The Notebook

It always scares me when I hear someone say, “What Jesus meant was… or What Jesus was really saying was…” I understand very well first hand how this can be played out having served as a pastor, church planter and missionary. While well meaning in trying to help people underst...

Social media is full of white noise of people promoting themselves. Writers promoting books, ministry leaders promoting tools for church growth, singers promoting new releases, churches promoting their church and on and on it goes. Tweets for how to lead your church, how to get more followers, how t...

Yesterday’s post on What A Christian Is NOT was one of the most popular posts I have written in some time. At the suggestion of one of my readers and friends, I want to follow up with this post on What A Christian IS. I want to make a disclaimer upfront, this post is not […]...

It is absolutely amazing how many wrong ideas there are concerning what it means to be a Christian. It would absolutely astound you, I hope, to hear what many people think makes them a Christian. In my country of the United States which is filled with political correctness, the high majority of peop...

If you are unfamiliar with the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb, you are missing some great leadership material to use in your organization. The storyline of the show is that Phineas and Ferb are two brothers who are on a seemingly continuous summer vacation and each day brings a new opportun...

Some of you are waiting to the last minute to go out and buy that perfect card for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day. Wait no longer for I have the perfect card for you, it’s called a hand written note. No, I am not talking about being cheap or really waiting to the last minute [&hellip...

On February 10, 1981 Julie Smeenge and I went out on our first date that would eventually lead to our marriage on May 25 of the same year. Julie and I both graduated from high school in 1979, but from rival high schools in Knox County, TN. Julie and I did not actually meet until […]...

Writing is one of those professions or hobbies that most people believe they can do and be good at. Most adults in America believe they have a book within them that needs to be written, but they just never have the time or inclination to do so. You know what? They are probably correct in […]...

I did not consider myself a leader when I was young nor did I have aspirations to be a leader, but I became a leader. Leadership is contagious. When you are around a great leader, you learn, you grow, and you want to become like that leader. You know when you are around a great […]...

On Monday I shared Five Ways to Build Balance Into Your Life and today I want to share the “How” in getting started to bringing balance into your life. Let’s look at a couple of ways to lead a balanced life.  ...