As I learn more and more about excellence through my church research and ministry research, one question that keeps coming up is “What is the relationship between excellence and perfection?”
I believe that kingdom excellence is not contingent on achieving perfection; however, perfection does play a significant role in excellence. You can be excellence without being perfect.
What I’ve come to realize is that the kingdom perspective of...
Do you ever feel like you’re losing it? No… me neither.
My sister has fought depression and anxiety pretty much her entire adult life. It’s not my place to share the details but it’s been pretty intense at times and for many years I have played an active role in trying to help her.
I don’t want what I’m about to talk about to be misconstrued as a commentary on what causes depression. Nor am I endorsing or discounting different types of treatment; the merits of one treatment over another should be determined by the patient, their doctor, and their loved ones. Over the years, we tried some things work and others that were disastrous.
To me depression is a lot like
I wrote this in my journal on January 24, 2009. At the time I had been self-employed for about two months, expecting my second child in less than two month, and scared. Reflecting on the time that has passed between then and now, all I can say is that the year got away from us. Being self-employed, having two children under the age of two, both my wife and I having to deal with major medical issues… it all felt like a dark, dark storm that was disheartening and disorienting.
While I can say that while I never lost faith through all of it, I definitely lost momentum… and frequently lost my bearings. So that’s where we are right now, sifting through the aftermath of this past year and focusing on moving forward. It was good to re-read this, just because it reminds me that what is the most important thing I can...
Tim Keller’s latest blog post gives a personal look into some of Redeemer Presbyterian’s senior pastor’s personal struggles with sin. You can read the post here. In it Keller reveals his struggles with workaholism, particularly in the early years of his career. He recounts how well-meaning friends attempted to help him, some looking at his activities through the lens of the law, others appealed to his self-esteem. Ultimately, Keller searched out his own heart, revealing his idolatry of service, accomplishment, and self-sacrifice.
I was using people in order to forge my own self-appreciation. I was looking to my sacrificial ministry to give me the sense of “righteousness before God” that should only come from Jesus Christ. People...
Be Jesus To Me
I had the thought the other day that as we endeavor to grow, to learn about our faith and explore the mysteries of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we often become isolated from those who have not or do not study the issues of Christianity as much as we do. Everything from the complexity with which we explore issues to the language that we use separates us from others.
In light of this, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to distill the essence of a life of Christian faith and service in such a way that despite any situation I can know if I am appropriately oriented towards others the way that Christ calls me to. How to express how I am suppose to serve others?
Loose talk can cost lives.
Last week, at the end of a long day, I wrote about my experiences in lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001. Writing it was a surreal experience for me, no real goal in mind, it just started coming out me and onto the screen. I didn’t edit it. I didn’t polish it up. I did try and add something prolific at the end, some commentary that would show how profound the feelings I was expressing were.
And though what I wrote was true, I really don’t think September 11th is about me. That’s one of the reasons why I have a hard time thinking about and talking about it. Sure, I feared for my life that day in a way I never had before and never have since, but for me, one of the hard things about September 11th is how I feel distanced from it.
Part of...
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,...
“You will live with an awareness that the Father not only loves you, but likes you.” –Brennan Manning
The Furious Longing of God by Brennan Manning
The beauty of Brennan Manning’s books is the vividness and the intensity with which he presents his message. And that message is the simple yet profound truth that our God, the Supreme Being, loves us. Loves you. Loves me.
Well, duh. Right? You’re probably thinking, “I know God loves me; I don’t need to a book to tell me that!”
I disagree. I think we need to hear this message over and over and over again. And there are a number of reasons.
In life, in missions, in business it’s important to be reminded why it is that you do what you do. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work out of my house and it’s a wonderful motivator to be able to spend time during the day with my amazing family. When I was leading strategic research projects for Fortune 500 companies, the highlight of the engagement was always to see the client face to face and to provide new insight into their business challenges. As an Elder of my church it is an honor to sit and tearfully bring praise and pleading before the Lord with the men and women I worship with.
As the body of Christ we are Christ’s envoys to the world today. His rescue mission is our rescue mission. Tonight I got a first hand look at a broken, shriveled, and...
At this point, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Is Kevin really this awesome in real life?"
The answer is no. But people never believe me when I tell them. So feel free to find out for yourself:
I do Strategy Work. I help people, businesses and non-profits do what they do better. The reason why your organization exists... that core thing you do... I help you to do it better. That's what I do.
I do a lot of things. Here's what I do best:
