Category Archives: Ministry

November 28, 2015 · 9:05 am

The Slow Work of Story Listening

I’ve long held to the belief that we all have a story that’s waiting, sometimes needing, to be told. Our story comes forth in bits and pieces, fragments of paragraph and run-on sentence. It is being written on the landscape of our days and recorded in the memory of our conscious experience; yet, increasingly, it seldom emerges in full form.

In the rush and hurry of today’s way of living, it’s rare that one gets to know a full chapter, let alone the greater book. We live in a world of tweets and posts, and video sound bites that have all but reduced our ability to listen and focus for any length of duration. (For example, you may be wondering, by now, if you even have time to invest in the remainder of this article!) Continue reading →

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Filed under Ministry, Pastors, Spiritual Formation

November 25, 2015 · 9:01 pm

The Upside of Downsizing

For the past several weeks my wife and I have been walking alongside her mother as she goes through the process of downsizing her living quarters. As one might expect this has been a journey of multiple dimensions and emotions.  I would offer the following observations and thanksgivings as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow: Continue reading →

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Filed under Family, Ministry

October 1, 2015 · 4:06 pm

A View From the Rear

This past Saturday I did something I had been wanting to do for three years.  I volunteered on my bicycle with the Columbus based “Mill Race Marathon”.  What an interesting experience.  Some 35 cyclists were involved this year supporting the Full and Half Marathon and the 5K.  We were interspersed among the 3500 or so runners and walkers on the streets of our fair city on a cool September day.

As a newbie I did not want to be in a position with too much responsibility. For example, no leading a runner off course, or getting smoked by an elite runner I couldn’t keep up with.  No, when the volunteer form was submitted I checked those positions that were more toward the middle or end of the course.  Little did I know that rookie volunteers must be assigned to the trail or sweep position, as a rule.  My assignment, along with another cyclist, was to be the trail on the last half of the full marathon.  This meant bringing the final runner in to the finish line.  This meant six plus hours on my bike (I elected to ride the entire route) with much of it at speeds that ranged from two to four miles per hour.

It may sound like it, but I am not complaining.  I had a blast doing this. Continue reading →

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Filed under Cycling, Ministry, Uncategorized

February 27, 2015 · 3:18 pm

What do you do with disapointment?

One of the hardest parts of leadership can be disappointment. It doesn’t matter where you are leading; if you dare to lead, you will experience disappointment. You might be disappointed in the outcome of an event, project or initiative. You might be disappointed in those you lead and those with whom you collaborate. The disappointment might center on a colleague who didn’t follow through, or a volunteer who proved less committed than first thought. It might settle around how your group did or did not engage. You may even be disappointed with yourself. Disappointment is inherent to leading. It’s not a matter of if, or even so much when it will hit; what’s important is how you deal with it.

So, what do you do when you are disappointed as a leader in any of the above mentioned possibilities? What do you do with disappointment?

As I reflect on that question I want suggest just a few steps that have emerged over time, in my own practice of leading. These are steps I try to follow when disappointment makes an appearance:

Step One: Examine the source of your disappointment Continue reading →

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February 4, 2015 · 8:23 am

Celebrating Short-Term Wins

I remember reading in John Kotter’s book Leading Change years ago about the importance of what he calls “short-term wins”. These are the small victories along the way when you are trying to leverage change that, when accomplished, give persons reason for hope. Whether the change is related to a personal goal such as changing your diet and exercise routine to lose weight, or tackling a “debt snowball” to get your financial house in order – we all need short-term wins. They are the measures of progress. They provide immediate, in the midst of it, feedback that our efforts are worth it. They keep us moving forward.

Translate this same thinking to the often more challenging work of leading a group through change and the same principle still applies Continue reading →

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Filed under Leadership, Ministry, Pastors, Uncategorized