So easy to forget:

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11).

This is the answer to every lame excuse on our part that says, Oh, I just can’t love that person. You don’t know what she’s like. If you had to live with her as I have to, you wouldn’t be able to love her, either. No, Dear friends, since God so loved us… If you have experienced this kind of love, if you have been to the cross and felt the overwhelming cleansing of God’s love for you, despite the antagonism and hatefulness you have shown Him and despite your loving your own way and wanting to do what you like; if you have felt the cleansing grace of God wiping that all out without any recriminations or calling up of the past, forgetting and forgiving it all, then, as John says, you not only can love someone else but you ought to—you owe it. That is where the word ought comes from. You owe it to love one another.

This is the last of a three-part reflection on life and leadership from flat on my back after recovering from surgery:

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This is the second installment of a three-part reflection on life and leadership from flat on my back after recovering from surgery:

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There is a good book out by Tom Paterson entitled, “Living the Life You Were Meant to Live”. An experienced strategy consultant, Paterson lays out a route to self-discovery:

“In order to see where you are going, you need to gain a perspective on where you have been and what you have been gifted by God to be. There are times when we each need to go to the ‘mountaintop’ to be able to see the terrain below.” Read more »

Donald Miller is back again with a thought provoking piece on leadership. His question? Does the church cultivate leaders or just church leaders? Read more »

A recent surgery on my neck reminded me of an article I wrote after a previous lower back surgery, one that required an extended recovery period laying flat on my back.

I re-read the article to reminisce, and found some leadership and spiritual life nuggets I hadn’t expected. It reminded me what we’re to be about, and how we’re to lead others as we do it.

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We tend to learn much from those who are our leaders. For example, after I came to faith, I quickly realized that God was leading me into ministry. And what I discovered is that I learned a lot from those who were my pastors. Unfortunately, much of that learning was what NOT to do. Thus I realized the need to pursue those who provided good examples of how to lead in ministry.

My experience has been recently confirmed by neuroscientists at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory. They’ve long understood that the brain rewires itself in response to experience. This is known as plasticity. And what they recently discovered was that success is one type of environmental feedback that triggers plasticity. Equally important is that its opposite, failure, has virtually no impact. According to this study, what I’ve observed is true-we absorb and learn more from success than from failure.

What little bit we do learn from a bad example is what not to do. But that isn’t sufficient to develop a good leader. We need to intentionally seek out and lovingly pursue those who are good examples so that we can learn what to do that leads to success in ministry and life.

Aubrey

In this continuing series, I am using an article from Inc. Magazine in which Norm Brodsky outlined 6 successful business ideas. I’ve identified some leadership principles I see that may have driven his approach to business.

Here’s another principle I see: (more…)

The experience of working with clients can be a blessing and a curse. As you listen intentionally to their mission, vision, challenges, growth opportunities, staff issues, communication shortcomings, objections to change or organizational dysfunctions, the result can often be overwhelming for them and for us as consultants.

The client looks to us for the silver bullet that will propel the organization to instant success. That silver bullet is elusive and in fact does not exist. Organizations get to where they are just like the proverbial frog starting out in the pot of cold water and before he realizes it he is boiling to death!

Change is a difficult but necessary part of life. In fact, it is a major tenet of the Christian’s life. We have become a new creation in Christ and thus begin the long journey of change – some call it the process of sanctification. The same is true for an organization – change is necessary and vital to its long term health and viability.

While recently working with one of our clients, I experienced one of those blessings that come along with my job. After several months of hard work with their team, wrestling with change and having the courage to look at their organization with fresh eyes, they made some significant decisions to be intentional about their programs and efforts to reach their community differently. That effort is starting to pay dividends in many ways.

We are now moving into another phase of the client relationship and as we make this transition we began to reflect on the change we have all seen. And blessing came to me personally with the incredible notes, emails and comments of appreciation from the client team. Here are a few comments,

“We were greatly impressed and blessed by the responsiveness and desire to understand how to best lead us in this (strategic planning) process”.

“You did not just walk us through a canned process, but you listened and ministered to us in a mighty way”.

“Thanks for being more than just a consultant. You have become a friend to us all”.

These encouraging words make the long hours and effort worth it. There is no silver bullet for personal or organizational change, but it all begins with a willing and humble heart.

Ten days ago we were suddenly faced with the death of a family friend. The shock still stuns our senses and we all find ourselves asking, “How could this have happened?” All of us will die, but we don’t think about it much. And we certainly don’t typically dwell on it. We live life. We do the things we do. We love, we care for, we gravitate to those who are important in and to our lives and give us some of the joy of living.

Those who are left behind are the ones suffering, she has been transformed. She will never be sick again, she will never feel pain and all the other hard things life brings us in this place we always call “home”. But, the fact is we are not home, she is. She’s safe!

When death comes to someone we love and care for, it causes us to reflect on our own mortality and that which is immortal. We take an inventory of what we do, who we are and how we line up with what we know God wants us to be and do. During the memorial service, there were many comments about our friend that showed all of us who she was. That’s not uncommon during times like this. But, the one thing that stood out to me and that I heard over and over, was how much she showed love to those around her. I want to be remembered for that and for people to know I love God most, like she did.  The only way we can really be that kind of person is to love God!

In the work that we do each day, we have many opportunities to show those we come in contact with that kind of graciousness and love. We build relationships. We care for others and their needs. And we have those around us who care for our needs as well. It’s just what Jesus wants us to do and who he wants us to be.