Wondering how the story ends.

A friend and I were starting to read the Bible together. He has been around church a lot, but he hasn’t been around the Bible a lot. So I said, “read Mark and we’ll talk.” It’s often where I suggest people start. “The Gospel According to St Mark,” usually shortened to Mark, is the shortest […]

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Conscious choice and discipline

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.” That’s what Jim Collins says at the end of “Good to Great and the Social Sectors.” “Creativity is natural. Discipline is not. The marriage of creativity and discipline is key to leadership success.” Collins said […]

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Not so great

Last week we looked at the great work Nehemiah talked about doing. And maybe you’ve been thinking about great work. But maybe you’ve been looking at the work in front of you and thinking, “It’s well and good to talk about Nehemiah. Of course his work was great. It was God’s work.” That’s what we […]

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working overnight

(First published July 29, 2011) They drew lots. That’s how groups of priests ended up working the late shift. It’s how anyone ends up working the late shift. Hardly anyone picks it. Instead, work instead of sleep picks people. The novices. The newbies. The exhausted. The ones who draw the short matchstick, the broken one. Every […]

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8 steps for the best Monday ever

(a repost from August 22, 2011) Beats me. It’s Sunday night as I write this and it will be Monday morning as many of you read this. The idea of coming up with eight great simple steps is way beyond me right now. I’ve had a weekend full of conversation and travel and new friends […]

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