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The Shoeless Wilderness
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Wilderness Wanderings Series: Learning to Live the Zigzag Life He was a man without a country, with a lost past and a blank future, in a troubled marriage with a son for whom he had no hope. He was just living day-to-day, doing the same thing, running out the string, nothing to challenge him and no expectation of change. Not much of a life, huh? That made him exactly the kind of man God wanted to be one of the greatest leaders in history… Who, HIM, a Leader? It’s absolutely amazing what kind of men and women God chooses to be His…
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The Imperative Wilderness
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Wilderness Wanderings Series: Learning to Live the Zigzag Life The real Jesus Jesus was real. Radically, totally, absolutely real. This means He was fully real God and fully real man in the same person. However, He emptied himself of His divine prerogatives, not of His deity, but of His rights as deity. On the other hand, He filled Himself with human limitations and human needs, yet without sin. This means He desperately needed the Father and desperately depended on the Holy Spirit. Now some may react to the word desperately, and I understand if they do. I don’t mean desperate as in…
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The Inescapable Wilderness
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Wilderness Wanderings Series: Learning to Live the Zigzag Life Every leader will spend seasons of life wandering in the wilderness. It’s inevitable and inescapable. There are no exceptions… The wilderness. Barren, empty, lifeless, colorless, solitary, unending hard sand, rock outcroppings, and rugged mountains. Hot in the day, cold at night. Far from the action, from the crowds, from life and what matters. Yet, in the Bible, the wilderness is the place where the action is, where the holy God shows up, where leaders are called, a nation is formed, and a Savior prepared. It is the place of spiritual warfare, the…
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The Sacred Wilderness
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Wilderness Wanderings Series: Learning to Live the Zigzag Life The wilderness is God’s original temple, His personal dwelling place where He called His followers out to meet Him and be in His presence. It was in the wilderness that God called and commissioned Moses; it was in the wilderness that God gave the Ten Commandments; it was in the wilderness that God formed Israel; it was in the wilderness that God designed and guided Moses to create the tabernacle; it was in the wilderness that God disciplined His people to serve Him and to represent Him among the nations; it was…
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Wilderness Wanderings 2016
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Wilderness Wanderings 2016: Learning to Live the Zigzag Life Happy New Year and welcome to Broken Leadership, the blog of Leader Formation International (LFI). My name is Bill Lawrence, founder and president of LFI, and I want to take a moment to greet you and inform you concerning our early 2016 blog plans. I want to write a series of blogs on the subject Wilderness Wanderings: when a zigzag line is the shortest distance between futility and fruition. If you’re in any kind of leadership position, whether business or professional, educational or governmental, or—the most important—parental, you surely have wondered at times…
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Starting Over
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken January 1, 2016. A new year and a new start. Celebrations and all that fun. Resolutions and all that jazz. Bowl games and all that pizazz. A new slate and all that hope. But what do we do with everything we’ve written on the slate of 2015? Does it all just go away? What if 2015 was a wilderness year for you as it was for me in some ways? The wilderness. Barren, empty, lifeless, colorless, solitary, unending hard sand, rock outcroppings, and rugged mountains. Hot in the day, cold at night. Far from the action, from the crowds, from life and…
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Unitarian Universalism: “It Means Whatever You Want it to Mean.” (A Christian Conservative Goes to College, part 20)
“He who stands for nothing will fall for anything” – Unknown. “Groups that stand for everything stand for nothing or else they deceive” – a former Unitarian Universalist pastor who is now a full-fledged Humanist.[1] “For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools….” (Romans 1:21-22). The World Religions class assignment was that each student attend the service of a religion that was not “one’s own”. I chose to attend a Unitarian Universalist church with my analytical Christian friend Chris. As…
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A Plan With A Purpose…The Journey of Ice Cream
The first bite is scrumptiously delicious and out of this world; with each additional bite comes the most pleasant and delightful experience to your sweet-tooth taste buds. I love to savor every moment as I enjoy the cold creamy texture and luscious taste of ice cream. Nothing is better on a hot summer day and if you’re like me, you love the opportunity to take a journey with the sweet and creamy delight. Excitement fills the air as you walk into the local ice cream store. Choices, choices, and more choices are in front of you as you scale the counter and look at the array of flavors that are…
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Life with a New Liver
Meet Lisa. She’s a dear friend, coach’s wife, lover of Africa, and most recently, a liver transplant survivor. Her story will challenge you to live each day more fully. “We’ll be there in 7 minutes.” Those are the last words I remember from my care flight. Although I can’t recall much from the week of February 2, 2014, I realize God performed a miracle in my life. On Sunday afternoon, I went in for a routine gallbladder removal—or so I thought—but God had different plans. After the surgery, my general surgeon was concerned about my liver. An MRI revealed that I had developed a rare liver condition called Budd Chiari.…