Browse Blog Post
2/24/2010
157. Training Inwardly
I’ve never considered myself much of an athlete, but I try to keep fit. I’ve been a long-time runner, walker, and marathoner, and still log more than 1000 miles each year. Two years ago I turned 50, and during a thorough physical examination the doctor suggested that while I have “
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1/12/2010
153. Renewing Prayer
With the start of the New Year, I reestablished various personal, spiritual, family, and professional priorities and recorded them in my journal. Some are tangible measurable goals (survive paying college costs for my sons!), some refer to daily patterns (write and exercise about an hour a day whene
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12/2/2009
149. Sabbath Business
I served as pastor of a congregation that included a significant number of civic leaders. In fact, the membership included several former mayors, a city councilman, school board members from three different districts, and various highly visible city workers. These people were frequently in the news,
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10/19/2009
144. Work Without Boundaries
I noticed a beautifully designed sign at the entrance to a store in the mall that said, “Work Without Boundaries!” The shop sold electronics—smart phones, personal planners, pagers, wireless devices, and an array of gadgets, communications tools, and new inventions that help custom
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10/6/2009
142. Recharge
I’ve learned to identify the power-hungry among us. I don’t mean the ambitious political self-seekers or self-serving control freaks. I’m talking about those people who meander through coffee shops, restaurants, hotel lobbies, and airport waiting areas looking under tables and behi
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4/21/2009
125. Blogs Become a Book: The Balancing Act
Eighteen months ago, I wrote my first entry for the Five Practices Blog. I’m now writing my 125th contribution. Hundreds of people receive copies of the entries by subscribing to an email blast that goes out after each new blog entry is posted. Other people find the www.FivePractices.org websi
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1/28/2009
111. Five Temptations of Pastoral Leadership
A well-crafted book title captures the imagination, stimulates curiosity, and invites us to fill the gap between what we think it means and what the author really has to say. Recently I saw the title, "Five Temptations of CEO’s" at the bookstore. I didn’t pick up the
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1/22/2009
109. Paradox
I love writing. Nothing exhilarates the mind like the unexpected striking of a new idea. New ideas bring a powerful emotional/intellectual adrenalin rush, and I love to feel the eagerness to get a thought down on paper before it slips away, the quick abbreviated words on note cards, the
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1/14/2009
107. Balancing Act
I’m a rather eccentric journal keeper (as was Mr. Wesley, by the way!). I jot down daily notes into a cheap OfficeMax notebook, recording observations, experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Each New Year I choose a few things in particular to count and track, and I keep up with these in lists a
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