The hours are ticking down to a new year and a new decade! Whether 2019 was a good year or bad year, let it go. Mourn or celebrate then bid 2019 adieu. A new year and decade are before you. Here are a few thoughts to launch strong into 2020 and beyond. * Be Creative.…
While in junior college, I was injured in a ball game. My best friend at the time, Terry, an African-American, was driving my car one evening while I rode as a passenger. We got pulled over for no reason. None. I witnessed first-hand the racial profiling and mistreatment of my friend. The killing of Atatiana…
The auto-correct on my phone once tried to change the word “minister” to “monster.” Funny, yet sobering. It gave me pause. It gives me pause now. Ministry is tough. Pastoring is, at times, a monster itself. Peter Drucker, the late leadership guru and author of The Effective Executive, once shared what he believed to be…
I’ve had it all wrong. Many well-meaning motivational speakers, best-selling authors, teachers, and preachers have had it wrong. Let me explain. I live with the threat of clinical depression crushing me at any moment. I pray, meditate on Scripture, experience community, take medication, see a therapist, eat clean, exercise, and do my best to get…
Sexual abuse in the local church… It’s sickening that such words are in the same sentence. Sadly, this isn’t breaking news anymore. In fact, we recently learned of another scandal with the Catholic Church, the sexual abuse of nuns. This on top of the years of reports of sexual abuse by priests and the cover-up…
Plato, at his best: “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.” And Solomon, at his: “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion” (Proverbs 18:2). Regarding social media, I’ve fallen into the fool camp more often than I’d like to admit.…
At a leadership conference earlier this year, a presenter made a remark from the platform that was quite crude, to say the least. I won’t repeat the remarks, but it had to do with giving away his male body parts if it would grow his church. And there were women in the room. It takes…
A museum in Los Angeles, California, recently opened to celebrate failure. The displays range from the featured image above to Pabst Blue Ribbon Mac & Cheese and Colgate Beef Lasagna. It’s literally called (wait for it)… The Museum of Failure. This museum strikes a nerve. We live in a culture that mostly celebrates success, especially…
Recently, a few NBA superstars went public about their battles with mental health—namely, Toronto Raptor’s Demar DeRozan, Cleveland Cavalier’s Kevin Love, and Washington Wizard’s Kelly Oubre Jr. Good for them. And good for us. Mental illness continues to carry a stigma. A broken bone is proof of injury, but with mental illness, an x-ray proves…
My mom told me years ago, “Jarrod, love people. I believe we were placed on this earth to love and serve people.” I think of her words often. And I think God gave me that kind of heart. Sometimes I want to give that heart back. To love is to risk and get hurt. But…
I want to share with you a 40-minute podcast interview I agreed to do with Word of Life last week. If you want to listen to it on the go, you can go here (Episode 65) In this interview, I tossed my proverbial fig leaf to the side and got cringe-worthy transparent and honest. At…
Do you get anxious, nervous, or fearful at the thought of speaking in front of a group of people? I once did too. Still do at times! I’m sure that no matter how anxious you are about an opportunity, you don’t want to just “get through it” or “get it over with.” You want to…
Am I getting it right? I have a 13-year-old, 12-year-old, 11-year-old, and a 7-year-old. Two boys and two girls. And these kinds of questions abound! Am I doing enough? Am I scarring my kids for life? I’m convinced that what I refuse to do as a dad is more important than what I do. My…
“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” – W. Clement Stone Years ago, I finished up some business in Oklahoma and was headed to the airport. Christie was nine months…
Oh, to be twenty-one again. No thank you! When I was 21-years-old, I’m not sure I listened to anyone. But maybe I would’ve listened to the older me. Who knows? Either way, I would’ve needed a good firm talking to for the message to get across. So what might that little talk sound like? What…