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If Jesus Gives Me Rest, Why am I So Restless?
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken When most of us think of rest we think of a rockin’ chair on the front porch, a cool glass of ice tea, and a beautiful sunset at the end of a hard day’s work. Now that’s sweet rest. It’s just not the kind of rest Jesus offers and not the kind of rest that will relieve our restlessness. It’s clear that when Jesus thought of rest He had work in mind. I mean, what else could He have been thinking of when He said, “Take my yoke upon you . . . and I will give you rest.” To me, a…
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Boy-Man Meets Jimmy Carter on the #4 Train
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken I heard him before I saw him–the Boy-Man hustling to get on the #4 train. The Yankee game had just ended, and Kyle and I were headed to Times Square so he could buy the newest Metallica CD at the Virgin Record store. I couldn’t help but hear the Boy-Man as he and his buddy rushed for the train with us because he used the kind of language Boys use in a crowd when they want you to think they’re Men. The two Boy-Men ended up standing next to me, but I didn’t pay any notice to them when we first pulled out…
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Toy Soldiers for Jesus
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Hearts are like beds and minds—they need to be made up. Just as an unmade bed shows a lack of discipline and an unmade mind shows a lack of determination, so an unmade heart shows a lack of devotion. Rehoboam was a leader with an unmade heart. His epitaph from God was, “He did evil because he did not set his heart on seeking the Lord (2 Chronicles 12:14).” He never made up his heart, he never decided that he would devote himself to the Lord. Sometimes he did, and then the Lord blessed him. But much of the time…
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A Leader’s Loves
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken What a leader loves determines how a leader leads. Consider Solomon, for example. Solomon loved the Lord and walked according to the statutes of his father, David . . . As long as Solomon loved the Lord and walked according to David’s ways, he was humble and trusted God for an understanding heart because he knew he was not adequate to lead God’s people. Solomon demonstrated his love for the Lord by living in radical dependence on Him. Because of this request God gave Solomon a discerning heart and with it, God gave him more than he asked for: riches and…
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Is Your Altar as Big as Your Heart?
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken Is Your Altar as Big as Your Heart? When I was twelve years old I put my heart on God’s altar. It happened on a Sunday morning when Mr. Stewart, the superintendent of the junior high Sunday school department in my church, exhorted us mightily to give our all to the Lord. I don’t remember what he said, just that he spoke with intense passion about giving our all to Christ. As I listened I remember distinctly thinking, “That’s what I thought it’s all about. That’s what I did when I trusted Jesus as my Savior.” I became a Christian in my…
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McMansions in the Sky
Leadership is broken because leaders are unbroken McMansions in the Sky Leaders today are building eternal edifices on temporal foundations. The result? McMansions in the sky that lack foundations and crash leaving crushed hopes, confused leaders, and questioning followers. Everyone asks, “What happened?” What happened is what Jesus said would happen. When we build leaders and ministries on the sand of human talent, experience, and success, the storms of life bring them crashing down all around us… We think talent, experience, and success are the foundation for effective leadership and don’t realize that these resources can never produce lasting leaders. If we depend on talent, experience, and success to…