUS:Atlanta conference when his cell phone rang. “Hi Honey… OK… Are you OK? Are the kids OK? Don’t worry about a thing. Stay put and I’ll be there in ten minutes.” […]
Squared off to Bunt (part four) Read More »
This is the 50th blog entry on distinctions I often make in coaching. For close to a decade, it’s been my privilege to coach pastors, primarily. Invariably, our conversations center on leadership. And, because of the inseparable link between the two: on character. Pastors who lead well do so because of who they are. Who
Squared off to Bunt (part two) Read More »
In many quarters of the Church, the contemporary understanding is that Christianity is lived in the passive voice. Wikipedia says: “the passive voice denotes the recipient of the action (the patient) rather than the performer (the agent).” The assumption is that the Christ-follower empties herself of all ambition and self-determination and simply waits, patiently, for
Which Will? (part six) Read More »
In I and Thou Martin Buber writes of the freedom each of us has to pursue our destiny. If you’re paying attention, the longer you live the better you understand the unique contribution you are. I say, “if you’re paying attention” because God is communicating. Those endeavors where you’ve had success, failure, frustration, satisfaction, the
Which Will? (part four) Read More »
How does a minister develop tenacity … particularly when the surrounding culture is increasingly committed to relieving tension—in the short run—without regard to the long term consequences? Tenacity is defined as the capacity to stick—like super glue—to one’s commitments. The word comes from the Latin tenere which means “to hold”. In a culture that, over the
The Long View (part three) Read More »
As a coach to pastors and Christian influencers, I’m sometimes surprised at the vacillating commitment of we who claim to be Christ’s. I completely understand that life gets tough … so much so that, at times, I want to tear the hair from my head. What I struggle to appreciate is the apparent over-arching power
The Long View (part one) Read More »
We’re examining leadership coaching distinctions that I employ when coaching pastors and Christian leaders. Last time, I suggested that the client’s perspective determines what they see as possible and impossible as they search for solutions to pernicious problems. One common perspective is “playing to win” vs. “playing not to lose”. Pastors commonly cycle between “playing
Playing to Win! (part two) Read More »
This is the 19th entry in a series on Coaching Distinctions. I’m inviting you into some of the strategies and perspectives I employ as I champion my clients to achieve extraordinary results—not just while we’re working together, but for the rest of their lives. As a coach, I’m not in the help-you-solve-your-problems business. Nope. I’m
Stealing Second (part three) Read More »
How do you steal second base? You give up first. To progress to any goal, you’ve got to give up where you’ve been. As long as you’re all right with where you’ve been, you’re not likely to pay the price to move into the unknown and on to your goal. Let’s be specific: Until you’re
Stealing Second (part two) Read More »
The first thing every base-running instruction says is you have to lead off. You gotta get off of first. Your foot off the bag. You lead off. And when you do, you’re no longer on first … and you’re a long way from second. And, in this condition you can be thrown out. There’s a
Stealing Second (part one) Read More »