Monthly Archives: April 2016

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Desires—No Middle Ground

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4449585823_c8893f33e8_zI recall the years of struggling with sexual addiction and calling out to God to take away the sexual desires, and wondering why He didn’t. After all, I thought, this was my struggle and God is supposed to help me to overcome my struggles! I did not realize that I was asking God to make me less of a human than he created me to be.

I was asking God to remove or help me overcome something that is natural. To desire is to be human; it is how we were created.

As Henri Nouwen wrote: “Desire is often talked about as something we ought to overcome. Still, being is desiring: our bodies, our minds, our hearts, and our souls are full of desires. Some are unruly, turbulent, and very distracting; some make us think deep thoughts and see great visions; some teach us how to love; and some keep us searching for God.”

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Recycling Pain

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Recycle Pain 3In the city where I live, as in many cities in the United States, recycling is a routine way of handling the tons of trash produced daily.

The leader of our Celebrate Recovery often says, “God is in the recycling business; He recycles our pain.”

That statement is not new or original with this leader. It has been used in lessons for Celebrate Recovery and other recovery programs for years.

I can see parallels between the process I go through in order for the city to recycle my garbage and how God recycles our pain.

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Why Followers Sometimes Find it Difficult to Speak Honestly to Their Leaders

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Two biz peopleHave you ever had the experience as a leader where there was a misunderstanding between you and one of your followers, but you only learn of it from someone else? There you are, thinking everything is going great with those you lead and unaware that there is some talk going around about that is not necessarily true.

The reaction of most leaders would be, “Why didn’t that person come to me first?” And while that is the right thing to do, it is often not the reality for many leaders who only hear about a situation long after the fact.

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A Winning Communication Style, Part 2

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CouncilGood communication is essential for effective leadership. Whatever talents a leader may bring into the organization, if she is not a good communicator she will struggle to get the loyalty of followers and achieve goals for the organization.

Last week we looked at three communication styles that are not winning styles. This week I want to offer you what many in the communications business will tell you is the winning communication style not only for leaders but for whoever uses it.

The winning communication style is assertive communication.