It may seem strange that the final discipline is death.  Have we journeyed all this way as a steward leader only now to be asked to die?  In a word, yes.  The life of the steward leader does not end with death, it begins with death.  Indeed, until you have died, you cannot lead or live as Christ intends. The disciplines of the steward leader are dependent upon a heart that is fully submitted .

As leaders we are called upon to lead our people by modeling the life of a faithful steward.  Here is a quick check list to see how you are doing. Time.  How are you modeling balance and wholeness in your use of time?  More importantly, whose time is it, really?  Can you say of every minute of every hour of every day, ‘it is not mine, Lord. It is yours.’?  Would an audit of .

Everything in this world emerged from the simple combination of the human being created in God’s image, and the Garden, which was created for humanity, and humanity for it. Those ingredients are the foundation for all that exists in God’s creation: a man, a woman and a garden. All of our advanced technology, our science, our music and literature, our civilization and global economy—everything grew out of the formula of man, woman and the .

When I am in a hurry I see the people God places in my path as obstacles to be overcome. I get focused on my agenda, my needs and my precious time and the people I encounter mostly get in my way.  They don’t drive fast enough, move me through check out lines quickly enough or return emails promptly enough.  In this mindset, people are mostly frustrations.  That is because I see them in .

‘Who – as a matter of deep conviction and humility – will determine your worth, the value of your life on earth?’ One of my bookmarks carries a thought that has stayed with me throughout my years in leadership: “It doesn’t matter if the world knows, or sees or understands, the only applause we are meant to seek is that of nail-scarred hands.” Leaders are exposed to opportunities to generate applause. As public figures .

Is your self-image in balance?  As leaders we face persistent temptations and pressures designed to knock us out of balance.  Here is an uncomfortable and uncompromising question for you; what drives your self-image?  That is, what are the sources that you listen to each day that will ultimately determine the way you see yourself, value yourself and judge yourself?  Be brutally honest with yourself and make a list of those driving forces, those influential .

Two years ago I was confronted with the realization that I had been reading John 15 from a fundamentally flawed perspective.  Take a moment and read the first nine verses, and count the number of times the words ‘abide/remain’ and ‘fruit’ are used.  In most versions each are mentioned at least seven times in these nine short verses.  Clearly they are the focus of this text. From my perspective there was an inherent contradiction .

I was sitting on the beach during a family vacation in Belize, taking in the beauty of the Caribbean as it splashed its way onto the sandy shore. Children were playing along the shoreline, running to stay ahead of the waves as if chased by a ferocious beast. Some of it was play, but some was a real fear of the power of the incoming waves. Older kids had conquered that fear and were .