Tag Archives: religion

Becoming a More Differentiated Leader: Part 2 – EH Leader Podcast

Growing in differentiation is hard. The only thing harder, at least in the long-run, is not doing that hard work. Differentiation, as I talked about in Part 1, involves remaining connected to people and yet not having your reaction or behaviors determined by them. Our primary task, like Jesus, is to calmly differentiate our true self from the demands and voices around us, discerning the vision, pace, and mission the Father has uniquely given us. In this podcast I talk about four practical truths that can help us make the radical transition of dismantling our false self in order to lead faithfully out of our true self in Christ: Paying attention to our interiors in silence and solitude Finding trusted companions Moving out of our comfort zone Praying for courage Join me in this journey. And you’ll discover the fruit of growing into a more differentiated self. You will find that you’ll be less. Read more.

Becoming a More Differentiated Leader: Part 1 – EH Leader Podcast

In this podcast, I introduce the paradigm-shifting concept of differentiation as one significant reason why exercising excellent leadership is so hard – whether it be in a church, a business, a non-profit institution, or an educational institution. Differentiation involves remaining connected to people and yet not having your reaction or behaviors determined by them. Our primary task, like Jesus, is to calmly differentiate our true self from the demands and voices around us, discerning the vision, pace, and mission the Father has uniquely given us. It involves being clear about our life goals and not becoming lost in the anxious emotional processes swirling around us. (See Edwin Friedman’s A Failure of Nerve.) Jesus, of course, models for us a 100% differentiated person. In this podcast, I address three key questions that have helped me to grow in differentiation and to maturely navigate high-charged situations that have come my way: What do I do with. Read more.

You’re Incredible

To live and lead like Jesus requires that we embrace the fact that we are people with deep weaknesses and vulnerabilities. At the same time, it also requires we embrace the glorious truth that we are incredible – with unique passions, histories, gifts, experiences, sufferings, and destinies. In the early years of my faith, most of the discipleship I received focused primarily on depravity and sin. The good seeds of God hidden beneath my unique person as an image-bearer of God were rarely mentioned. Granted, every part of our being is flawed and disfigured by sin. Nonetheless, because of God’s image in us, goodness also dwells within every human being. Henri Nouwen describes it well: For a very long time I considered low self-esteem to be some kind of virtue. I had been warned so often against pride and conceit that I came to consider it a good thing to deprecate myself. But now. Read more.

Revisiting the Dark Night of Leadership – EH Leader Podcast

I did a podcast a year ago based on a mentoring conversation I had with two young Bulgarian pastors who were visiting with us in New York City. Their questions revolved around the following theme: “Why has God allowed so much suffering in our lives when we are serving Him faithfully?” This year they returned with more understanding on this question but continued to struggle as to why painful Walls continued to block their dreams. Our discussion was so significant that I decided to record a podcast to revisit this very important theme. God has a great plan for you. But if you are going to become the extraordinary human being He intends and be a blessing to the world, you too will have to navigate the dark nights that will come your way. God purged Moses, Abraham, David, Daniel, and Hannah, for example, of deep-rooted sin and emptied them for a life of. Read more.

What Season are You In? – EH Leader Podcast

Discerning what season you, and your ministry, are in right now is one of our most important leadership tasks. Scripture teaches us there is a time or season for everything under heaven: There is “a time to plant and a time to uproot…a time to weep and a time to laugh… a time to be silent and a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:1 – 8). Discerning properly the season we are in determines our priorities, decisions and pace. Failing to do so results in all kinds of internal anguish for ourselves and unnecessary pressure on those we lead. In this podcast I will expound on the seasons of Fall (transitions), Winter (death), Spring (fruitfulness), and Summer (abundance), examining how each holds its own gift from God – if we cooperate with it. A number of questions, hopefully, will emerge for you out of this podcast. For example: What does it mean for you to. Read more.

10 Top Quotes from Elie Wiesel's Memoirs

I finished Elie Wiesel’s memoirs last night. He is a Nobel Peace Laureate who lived through the horror of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. I find his writing a sharp, challenging contrast to the kind of sanitized spirituality found in most Christian leadership bookstores. We had an inexplicable confidence in German culture and humanism…We kept telling ourselves that this was, after all, a civilized people, that we must not give credence to exaggerated rumors about an army’s behavior. (27) Moshe the beadle… madness in his eyes. He talked on and on about the brutality of the killers. “Listen to me!” he would shout. “I’m telling the truth. On my life, I swear it!” But the people were deaf to his pleas. I liked him and could not bring myself to believe him. (29) Yet we practiced religion in a death camp. I said my prayers every day. On Saturday I hummed Shabbat songs at work. I. Read more.

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