Recently I finished a relatively old urban ministry book - Ray Bakke’s “a theology as big as the city“. This book rocks, and is filled with insights on God’s love for the city and our roles in it.One practical and disputable insight I’ve been mulling over comes from this quote of his “The local [...]

Posted in Cause, Church planting, Leadership, Toronto, mission 4 Comments »

With his building engulfed in flames a man in Germany threw his nine-month old nephew out of his apartment window four-stories down to a police officer. The parents screamed for him not to do it. The toddler is doing fine, but five other children were killed in the blaze. (Full article and [...]

Posted in Leadership 3 Comments »

Go Obama…

If you liked that post, check out…coffee, culture, and changing the world… by Lon on July 29th, 2008Church Leadership V by Lon on July 11th, 2007Church leadership by Lon on June 28th, 2007A theology of play… by Lon on December 5th, 2007

Posted in Leadership, video No Comments »

A couple other seminary students were sharing with me yesterday about how lonely things can be as they’ve began working in leadership in different churches.
I wrote a while back about how ‘leaders need community‘.  I want to take this further as not only an acknowledgment, but as a request, on behalf of leaders.
Certainly there are [...]

Posted in Community, Leadership, seminary 9 Comments »

Photo by Roger Cullman www.rogercullman.com
Preaching last week, I slipped out something I probably needed to hear more for myself. I told people that they don’t need a rock-star pastor or a superstar leader. They need Jesus in their lives.
With the very best of what church’s and the world has to offer available on [...]

Posted in Church planting, Leadership, seminary 8 Comments »

There’s this fantastic scene in the movie Remember the Titans that I’ve been reflecting on.
Denzel Washington’s character Coach Boone has been really tough on his players and his assistant coach tells him to go easy on them.  Coach Boone replies by saying, You’re crippling them.  You’re crippling them for life.
I wonder how often we do [...]

Posted in Character, Leadership 4 Comments »

(I took this at the Museum of Play - Quote is by GK Chesterton who wrote “Orthodoxy” almost a hundred years ago)
Do you ever hear from seasoned leaders sharing about how they worked their butt off and grinded it out during their earlier years? How they invested, and labored, and pushed boundaries, and poured [...]

Posted in Leadership, Pictures, mission, stellar 3 Comments »

Leadership Network is in the middle of relaunching it’s leadership books blog. It will be the place for practical insights from books that leaders themselves are reading.
I got invited to be one of the dozen or so contributors in this collaborative blog, though looking through the list I’m definitely the newbie of the [...]

Posted in Books, Leadership 1 Comment »

My question of the day:
Is the role of a pastor today conducive to following Jesus?
If you liked that post, check out…Intimate Spirituality and the Creative Journey by Lon on March 30th, 2007StrengthsFinder Assessment… by Lon on July 28th, 2005The Master Artist… by Lon on April 5th, 2007Lovely guts… by Lon on March 11th, 2008

Posted in Character, Christ, Leadership 3 Comments »

The WCA is launching a new 3-day event in Canada called the Nova Experience.
The NOVA Experience - a brand new day!
April 10-12, 2008 - Doubletree International Plaza Hotel, Toronto, ON
A new dawn is here for the local church in Canada, bringing the promise of a brighter morning, full of hope, full of mercy, and full of [...]

Posted in Leadership, Toronto, resources 4 Comments »