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The word sounds as painful physically as it is emotionally. I am talking about the word “fester.”
Check out this episode of The Podcast.
I truly believe that When Sheep Bite will be a healing resource for shepherd leaders who are still feeling the pain of their latest sheep bite. Please pick up a copy today!
If you would like to check out the full conversation Greg and I had on our leadership podcast called The Craig and Greg Show, you can find that episode here.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
As you may have heard, I have written a new book! In this episode Greg and I sit down and chat about When Sheep Bite, and discuss how the valuable lessons it provides are critical for leaders of any organization.
[0:21] I have a confession to make…
[1:43] This book is for both business leaders and church leaders.
[3:07] Attacks usually lead to to fight-or-flight, but When Sheep Bite offers a new response.
[5:21] It’s healthy to validate our feelings when we’ve been hurt, but then good leaders go deeper.
[8:39] Empathy is health, but making excuses is not healthy.
[10:37] Watch out for the sneaky bite of flattery.
[11:26] Leaders who have been hurt have to guard against harboring that hurt.
[13:23] Leaders need to learn how to confront misbehavior correctly.
[14:46] In order for sheep to bite, and in order for the shepherd to lead, they have to be close to each other. How do both sheep and shepherds set boundaries?
[17:46] We can disagree but we cannot disrespect!
[19:49] Bitterness can rob a leader of vitality, so we have to find effective ways to heal.
[22:46] Fight-or-flight is natural, but we need to strive for the supernatural response of faithfulness to our calling.
[23:40] In many ways WSB points to what a good coach does. Contact Maximize Leadership about how our coaching huddles can help your leadership soar—get in touch with us!
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Let’s change our leadership mentoring perspective. It’s not whether you dropped the ball or not, it’s what you learned from the time you dropped the ball. This is how we help others move forward. Check out the full Craig and Greg Show episode where we talk more about “untraditional” performance reviews.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
If it hadn’t been for J.R.R. Tolkien’s influence, C.S. Lewis may have remained an atheist. And if it hadn’t been for C.S. Lewis’ encouragement, the world may never have been able to enjoy Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. This truly was a friendship that blessed the world! A book that explores this relationship further is A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and A Great War.
“We don’t all have to be geniuses to innovate in the way we use culture. For example, what if we were to repudiate, once and for all, all gossip and all carping and complaining, and instead were to work hard day by day to redirect our tongues toward building others up (Ephesians 4:29)? We would have to innovate some new ways of engaging people in conversation, by getting to know people and taking a real interest in them, becoming better listeners, asking good questions, making sure all our words were seasoned with grace, and always speaking truth in love. Would that not be a radical and innovative improvement on much of what passes for conversation today? If every believer just worked a bit harder to innovate new forms of conversation, I’m persuaded the world would certainly notice the difference!” —T.M. Moore
J. Warner Wallace is a cold-case detective and a premier Christian apologist. Some Christians believe that we only need to use Scripture to form our trust in Scripture. In this video, Wallace explains from Scripture how even Jesus used evidence outside of Scripture to make His case that He was who Scripture said He was.
It is interesting how many modern-day scientists will accept without fact that an asteroid impacted Earth “millions of years ago” to trigger massive changes that resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs, but will flatly disregard the Flood recorded in the Bible. As a result of their false assumptions, they reach conclusions (like believing they have refuted Bergmann’s Rule) that are quickly refuted. Check out this insightful post.
If you are doing all the calculating with your money, then Jesus says you’re not rich toward God. Check out this full sermon here.
“When God brings new opportunities the path forward is often unknown; it’s a risky journey to start. After all, if you can see the path to the finish line, you do not need to trust the Lord. Why would God give a golden opportunity to those unwilling to trust Him for the unknown?” —Roger Parrott, Opportunity Leadership
(For security reasons, I cannot share a link to the following but I can verify its veracity). “Sam” is a Christian in an Arabic country who has been instrumental in starting and leading a church in his country for several years. He was arrested two months ago and held in prison for 55 days. He was interrogated the first 8 days, then left in solitary confinement for 47 days: the bright lights always on, Some Christians were able to meet with him after his release, listen to his story, share Scripture together, pray with and encourage him. Here is one of their main takeaways from their conversation with Sam.
“So, Sam, how did you make it 55 days in prison?”
Sam said, “The Holy Spirit was with me and was with my mouth. He gave me the words to say. But the devil also sat right next to me twisting Scripture.” Sam continued, “Tell those that will go to prison it is very important not only to know the Scripture but to be able to interpret it correctly as the accuser (I found out by experience) is so adept at twisting God’s Word to both tempt and discourage us.”
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
Greg and I think that a great way to take your leadership to the next level is by paying attention to people. Keeping an eye out for the small details and remembering them shows people you care, which in turn makes them much more receptive to the leadership you want to pour into their lives.
[0:15] Memorial Day is coming up
[0:54] Great leaders remember the little details about others
[3:05] We share how leaders can leverage their retention of the details of others’ lives
[6:37] Exceptional leaders give way more than they take
[8:21] How do we get out of our own way so we can get to know others better?
[10:47] Greg and I both have some personal examples of how we learned to remember the details
[14:26] Leaders can lift up those around them by just doing the little things well
[16:24] John Maxwell wrote a “people principle” that I unpack
[17:47] Greg learned a lesson from his grandparents about “taking a drive” to observe important people and places
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
My leadership podcast partner Greg Heeres and I were discussing a leader’s epitaph. Greg asked me an unusual question: What did I want to be said on my own epitaph?
Take a listen to this snippet from The Craig and Greg Show—
Shepherd leaders do know the voice of their sheep, and the sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Leaders, this is the value of regularly being around all the people on your team. Check out this full conversation Greg and I had on our leadership podcast. This idea is central to my book Shepherd Leadership.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“Alice Reynolds Flower (1890-1991), the wife of [Assembly of God] pioneer J. Roswell Flower, is a shining example of motherhood. Affectionately known as ‘Mother Flower,’ she preached, taught Sunday School, led prayer meetings, wrote articles, penned poetry, authored books, and lived a godly example in front of her six children and everyone she came in contact with. As Mother’s Day approaches, it is good to consider an article that Mother Flower wrote for the Pentecostal Evangel in May 1952.” Check out Alice Flowers’ article here.
Kenneth Blanchard discusses when it is and isn’t a good time for a leader to be a micromanager. He concludes this insightful post by saying, “The best leaders know how to continually adjust their leadership style to fit each situation, helping to develop individuals who will ultimately achieve each goal and perform well on each task with little direction or support.”
“The pre-Flood world had some truly massive dinosaurs, and the largest of them were in the group Sauropodomorpha. Within this group were titanosaurs, which include the gigantic Argentinosaurus that is estimated to have weighed over 100 tons.” Read more about titanosaurs here.
What is it about morality that points humans higher and higher to find the Source? J. Warner Wallace, in this video based on his book God’s Crime Scene, makes the case that objective, transcendent morality is good proof for God. This reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ similar argument: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such a violent reaction against it?”
Pastors, listen to this call to revival from the pen of Jonathan Edwards. Let us seek in prayer for a revival in our day! “The Scripture gives us great reason to think, that when once there comes to appear much of a spirit of prayer in the church of God for this mercy, then it will soon be accomplished…Spiritual waters and rivers are explained by the apostle John, to be the Holy Spirit…It is now a time of scarcity of these spiritual waters; there are, as it were, none. If God’s people, in this time of great drought, were but made sensitive of this calamity, and their own emptiness and necessity, and brought earnestly to thirst and cry for needed supplies, God would, doubtless, soon fulfill this blessed promise.”
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
When you are in a leadership role it is unavoidable that you will occasionally have to talk about people. Perhaps it’s gathering more information or discussing an incident with a fellow leader. However, we have to be very careful that these discussions don’t cross the line into gossip. Gossip is toxic for your organization, and left unchecked can lead to disastrous results. Check out this episode where Greg and I discuss how to make your conversations about goals instead of gossip.
[0:31] Leaders have to have lots of conversations on different levels—how do they do this without gossiping about their teammates?
[1:32] Leaders need to have a goal for each of their conversations.
[3:39] What holds leaders back from having the productive (but difficult) conversations?
[6:02] Leaders need to be careful of the diabolic nature of gossip.
[8:58] We need to try to make all of our conversations constructive for us, our teammates, and the entire organization.
[11:01] Productive, healthy conversations must become a part of your organization’s culture.
[13:09] Do your teammates totally trust that you, as their leader, have their best in mind?
[16:51] Leaders need to prioritize transparency at all levels of the organization.
[18:36] Leaders can empower their teammates to make healthy changes.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
When we have a difficult coworker or team member, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of talking about them to others and avoid talking directly to them.
Getting counsel from others about this difficult person is important, but then we must use those insights to have a productive conversation directly with that team member. If we don’t talk directly to them, we’re ultimately gossiping about them, which is never productive. In fact, that gossiping will actually make the situation worse.
Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.
Have you thought about what you’d like said at your funeral? Stick with me here, this isn’t an episode about contemplating your death. In this episode, Greg and I want to encourage you to begin with the end in mind, and live as the type of leader that you picture yourself being remembered as.
[0:15] Hang with us on this one: We’d like you to take a moment to think about your funeral.
[3:15] We could think of our own epitaph like we’re building a house.
[4:14] Greg asks me what I would like on my epitaph.
[6:00] We aren’t talking about planning our funeral, but about doing lasting and beneficial things with “the dash” between our birth date and our death date.
[9:20] There is a leadership caution when we’re thinking about this topic.
[10:21] Greg has been thinking about one word that could sum up his life.
[13:31] Here’s what we need to live for today.
[15:41] I give an example of someone whose character and reputation didn’t align.
[18:09] I brag on something special Greg does for others.
[20:54] How do leaders get beyond themselves?
[24:05] We need to be living our leadership story every single day.
Check out this episode and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch all of the upcoming episodes. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Good leaders hold themselves—at a minimum—to the same standard for the rest of their team. But the best leaders hold themselves to an even higher standard.
Check out this humorous story that makes this point so clear.
Check out this full conversation Greg and I had on an episode of The Craig and Greg Show called “Be honest with yourself.”
Craig T. Owens 