I’ve seen a lot of leadership transitions over the past thirty years as churches, ministries and businesses sought to pass the torch to the next generation. Like the characters in an old Clint Eastwood western, these transitions generally fell into one of three categories: The Good, the Bad, and the Clumsy (which often turned ugly).
Many pastors are much better at imparting information than they are at building relationships. They are comfortable in their studies. They love their books. They pride themselves on their sound doctrine. They come alive in the pulpit as they proclaim “the wisdom of God” through carefully-crafted sermons. But when it comes to engaging their
I learned the hard way how easy it is to breach a dam. When I was fourteen, my dad hired a contractor to enlarge a stock pond on our ranch by building a dam. It was ten feet high and thirty feet thick at its base. As the pond filled, we discovered that the dirt
A week ago today, I had the privilege of teaching relational wisdom to our Montana State Legislators and their staffs. I was warmly welcomed by every person I met as I walked into the House Chamber. More importantly, many people came up afterwards to express their appreciation for the concepts and illustrations I shared during
During a recent seminar in California, I was approached by a man named Ross who told me he is “successfully failing” in his business. Ross employs over a hundred people. His company is thriving, which enables him to provide his employees with excellent wages, benefits and opportunities for career advancement. Even so, Ross feels that
My mother-in-law lived with our family for twenty years. For six of those years, my mother also lived with us. Corlette and I called them “the Two Treasures.” In all the years they lived in our home, I never heard one word of criticism, grumbling, or complaining from either of them. Really. They were that
When Corlette and I were raising and educating our children, we struggled far more with relational challenges than we did with academic content. Put four sinful people together in the same home and the relational tensions will easily eclipse educational issues. Our background in conflict resolution was helpful (both Corlette and I have written books
Adversity tends to pull us down. It hurts when others sin against us, take us for granted, fail to stand up for us, or break their commitments to us. Such treatment can easily cause us to feel discouraged, bitter or depressed. But there is a way to convert these kinds of unpleasant feelings into heartfelt worship
Would you like to have hundreds of articles, videos and downloadable ebooklets on relational wisdom, biblical peacemaking and Christian conciliation available on your smartphone? To review just before a difficult conversation or meeting … To remind you how to show empathy, make a sincere confession or forgive a painful offense … To negotiate a major
After weeks of nonstop travel, I was running out of energy. As a result I was unusually apathetic as I walked into the conference center for one of my recent presentations. Not a good attitude for teaching relational wisdom. So I began to pray. “Lord, I feel lousy this morning. I’m tired, discouraged and in