Some time ago, I picked up a John Maxwell book. The first chapter was on “character.” Let me share with you some of what he teaches. John says we all want “character,” and yet it’s not always clear what that means. We may boast of the essential qualities that make...
Never let anyone control your life by saying “God said” unless they are accurately and appropriately quoting Scripture – then you must pay attention. How many times do we hear someone say, “God spoke to me! The Lord showed me! I heard from God! I’ve had a vision!”...
Eskimos live in the far north of Russia and North America. Years ago in a remote Eskimo village, dogfights were the only diversion and sport. One old Eskimo owned two particularly strong and vicious dogs who fought each other every Saturday. One dog won one week and...
How good are you at communication? Do people understand you when you speak? Do they know what you really mean, or are you vague, unclear, or even silent? One of the greatest errors we make with communication is assumptions. We assume people understand us. We assume...
Jesus said, "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I come…. to bring life…” Several years ago we experienced a thief in our house. The real frustration with this situation was that I let the thief in. Here’s what happened. I had advertised a laptop computer...
Are there things you have prayed about for a long time and they’re worse now than when you started praying? That has happened in my life. How could this possibly be? If I talk to God about something, I don’t expect things to get worse! I expect things to get better....
It’s not who your parents are. It’s who YOU are that matters. The only thing that holds you back is YOU. Of the world’s largest companies, 50% of the CEO’s come from poor or lower-income families. In fact, out of 300 of the world’s greatest leaders, 75% were either...
The world needs leaders. Good, godly, intelligent leaders. And so does the church. Corrupted leaders, especially when they are nationally or internationally known, have brought suffering and shame upon the church. Yet there would not be a church today without some...
This is important to understand, considering we have both good leaders and the few rare ones who abuse and take advantage of their followers. There are believers who have been so wounded by leadership that they do not submit to any human leadership. They insist that...
I’m talking about relationships with fellow humans, real people with personal connections. Interaction that feels right and makes you a better person. Real people, honest people, humble people connecting and keeping those connections. Often we call these relationships...