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Leaders make decisions
It’s time for a little leadership “blast from the past.” Here’s a great post from Scott Hodge’s old blog: “Peter Drucker has some great things to say about a leader’s decision making and getting things done. He points out that it’s not as much about charisma as we tend to think it is. (Good to…
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Caring always makes a difference
Seth Godin points to a story about a woman, her mom, and some shoes from Zappos. It’s impressive – especially from a business. Here’s the question I’m left with. Do the people I’m working with (church, business, etc.) have the authority and to ability to help people out when it matters?
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Leadership hinges on discipleship
We all have different giftings and passions. Even in the same field, one person may have a different emphasis than another. When I was in journalism, I worked with writers who focused on sports, features, and “hard news.” It’s time to see pastors in the same light. There’s not one proper style for church leadership.…
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Grete’s blogging!
I know she already was. But my lovely wife took about a tw0-month break with no posts what-so-ever. To make up for it, she’s committed to post something every day this week. And let me tell you, the blog world is already buzzing. Here’s one of the comments from her post: “The “void” in my…
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Study finds that most young non-Christians don’t like Christianity
LA Times: Christianity’s image taking a turn for the worse Christianity’s image in the United States is declining, especially among young people, according to a new study. A decade ago, an overwhelming majority of non-Christians, including people between the ages 16 and 29, were “favorably” disposed toward Christianity’s role in society. But today, just 16%…
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Throw a party!
glocalnet t-lounge: Throw More Parties!: “One of the best pieces of advice that I received early on was simply put, ‘Throw more Parties.’ Church planting really comes down to meeting people and connecting those people to one another. They may connect with you early on but if they don’t connect with one another they will…
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Control vs. Accountability
“Control is deciding what people can and can’t do. Accountability is rendering an account of what a person has or has not already done. Control is more of a power issue. Accountability is more of an integrity issue.” – William Easum, in Sacred Cow Makes Gourmet Burgers (as quoted by Eddie Gibbs in ChurchNext) (emphasis…
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Life starts now
I recently dropped a class. The reason? I was headed toward major overload. Between work at church, work as a community coordinator, five different classes, time with friends and family, and time to do things like eat and shower, it just wasn’t all going to fit. For the first time in a long time I…
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Guaranteed Taste!
Yep. That’s the promise on the bread we have in the Sampson household right now. They guarantee taste! What does that mean? That the bread will taste like something? What does that say about the previous versions of this bread? Is this the one promise they’re willing to make about my food? Makes me wonder…
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Speeding through that text? Slow down!
One of the lessons I learned from taking Greek wasn’t something I was expecting. When you’re translating, you have to read the text slowly (sometimes VERY slowly). Beyond the nuances that reading the original language brings out, it is amazing how considering every word can make a piece of text you may have heard many…
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Begin with the end in mind – just don’t start there.
Most leaders who are passionate about what they do spend most of their time thinking about the future. Where are we headed? Where is God leading us? What are our challenges? What needs to change? But while most people involved in those projects may care about them – even deeply – they just aren’t thinking…
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Sailing and blogging
“Hours of duldrum followed by moments of sheer terror.” That’s how the captain of our catamaran on a cruise excursion a few years back explained sailing to Grete and me. I think the same can go for blogs sometimes: “Pages of nothingness followed by moments of sheer inspiration.” Hopefully you don’t have to wade through…
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The FedEx mystery
Last week I found a FedEx tag outside our apartment complex with our name on it – you know, one of those “we missed you and need a signature” tags. I was immediately a little irked. Here’s why. Sometimes delivery people will come to our complex, and instead of trying to dial the apartment and…
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Another lesson from that coffee shop
I normally don’t write the “how church can get better by adopting business practices” posts. A lot of people are already doing that. Plus, I don’t believe it’s always a one-to-one comparison. There are different forces at work in church life (more community focused, outward oriented, God-driven) that don’t always neatly mesh with the consumerist-based…
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Michael Frost on what it means to be missional
It’s a 51 minute talk, but it’s absolutely worth watching …
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Jon Sampson 