This week I am excited to share something special with you. This week’s post is a guest post by my client and friend Tyler Bodlack. It answers one of the most common question coaches encounter: “Why would I need a coach?” Please enjoy. When first considering the possibility of being coached by Stephen, I thought […]
Much like the title above, this post is a reflection filled with helpful questions rather than well-formed answers. What moves you to lead? What are your deeper motivations for ministry? When the disciples were pursuing places of honor and status, and jockeying for position in the coming kingdom, Jesus responded with a teaching that was […]
It is through flawed people that God advances his kingdom. Matthew reveals the importance of this in his Gospel presentation by injecting 3 additional pieces of information in the father-to-son account of Jesus’ genealogy with which he opens his Gospel. He writes: “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of […]
What would it mean for a Christian leader to lead as a servant or slave, keeping Jesus in mind as our pattern, remembering that he came to serve and not to be served? He said: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. […]
It is worth any price to abide with Christ in his kingdom, both now and on into eternity. As leaders, there is nothing more important than helping our followers grasp this truth. Anything that leads us away from Jesus should be removed from our lives, forcefully, brutally if necessary. No matter how valuable, it is […]
As coaches and leaders, we talk about clarifying our goals and identifying what it is we really want most, but what do we pursue in ministry? Do we pursue God, to know and glorify him in the obedience that produces fruit, or do we find that we have shifted our aim to something subtly different: […]
As leaders, we desire progress. We plan for it, work for it, and want it without needless delay. The Lord leads us in discerning what we are to accomplish, and he sets the manner and timing for getting it done. In our desire to progress without delay, we too often choose our manner and timing […]
If you ever feel you finally understand God, you can be sure you have failed to appreciate the depth of his infinite nature. When trying to comprehend something, we often say we are “wrapping our head around it.” It is human nature to quantify what we seek to understand, and it is easy to lose […]
Some brief thoughts from my meditation on Psalm 23: Vs. 1-3 God loves me, for I am one of his lambs. He loves me, even knowing that I am neither particularly smart nor particularly good at taking care of myself. He loves me and desires good for me, his lamb, out of his love and […]
Living as if God is not always powerful and good to me is sin. Living as if I love that power and goodness more than God is idolatry. How do we learn to live in a way that balances these two truths? Too little emphasis on God’s power and goodness exposes us to a […]
Ephesians 4:18-19 (NIV) “18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they […]