In the first installment of our series, “Words in Our Mouths,” today we tackle Mission Statements. I think it would be fair to say that I love mission statements. As a person who studied at the Drucker School, mission statements are very important to me. Peter Drucker is famous for having said, that “Mission Statements should be able to fit on a T-Shirt.” He is … Continue reading Words in Our Mouths- Mission Statements
It’s Tuesday. That means its time for this weeks links. Unlike last week, they aren’t so extensive. That is to be expected though when the United States observed the Thanksgiving holiday for much of the second half of last week and weekend. That said, there has still been a great deal of good and thought provoking things shared in the past week that I now … Continue reading This Week’s Links
It’s Tuesday. That means its time to share with you a sampling of some of the things I have been reading and thinking about in the past week. This week’s categories are: Church & Ministry Thought and Practice; Cross-Sector Collaboration; Leadership; Neighbor Love; Stewardship; Vocation; and Miscellaneous. I entrust these to you now and hope you find them helpful and thought-provoking. Church & Ministry Thought … Continue reading This Week’s Links
Have you ever thought that there are words that the church and congregations use which aren’t helpful? Perhaps they are misunderstood? Perhaps over time they have lost their meaning, or their meaning has been drastically altered? There was a helpful post in the Washington Post last week by Addie Zierman. She offered, “5 churchy phrases that are scaring off millennials.” I encourage you to please … Continue reading Words in Our Mouths- An Introduction
I never set out to be a “temporary” leader. Who really does? But perhaps that’s really a core insight about leadership. All leadership is by its nature transitory and temporary. By extension, all leadership is in some way an example and part of transition. I wonder if what makes a good leader perhaps in part is that they recognize this- the temporary and transition that … Continue reading Leading in the Midst of Transition
Tomorrow the Lutheran Church observes Reformation Sunday, the only date on the church calendar year really unique to Lutherans. October 31 is the anniversary of Martin Luther posting his ninety-five theses for debate concerning the sale of indulgences. He nailed his proposal to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany on the Eve of All Saints Day knowing that in the morning, people coming to worship … Continue reading This Year’s Reformation
If you have seen my previous post, I provided a video of a TED Talk given this past summer by Michael Porter. In this post I want to provide a deeper set of thoughts, summary, and responses that I have as I reflect on the implications of Porter’s claims, hopes, and ideas. Porter begins by acknowledging the seemingly continual reality of there being “problem after … Continue reading Reflection on “Why Business Can Be Good at Solving Social Problems”
I am an advocate for cross-sector collaboration. In this TED Talk, Michael Porter makes the case for “Why Business Can Be Good at Solving Social Problems.” I for one, agree with Porter. I don’t think good work and social and societal care should be left to one sector. Rather, I think societal issues and challenges should be considered and tackled collaboratively and by all sectors- … Continue reading “Why Business Can be Good at Solving Social Problems”
I have not mentioned much on this blog that I am a sports fan. Particularly, I am a Seattle sports fan and my first sports love has always been baseball. I fell in love with the game when I was watching the Seattle Mariners seemingly come from nowhere to make it into the playoffs in the memorable run of 1995. Well, its been a period … Continue reading Some pondering on leadership, or the lack thereof (thoughts from a baseball fan)
It is Tuesday, so by now you know what that means. It’s time for the weekly offering of links to stories and things I found interesting this past week and think you might enjoy or find helpful too. So without further adieu, here are this week’s links. The categories are as follows in alphabetical order: Church Stuff, Cross Sector Collaboration, Leadership, Neighbor Love, Social Media, … Continue reading This Week’s Links
