Dancing through life Skimming the surface Gliding where turf is smooth Life’s more painless For the brainless Why think too hard? When it’s so soothing I chuckle every time I hear those lyrics in the song Dancing Through Life from the hit Broadway show Wicked. It’s sung by a rather glib and cocky young man...Read More

I’m on a bit of a roll talking about leadership. A calling that leads to some form or title of leadership has always fascinated me, and the development of leaders has always been a concern of mine. So, you can imagine how much I’ve been thinking about that topic recently. Good, courageous, intelligent leadership is...Read More

I hear you. After I wrote last week about what I believe is the hardest leadership job in the world, some of you pushed back. Some suggested parenting, specifically mothering, is the toughest job. Others suggested teachers have it the hardest. You might be right. But I still contend that carrying any title that comes...Read More

I’m about to return to church. I retired from pastoral work on May 31st of this year, 2020, after a 42-year ministry career. The agreed upon plan was for me to distance myself from our church for 6 months to allow time for the new senior pastor and the church to acclimate without me hanging...Read More

I’ll bet you feel like you are in “The Land Between”. I do. That phrase is the idea behind Jeff Manion’s book of the same title. It is so evocative. You are neither where you were nor where you are going. It describes my current life well. After 42 years of doing the same thing…pastoring...Read More

I’m not talking about social media influencers, people who have mastered the art of Tik Tok or Instagram or any of the other platforms to get us to buy or think differently. No, I’m talking about that man or woman who, by their presence, exerts an almost mystical effect on others. They inspire movement. They...Read More

I had a conversation with some folks recently in which we were lamenting the damage that has been done to some of our relationships due to political hostility, differences of opinion in COVID response and reactions to the social unrest over systemic racism…among others. We’ve lost trust in one another. And many of us have...Read More

As I was wrapping up a Zoom call with a longtime friend, I realized how much I appreciated and admired him. That train of thought led me to consider the other people around me whom I admire and who have had an impact on my life. Which in turn led me to wonder what it...Read More

It’s all more than we can really deal with, right? How many times have you thought ,“I just can’t”?  The pandemic, the election, the unrest, the doom scrolling, and the everyday stress of life is just too much. This went to another level for me a few weeks ago. Penny and I went to our...Read More

There’s an old Quaker saying, “Let your life speak”. I first heard of it in Parker Palmer’s book of the same title. At first mysterious and enigmatic to me, over time it has become a large part of the process I coach people through as they seek to discover their calling…their why…in this world. I...Read More