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I spend my life trying to encourage the good wherever I can find it. I think about how faith relates to culture and how the Bible applies to every area of life. I am interested in innovation, leadership, creativity and sport. Ideas and stories are the currency of life and open up new horizons. I would like you to know the love of God and the joy, peace and hope that are found in Jesus.
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In my experience the hardest things in leadership are dealing with opposition and managing internal frustration and disappointment. In both cases the strength of emotion that accompanies the narrative makes it hard to chart a steady course. The people are in need, insecure and in debt. They are in despair and impotent.. This threat is from within..…
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Leadership facing attack and under pressure
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Opposition can feel like an indication that we are doing something wrong, but it can often indicative that we are moving in the right direction. One of the things to consider facing opposition is what is the truth of this accusation. Problem is that we resonate with the elements of truth in the accusation rather than considering the truth in the wi…
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Everything is broken down, the state of disrepair is exhaustive, but it is addressed by a comprehensive endeavour where each person and group plays their part. Each of us has a part to play. The different individuals and groups have a common vision and a shared purpose. Their diversity enriches the task force as they bring different backgrounds, st…
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Nehemiah Episode 4 It is very informative to watch how Nehemiah goes about things in this new season. He catches his breath. He does not do anything for three days. Rest and reset are important. The whole idea of recreation is being recreated in the image of God. God has ordained rhythms of rest and work, night and day, sleep and activity. He explo…
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The right place at the right time.
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Nehemiah: Episode 3 Timing is everything. One of my recurrent prayers is that I would be in the right place at the right time with the right heart, with the right words for the right people. Nehemiah decides that this day in the month of Nisan will be when he takes the risk of talking to the king. He is a servant and although he has access to the k…
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Nehemiah: Episode 2 How does Nehemiah cope in the in between time of a growing sense of what the future may hold and continuing to carry out his responsibilities in the present. How do we cope in our own in between times, facing the opportunities of tomorrow and the challenges of today? I often find conflict in processing experiences and reflecting…
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Nehemiah has a huge amount to teach us about leadership but not necessarily the things that we might expect. The first thing to note is the context that the story takes place in, understanding the times and discerning what God is doing in our moment is crucial if we are to follow God’s leading and allow that to shape our plans, rather than asking h…
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“What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same and nothing that you did, mattered?” “That about sums it up for me." Covid 19 has seen many of us feeling trapped in our own version of Groundhog Day. The calendar does tick over for us but the rhythm of our lives has been disrupted. The weeks lose their distinctiv…
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Poetry can give us an epiphany. A different perspective or sudden appreciation of understanding something in a new or clear way. Historical narrative can also give insight, sometimes through recorded observation, sometimes through myth and legend of how unexpected events or experiences brought an epiphany. Archimedes in his bath, Issac Newton headi…
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Projecting strength and preserving image can too easily become a fashion in leadership as well as design. If we be obsess over our own perfection we will project unrealistic expectations on others and have no way to process failure or deal with trauma. This vulnerability and honesty is one of the things I appreciate about the Psalms. The Psalms hav…
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Most of us get to a place where we can begin to coast, we have put in the hard yards to get up the hill and now we can free wheel the final stretch. We can hold onto what we’ve got and think it doesn’t matter if we make it or not, especially if we feel we are well over half way there. I am yet more thankful how the number 99 reminds me that there i…
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Ministry is not a career. It is not better to be the pastor a large church in a city or a small rural parish, it is not more significant to be the President of an organisation or the junior administrator. The key thing is to serve and to use whatever platform you have to advance others and encourage their growth.…
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The relationship between the little guy and the son of encouragement is a fascinating example of leadership development and helpfully identifies some key issues around encouragement. I am struck by five of these lessons from The Barnabas Files. I will share three of these today and save two for tomorrow.…
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The soundtrack of my life has a playlist pressed through memories and reflects my loyalties, passions and choices. My songbook is full of my greatest hits, the archeology of my tastes reveals many clues to my identity. What is different about this new song is that is sung to the Lord and it is for everybody. It is to be sung in the present but it’s…
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Paul and Silas endured all this. They could have asserted their rights as Roman Citizenship when they were being accused of being Jewish agitators subverting Roman law and order. But instead they gave up their rights and freedoms and endured suffering. What happened to them was unfair but their response is shaped by their citizenship of heaven rath…
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What do you do in leadership when things do not pan out as you expected they might or you hoped they would? It is easier if there is someone to blame but harder when people are looking to you and wondering what is going on. We can have an easy out if “circumstances beyond our control” provide a ready excuse. New beginnings are frequently fraught an…
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I do not remember as a child asking on car journeys if we were nearly there yet. But pretty much every hill I have ever climbed I get excited that the next ridge is going to be the top or at the very least will allow a peek of the peak and I become piqued when it is not. Discouragement only turns to defeat when we give up on the climb. A pause does…
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The love and faithfulness of the Lord are to be proclaimed and celebrated from when we wake at dawn to when we sleep at night. Our worship responds to the Lord’s greatness, impressive work and superior knowledge. The thing I find helpful about this is that it expresses truths about God. The joy is not conjured from within but is rooted in the perso…
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Today marks Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is long overdue. The date was picked to coincide with Orange Shirt Day an indigenous grass roots initiative honouring the lost children and the survivors of Canada’s Residential Schools system. Recent discoveries of unmarked children’s graves in the grounds of a number of form…
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“Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength.” Like soldiers we often cannot see how the battle is progressing, our immediate experience in the conflict can be encouraging or depressing, frightening or exhilarating. The call is to keep going, to join in suffering and endure. We do not have the luxury of …
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We do not spend time and give to people because of their potential. We do not engage in student ministry primarily because we are working with the leaders of tomorrow but because we care about the youth of today. In the economy of God many of these young men and women will have a growing influence but we can never predict what the future holds. Our…
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I do not expect to see either my children or my parents all the time but I do not enjoy not seeing being able to see them at all. The problem with having family scattered around the globe is that it tends to be a famine or a feast. Paul writing to the Philippians tells them that he has learned the secret of being content in every situation. He is c…
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Little Canada was founded by Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer an immigrant who had a vision to build a model world inspired by a visit to Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg. He reached out to model railway clubs to try to find people with the skills to develop the idea. He met Dave MacLean a civil engineer who had a life long passion for model railways. I am …
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One of the things which I have remarked on during this long and difficult pandemic is that we are all in the same storm but we are not all in the same boat. The impact of covid 19 has varied enormously through geographic, ethnicity, personal circumstance and life stage. We are particularly concerned about the disproportionate impact of the past two…
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From our earliest experience of teams being picked in the playground at school we learn that being big, fast, strong, skilful, funny or popular are the qualities that get you chosen. God’s selection process does not follow the same pattern. Today I am thankful for the grace of God. I am grateful that God’s choice is not based on my qualifications b…
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I have very mixed feelings as we come to the start of another year. 2021 has not been an easy year for many of us. There have been highlights and celebrations of course and we give thanks for these. But for me the year has been overshadowed by disruption, disappointment, deception, division and despair. I pray that as we enter 2022 we will know the…
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The Niagara Falls are breathtaking but white water can also be scary I have spent a little bit of time on the Amazon. It is a lot wider than the Niagara River and 20% of the fresh water in the world flows through it. As the Amazon meanders it continually adjusts it’s course so that charts are out of date almost as soon as they are published. On fla…
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I have lost the ability to feel instinctively at home anywhere. The flip side of my own sense of misplacement is that I do feel a little at home everywhere. This is also the nature of heavenly citizenship, we have authority given to us to go everywhere from the one who has had all authority given to Him. We become all things to all people to live o…
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A short letter to a friend
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Philemon is a short, personal letter that Paul and Timothy wrote to a friend and fellow worker. It is interesting that Paul does not mention his being an apostle in this epistle but rather greets Philemon as their dear friend. I strongly believe that friendship is the basic building block of effective and fruitful teamwork and meaningful community.…
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Yesterday my friend Arlen was helpfully commenting that having physical or geographical limitations does not mean that we are not able to have a significant impact. The key thing is not what constraints are placed on us but in how we respond to them. There is always the potential to find opportunity and to encourage the good no matter how daunting …
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Around the World in 80 Days
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Although I have not gone far I definitely feel that I have been on a journey. The debate that propels Phileas Fogg on his epic voyage, around the world in 80 days, takes place in the Reform Club. Some of those considering the possibility of the challenge wish that they could make the journey themselves rather than wagering on it. Jules Verne descri…
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These thoughts were a result of going to live sport for the first time in over a year. The title is intentionally ambiguous because sport is also life to be lived. Many of the seven things I mention also have significant implications for a faith community. It is good to play, to belong and to hope. Perseverance, inspiration, humility and discipline…
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Today I had planned to be in Rocky Mountain House in the foothills of the mountains. Pioneer Alberta is celebrating 70 years of camping at The Ranch. My current limitations meant that I had to cancel the trip but I am happy that many friends will be there to give thanks. They say it takes a village to raise a child and it definitely takes a communi…
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It is not that this music drowns the wails of Rachel. Rather that songs of jubilant praise and desolate heartache both have a place in our songbook. Christmas brings into focus the extremes of life. Families gathered and separated, laden tables in warm houses and hungry homeless shivering outside, squealing children opening presents at the tree and…
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The Myth of the Perfect Life
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My friend Lynda has a series of posts that she calls “Perspective Adjustments” sharing pictures of nature in her neighbourhood that help her see life differently. When I have thoughts in my head repeating “this is not what I signed up for” I need my own perspective shift. There is nothing in my employment contract, marriage vows or Christian commit…
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A Special Christmas to you and for you. I hope this will bring you a wee smile. This is a little bit experimental or as my friend Neil would say “a wee bit mental more like” It is a remastered and slightly updated version of the very first pod cast I ever made on Christmas Day last year. Who would have dreamed back then that we would be celebrating…
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Some ideas on leadership and ministry from “Clarkson’s Farm” on Amazon Prime and “The Biggest Little Farm” on NetFlix. “They start by clearing the ground. The farmers believe a natural ecosystem will produce the highest possible level of biodiversity. One of their initial objectives is to get rid of things that never should have been planted in the…
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We have a tendency to compare ourselves to people who look like they are doing better than us. If my security is based on a positive or negative comparison with other people when my circumstances change my strength will fail and my confidence will evaporate. So today I am mindful that meeting with the Lord is the only thing that brings true perspec…
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Today I am thankful that I live at a time in history where this promised king has come. I am grateful to have seen more of that better country that the heroes of the faith in the Old Testament were looking forward to. I am thankful that I can read this psalm knowing Jesus and to be able to join today with the chorus of the psalm echoing through his…
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Last night I dreamt I went to Ecuador again. This was at the invitation of Ruth rather than Rebecca and I was not dreaming. I went by Zoom and my entrance was halted for a while not by iron gates but needing a passcode to get in, which was duly provided. I have had the joy of being in Ecuador physically in the past. There has been a long partnershi…
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It turns out I am much better at accepting other peoples shortcomings than my own. It is not easy for me to accept underachievement, limitations and circumstances I cannot control. I prefer things I can change, and timelines and plans I feel I can manage. Of course this sense of control is mostly illusory at the best of times. There are always some…
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Shards On wooden bench The glass lies ready Soon stained and fixed Hot work and heavy Leaded and cemented Finally raised in place Illuminating space On sandy beach More glass is ready Ground down by time Cool work and light Tumbled and salted Precious but hidden Waiting the artist’s hand And resurrection…
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People talk about an emotional roller coaster but some days it feels more like going up and down and round and round with not much forward momentum. Sometimes I compound my own heartache through inflating my expectations. I realise that being more of an optimist leaves me more susceptible to disappointment. Patience may well be a virtue but today I…
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Working too hard or too long?
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It is a common misconception that dedication will increase commitment and greater time will result in higher productivity. In fact if we value outcomes more than outputs we will understand that high commitment, long hours and limited focus will more likely be a route to fatigue, frustration, conflicted families, divided teams and burnout. I firmly …
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Three lessons from New Zealand
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This is part of my challenge in reading and understanding the Bible. I am a westerner looking through an urban lens at a book that mostly comes from an agrarian society. Remote places have mattered to God and been part of his plan from the beginning. There are no boonies in the sovereign purposes and love of God. Urban and rural, city and village, …
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Twenty Years On - A Relay Reunion
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The highlight of today was being part of an online reunion for those who started the Relay Program in the UK 20 years ago. The virtual reunion today was incredibly moving. It was fabulous seeing 40 plus faces on screen and listening to their stories. Just in this group we had 12 nations represented as people joined from 5 continents. We heard examp…
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Feeling that we have nothing left to give puts us in a vulnerable position. It is tempting to respond to the aftermath of intensity with escapism, addiction, indulgence, self pity or anger. I am thankful for the reminder that my perspective is skewed by many factors and that the way I see things can be warped and distorted. We need restoration, res…
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Leadership is about service not self importance, sacrifice not self actualisation and it is exercised through love not power. Each of us has a part to play, no part is more important than another. It is not better to be a President than a director, more significant to pastor a large church or a small one, more strategic to be running programs or co…
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There are times in the last three years when I have been afraid and when I have been discouraged. Much of that has been connected with facing opposition, with adapting to a new culture and a new organisation, experiencing loneliness, dealing with the frustration of deficits and making difficult decisions. Just as it looked like there might be light…
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As yesterday went on I found myself becoming increasingly less positive. It involved me in having to apologise for being a bit grumpy and difficult. We don’t get much post so it was nice when Ailsa brought a card back from the mailbox. It was from Ben Carswell with a picture of Otago on the front. He said he was was mostly writing to cheer me up or…
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