Jul 9, 2020 | character, Family, Growth, Leadership, Leading Yourself, Relationships, Uncategorized
This past weekend Laura and I celebrated Independence Day with a small group of friends. Over a sumptuous feast of smoked ribs, pulled pork, beans, and slaw, we started talking about—of all things—our lawns. Is that a sign of aging? Anyhow, it got me to thinking about...
Jun 4, 2020 | Calling, Family, friendship, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Relationships, Uncategorized, Work
Today, an important post from our teammate, Jaime Hlavin, on the subject of simplifying. ~ John This week was weird. The governor of Michigan has begun to reopen our state. And it felt almost “normal.” And by “normal,” I mean exhaustingly busy to the point that I...
Jan 16, 2020 | Difficult people, Family, Forgiveness, friendship, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Relationships, Uncategorized
It was the 2nd evening of 2020, I was sitting with a bowl of popcorn on my lap, watching a football game, and enjoying life. A pretty uneventful night. Woke up on Day 3 of 2020 with tooth pain. I thought, “just tooth sensitivity, no big deal.” Day 4 of 2020, the pain...
Oct 31, 2019 | Family, friendship, Leadership, Likeability, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Relationships, Self-Awareness
“We all have blind spots. To deny it is to prove it.” ~ Russ Ramsey Ever been in a conversation with a person who had no idea how their words were negatively impacting you? Ever had a boss who was clueless about how their angry rants were demoralizing you and your...
Oct 24, 2019 | Calling, Family, Leadership, Ministry Leader, Pastor, Pastor's Kids, Pastor's Spouse
Managing the tension between ministry and family is one of the more challenging items leaders deal with. How do we integrate our passion for our spouse and children (and grandchildren), and our passion for the assignment God has given us vocationally? Every leader...
Jul 18, 2019 | Anger, Criticism, Emotional Health, Family, friendship, Marriage, Pastor, Relationships, Uncategorized, Words
I like to play golf. Golf isn’t super-exciting. In fact, it’s kinda boring. But hitting a little ball hard with a club can be therapeutic. I’m a below average golfer. Golfers at a below average level use mulligans occasionally. If you’ve never played golf, you...
