Well done, good and faithful servant!

I met Jon Acuff at the Christian Web Conference earlier this year. I got to talk to him a bit, primarily about the tremendous responsibility that comes with being funny (I think that’s what we talked about, it’s all a blur now). I saw him again at the Cultivate conference in Chicago and got to spend a little more time with him. Jon Acuff is a good guy.

The one of the main things I like about Jon (other than his ability to pull off the “down-filled vest” look) is that he gets that the point of all of this is not just to have a blog, not just to be funny. The point is to use what God has given us to love and serve others all over the world and in doing so, proclaim Christ as King to the nations. We are to use our...

Don’t Bonk.

In 1999, energy bar producer PowerBar ran an advertising campaign with the tagline “DON’T BONK.” To “bonk” is to experience a sudden loss of energy or exhaustion, brought on by failure to eat and drink enough, during a race. The ads featured athletes (runners, bikers, etc.) who would come close to winning a race only to have victory suddenly (and humorously) snatched from them because they lacked the energy to push all the way through. The claim was that a PowerBar would provide the needed substance to help you push through to the end, allowing you to claim victory.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this in the context of strategy, well honestly I’ve been thinking about it in the context of a lot of things: life, relationships, entrepreneurship, parenting, ministry… because DON’T BONK is great advice for anyone who...

Tony Steward’s Thoughts on Kingdom

Tony Steward posted some of his thoughts on the difference between an empire (large and vertical structure) versus a Kingdom (collaborative and horizontal structure).

Now is a time in the church when we need to ask ourselves if we are willing to sacrifice our empire to help strengthen the kingdom, what we call the global church – the body of Jesus.

It’s important to note that he is not devaluing the process of empire-building. I think Mr. Steward would agree that collaborative effort toward a common vision, group goals, authority structures, rules and procedures are not bad. Instead, he is making a key distinction which is has to do with our orientation.