Encourage the Good

In my experience the hardest things in leadership are dealing with opposition and managing internal frustration and disappointment. In both cases the strength of emotion that accompanies the narrative makes it hard to chart a steady course. The people are in need, insecure and in debt. They are in despair and impotent.. This threat is from within.. The division is a diversion from the work of God...

Opposition can feel like an indication that we are doing something wrong, but it can often indicative that we are moving in the right direction.  One of the things to consider facing opposition is what is the truth of this accusation. Problem is that we resonate with the elements of truth in the accusation rather than considering the truth in the wider context and situation. The people are frail,...

Everything is broken down, the state of disrepair is exhaustive, but it is addressed by a comprehensive endeavour where each person and group plays their part.  Each of us has a part to play. The different individuals and groups have a common vision and a shared purpose. Their diversity enriches the task force as they bring different backgrounds, strengths and perspectives. In IFES we work in many...

Nehemiah Episode 4 It is very informative to watch how Nehemiah goes about things in this new season. He catches his breath. He does not do anything for three days. Rest and reset are important. The whole idea of recreation is being recreated in the image of God. God has ordained rhythms of rest and work, night and day, sleep and activity. He explores the ground. He needs to see for himself what t...

Nehemiah: Episode 3 Timing is everything. One of my recurrent prayers is that I would be in the right place at the right time with the right heart, with the right words for the right people. Nehemiah decides that this day in the month of Nisan will be when he takes the risk of talking to the king. He is a servant and although he has access to the king his position is precarious and he is fearful o...

Nehemiah: Episode 2 How does Nehemiah cope in the in between time of a growing sense of what the future may hold and continuing to carry out his responsibilities in the present. How do we cope in our own in between times,  facing the opportunities of tomorrow and the challenges of today?  I often find conflict in processing experiences and reflecting on how I feel about circumstances.  There is al...

Nehemiah has a huge amount to teach us about leadership but not necessarily the things that we might expect. The first thing to note is the context that the story takes place in, understanding the times and discerning what God is doing in our moment is crucial if we are to follow God’s leading and allow that to shape our plans, rather than asking him to bless our initiatives. We do not have all th...

“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same and nothing that you did, mattered?”   “That about sums it up for me." Covid 19 has seen many of us feeling trapped in our own version of Groundhog Day. The calendar does tick over for us but the rhythm of our lives has been disrupted. The weeks lose their distinctiveness and one day bleeds into another. Ther...

Poetry can give us an epiphany. A different perspective or sudden appreciation of understanding something in a new or clear way. Historical narrative can also give insight, sometimes through recorded observation, sometimes through myth and legend of how unexpected events or experiences brought an epiphany. Archimedes in his bath, Issac Newton heading the apple, Mendeleev’s periodic dream, Einstein...

Projecting strength and preserving image can too easily become a fashion in leadership as well as design.  If we be obsess over our own perfection we will project unrealistic expectations on others and have no way to process failure or deal with trauma. This vulnerability and honesty is one of the things I appreciate about the Psalms.  The Psalms have been helpful in affirming the reality of help...

Most of us get to a place where we can begin to coast, we have put in the hard yards to get up the hill and now we can free wheel the final stretch. We can hold onto what we’ve got and think it doesn’t matter if we make it or not, especially if we feel we are well over half way there. I am yet more thankful how the number 99 reminds me that there is further to go and more to do. 

Ministry is not a career. It is not better to be the pastor a large church in a city or a small rural parish, it is not more significant to be the President of an organisation or the junior administrator. The key thing is to serve and to use whatever platform you have to advance others and encourage their growth.

The relationship between the little guy and the son of encouragement is a fascinating example of leadership development and helpfully identifies some key issues around encouragement. I am struck by five of these lessons from The Barnabas Files. I will share three of these today and save two for tomorrow.

The soundtrack of my life has a playlist pressed through memories and reflects my loyalties, passions and choices. My songbook is full of my greatest hits, the archeology of my tastes reveals many clues to my identity.  What is different about this new song is that is sung to the Lord and it is for everybody. It is to be sung in the present but it’s melody is timeless. It is not for special days o...

Paul and Silas endured all this. They could have asserted their rights as Roman Citizenship when they were being accused of being Jewish agitators subverting Roman law and order. But instead they gave up their rights and freedoms and endured suffering.  What happened to them was unfair but their response is shaped by their citizenship of heaven rather than that of Rome. Instead of being angry at t...

 What do you do in leadership when things do not pan out as you expected they might or you hoped they would? It is easier if there is someone to blame but harder when people are looking to you and wondering what is going on. We can have an easy out if “circumstances beyond our control” provide a ready excuse.  New beginnings are frequently fraught and change is always challenging but at least some...

I do not remember as a child asking on car journeys if we were nearly there yet. But pretty much every hill I have ever climbed I get excited that the next ridge is going to be the top or at the very least will allow a peek of the peak and I become piqued when it is not.  Discouragement only turns to defeat when we give up on the climb. A pause does not indicate doubt or despair but may in fact be...

The love and faithfulness of the Lord are to be proclaimed and celebrated from when we wake at dawn to when we sleep at night. Our worship responds to the Lord’s greatness, impressive work and superior knowledge. The thing I find helpful about this is that it expresses truths about God. The joy is not conjured from within but is rooted in the person and work of the Lord. My feelings change day by...

Today marks Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is long overdue. The date was picked to coincide with Orange Shirt Day an indigenous grass roots initiative honouring the lost children and the survivors of Canada’s Residential Schools system. Recent discoveries of unmarked children’s graves in the grounds of a number of former residential schools has brought this shameful h...

“Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength.”  Like soldiers we often cannot see how the battle is progressing, our immediate experience in the conflict can be encouraging or depressing, frightening or exhilarating. The call is to keep going, to join in suffering and endure.  We do not have the luxury of questioning why the advance is not goi...

We do not spend time and give to people because of their potential. We do not engage in student ministry primarily because we are working with the leaders of tomorrow but because we care about the youth of today.  In the economy of God many of these young men and women will have a growing influence but we can never predict what the future holds. Our primary motivation is not strategic significance...

I do not expect to see either my children or my parents all the time but I do not enjoy not seeing being able to see them at all. The problem with having family scattered around the globe is that it tends to be a famine or a feast. Paul writing to the Philippians tells them that he has learned the secret of being content in every situation. He is commenting on his circumstances but doing so in the...

Little Canada was founded by Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer an immigrant who had a vision to build a model world inspired by a visit to Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg. He reached out to model railway clubs to try to find people with the skills to develop the idea. He met Dave MacLean a civil engineer who had a life long passion for model railways.  I am always interested in the collaboration that can e...

One of the things which I have remarked on during this long and difficult pandemic is that we are all in the same storm but we are not all in the same boat. The impact of covid 19 has varied enormously through geographic, ethnicity, personal circumstance and life stage. We are particularly concerned about the disproportionate impact of the past two years on young people, especially those in their...

 From our earliest experience of teams being picked in the playground at school we learn that being big, fast, strong, skilful, funny or popular are the qualities that get you chosen.  God’s selection process does not follow the same pattern. Today I am thankful for the grace of God. I am grateful that God’s choice is not based on my qualifications but is rooted in his great love. I am thankful th...