Win your way to the 2013 Faith ON Campus Summer Institute!
That’s right, I’m giving away 5 tickets to this inaugural event, and you could win one of them.
Here’s the deal — I need your help spreading the word about this upcoming event — so I’m going to give you the opportunity to tweet, post, and share your way into the drawing that will be held on the last day of every month.
The rules are simple:
I recently ran across this quote while re-reading Parker Palmer’s, Let Your Life Speak:
We will become better teachers not by trying to fill the potholes in our souls but by knowing them so well that we can avoid falling into them. (Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak, p. 52)
As I read and re-read those words, something resonated deep within me, and I was able to see how these wise words apply for beyond the scope of teaching — to touch most of life really.
Given the work that we do with students, my first thought was to replace the word teachers in the aforementioned quote, with the word leaders (or pastors or equippers:
It’s a new year, which means that a new season of ministry with students is upon us.
And as we’ve launched into 2013, I’ve generated a new reading list, and decided to start the year by re-reading a couple of classics.
One of my first re-reads of the year is Richard Foster’s, Celebration of Discipline.
I couldn’t venture a guess as to the number of times that I’ve worked through this book. The first time I read it I was in grad. school — and it changed my life! Since then I’ve re-read it several times on my own, and led numerous groups through it as a way of learning to work on the interior life.
Merry Christmas — one and all!
As we move further in to the Christmas season, and nearer the end of 2012, it’s time to for some of my annual countdowns.
It seems fitting to start with one of the things I am most thankful for — because it’s what makes being a part of Faith ON Campus so enjoyable for me — and that’s YOU!
Some of you have gone so far as to offer guest posts at different seasons, that have helped to provide a unique perspective and/or insight that I myself could not offer — and the collective Faith ON Campus community has benefited from it — GREATLY!
So for my first countdown of 2012, I bring to you the Top 12 Guest Posts of the year!
So I’ve got one last post (for now anyway) on the interesting leadership experiment taking place within the San Francisco 49ers organization.
Earlier this week I posted on what young leaders could learn from Colin Kaepernick — the 24-year old quarterback that has been thrust to the helm of a Super Bowl contender.
I also posted on what established leaders might learn from Alex Smith — the long-time starting QB for the 49ers — who had helped to lead the Niners to a 6-2-1 record this season, before getting injured a few weeks ago, and subsequently been replaced by his back-up.
Today I’d like to focus on the man behind this grand leadership experiment — 49ers head coach, Jim Harbaugh.
I think what I’m most taken with is his willingness to take (what appears to be) such a BIG risk.
How do you handle adversity?
How do you handle unexpected adversity? I mean the kind of adversity that totally knocks you upside the head — because you just never saw it coming?
In the face of that kind of adversity — how do you lead?
These are a few of the questions I’m asking myself as I watch the quarterback situation unfolding in San Francisco.
Have you heard about the “Kaepernick Factor?”
I’m going to guess “No” — in part, because I may have just made it up.
Colin Kaepernick is the new starting quarterback of the surging San Francisco 49ers.
As a 24-year old who has been thrust to the forefront of a Super Bowl contender, he has won his first two NFL starts — leading his team to big wins over the Saints and Bears in back-to-back weeks.
Kaepernick got his big break when Alex Smith, the overall #1 pick from the 2005 draft, got injured during the 49ers win over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 11th.
Although Smith has been cleared to play, Kaepernick continues to look like the Niners new leading man.
And before this starts to sound too much like a guest post for ESPN, let me tell you what I think any of this matters to you — and the young, aspiring leaders you serve…
It’s election day in America — and it’s both a right and privilege that we have to participate in this democratic process.
And there are some important decisions to be made that will undoubtedly shape the future direction of our country — and local government.
But I believe there is an even more important impact that today’s election can have on each one of us.
That we vote (not how we vote), affirms what we believe about our voice.
That it matters.
Or that it doesn’t.
“No.”
How often to you use this word? Do you feel the freedom to use it — to tell people no, to turn down a request?
My guess is the answer to that question is “no.” Or at least, not very often.
We feel called by God — to serve others. To be available. To make a difference.
“No,” just feels so unhelpful — even unChristian.
But is it?
Have you ever been to a dueling piano bar?
They’re truly astounding to watch. Their level of skill is uncanny, and they can play a seemingly endless number of requests. To this day, I’ve never seen a dueling piano player stumped by an audience request.
The freedom these performers have on their instruments is enviable. How fun it must be to sit down with such command of the piano! To have the freedom to play whatever they want.
I took piano lessons for several years as a kid, and I never got even close to this level of talent. It’s easy to watch these guys and imagine they must just be better than I am. More musical, more gifted, whatever.