The Benefit of Strong Teaching We all want to be strong leaders because strong leaders are good leaders.  Strength in a leader is not reflected when authority is flexed while the lay person is looking on.  Strong leadership depends on the ability to know when to be tough and when to be gentle. When dealing with doctrinal issues, we need to be tough.  What I mean by tough is we need to be direct.  Leaders should never beat around the bush about core values, doctrines or principles from the Word of God.  When we hesitate to preach the Word as it is with love, we cheat the people from the potency...

Casting vision is more than just pointing to a destination in the distance. Vision involves more than communicating a decision or desire of a leader. It must be derived from the heart of God and implanted into the heart of the people. It is vital that we seek God’s vision and allow him to shape ours. We must submit our thoughts to His higher thoughts. Vision is not a one time event. It is a frequently planned occurrence. Vision in an of itself is not direction For there to be direction, vision must always coupled with a plan of action. Directions always have step-by-step plans to arrive at...

A few weeks ago one of our elderly ladies approached me and handed me a yellow Hot Wheels car with flames painted down the side. With tears in her eyes she said she wanted to give me a gift. I gave a cynical, but kind look and thanked her. Later I relayed the instance to my wife and told her I was worried that this elderly lady possibly was losing her faculties in her older age. I put the matchbox car in my desk drawer and forgot about it until two weeks later. The lady approached me at church so I knelt down next to her. With tears in her eyes once again she spoke to me and said, “I hope...

It’s been over seven months since Shanna and I were married It was definitely one of the best days of my life. She was absolutely stunning in her dress and I could hardly fathom why such a woman would want to marry me It didn’t seem possible that I was worthy of this beautiful bride. The days and months since the wedding have been wonderful? Every day I fall even more for this lady who has absolutely changed my life for the better. ? I know it will get even better from here I find new things about her every day that are like little treasures She truly completes me and I find myself...

Everyday we are constantly giving of ourselves We expend our energies to serve God and provide for our families, enhance our lifestyles, and live the American dream of doing whatever it is that we want I see it as a vending machine We take what we have to offer, and slide it in the coin slot of life and then press our desired selection and wait for it to be delivered to us. Sometimes we don’t hear the clankety clank of the coins falling to the tray The coins get jammed Life can seem like that sometimes We give and nothing happens because it’s all jammed up? This is followed by banging...

Getting involved in other people’s problems sometimes lands you in a sticky situation. Most of the time people come to you with problems that include another person. Their quandary may involve a grudge, a quarrel, or a miscommunication with this other person. The most difficult times I have had in ministry was when I stepped right in the middle of these two people and tried to be the hero. I found that rarely did they need me to intervene, they just wanted someone to hide behind. Here I am making the confrontation, taking all the bullets, and once the shock and awe stops, I am left emotionally...

Last night was the first time I sat and watched the biography of Martin Luther King Jr. Prior to last night, the only thing I knew of him was that he was a civil rights activist and I had heard the sound byte, “I have a dream…”. After seeing this documentary with actual footage from the segregationist period of our country I was deeply saddened at the horrible injustices that were placed up on the Black people of America. I am Caucasian, and growing up as such after the civil rights movement, I was educated on the abolition of slavery, but not so much on segregation. I knew...

It is inevitable that problems will come under any leadership. The majority of people who are in leadership struggle to deal with hard issues and situations that arise from the people within the organization. I have devised a simple but effective method for dealing with tough problems. It all boils down to the information we possess and how we use it. Before responding to a situation, there are a few things we must do with the information. Reacting to a situation means you are skipping these steps. Analyze the information. Determine if your sources are credible Gather information from other...

The more I live, the more I learn life is not just about living, it’s about making connections. It is my responsibility to connect with those God has placed under my leadership. This does not mean that I am best friends with everyone. Time would never allow that. But, it does mean that I take time to be genuinely concerned about those around me, even if it’s for a few minutes. I call them “two minute investments.” The more I invest in short emails and phone calls, the less time I have to use cleaning up symptoms of my lack of leadership. I’ve learned the hard...

I had an eye opening encounter today that I thought I would share with people I know involved in the design field.? I found “the box” today.? Inside the box were the products of the last eight years of my print design career.? It was overflowing and very disorganized.? So, piece by piece I pulled out the printed projects.? Some pieces brought back memories of sleepless nights and looming deadlines.? Others brought back feelings of “uck” knowing that this one missed the deadline or I had to eat the print cost because I didn’t do the job right.? I felt the sadness from...

My good friend George is 59 years old. He was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in St. Croix. He speaks something like Spanglishyamon. George is very difficult to understand, but not when he’s yelling at the top of his voice. One thing you must know about George, he’s an amputee. He lost his leg to cancer, so he rides his “Cadillac” wheelchair. I took George on his first field trip to Borders today. He thought we were at the market (or so he called it). I soon found out George has alternative definitions for a lot of things. George was so excited when we went in,...