How’s your summer? Have you taken time off? Over the years of ministry, I have been serious about taking time off. Somewhere I got this advice and tried to heed it (still do!): Divert daily (take those mini breaks); Withdraw weekly (have a consistent day off); and Abandon annually (use all your vacation time). This…
Category: Leadership
Put Me In, Coach!
by Tom Hurt Pacific Conference Coaching Director I can remember clearly my 9th grade wrestling coach. Being new to the sport I was nervous and excited to get on the mat and do my best. The reality was, I had a lot to learn and it was obvious I needed a coach. As the season…
10 Lessons from the Leadership Summit
This past week the Conference was privileged to host the Global Leadership Summit for the second year. It’s an incomparable experience: world-renowned leaders of both sacred and secular success presenting inspiring and challenging points with the unique opportunity to contextualize the teaching with other leaders and pastors from the Pacific Conference. Quite frankly, it’s why…
Don’t Forget Who You Are
By Josh Conn “I’m a failure.” “I won’t make it.” “I can’t finish this race.” “I can’t pass this class.” “I can’t raise these children.” “I will never get married.” “I don’t think anyone really loves me.” “I’ll never get that job.” “I have made so many mistakes, there is no way God would want…
Two Essentials of Every Good Strategy
By Steve Graves No matter what you are doing in ministry, it requires strategy. My simple definition of strategy is this: Knowing where you are going and knowing how to get there. Like the two-ends of a window-washers' scaffold, each is limited by the other.
Mumbling in Ministry
The other day my son sent me a video of my granddaughter mumbling as she was playing house. It was so cute to hear her babbling sounds she thought made sense (some are starting to!). Apparently she isn’t waiting for a class in English. She has no manual. No tutor. Instead she is mumbling her…
Hold Your Breadth
Most pastors and church leaders would agree they are simply too busy. Often we are stretched and stressed by all the spinning plates we must keep going. Part of the problem is that we don’t take the measure of our capacity; we say yes and yes and yes without considering the bandwidth we’ve committed. But…
It Ain’t Church…
It’s kind of funny how we “do” church. Many have relegated church to an hour meeting each week, singing a few songs and listening to a sermon. That’s a far cry from the early church who longed to be together every day (Acts says they met daily (Acts 2:46).) Today, sadly, even the committed are…
5 Indicators You’re an Isolated Leader
Healthy leadership never happens is isolation. In fact, by definition leadership involves others. We only lead as others respond and follow us. However, there is a tendency for many of us to isolate ourselves. Sometimes it’s subtle as we withdraw from others we should be spending time with. Other times it’s more overt as we…
Three Healthy Relationships
Lately I’ve been reflecting how important people are in my life. How we relate to others will make or break us. Paul wrote that “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). The opposite is also true: Good company corrects bad character.” In many ways, we become who we hang with. Someone said, “Your key relationships either move…
Baby Steps
“We terribly overestimate what we can do in one year and underestimate what we can do in five.” That’s a quote I heard many years ago and often repeat! By the way, it was said by former president of World Vision, Ted Engstrom. While it is important for us to trust God for great things…
Bringing Clarity to Conflict
Conflict is something I’ve never enjoyed (contrary to what some may think). There are times when I think, “If I just ignore it, it will solve itself and go away.” That hardly ever happens! In fact, it usually gets worse! Why? Because conflict has so much to do with communication and giving it more time…
Coffee with Randall 