Links & Quotes

Some of our best lessons are learned in difficult places, so let’s not be too quick to rush in and soften the blow for someone who has taken a tumble. Check out the full conversation I had with my podcast partner Greg. And be sure to check out all of my videos on my YouTube channel.

“A champion is one who gets up when he can’t.” —Jack Dempsey

Once again, archeological finds in Israel confirm the historicity of the biblical accounts of the kings of Judah and Israel. John Stonestreet shares some of the most recent finds. Jewish archeologist Nelson Gluek states, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.”

“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” —Jonas Salk

Scott Hubbard writes, “Stepping into leadership means stepping into mistakes, regrets, and many small but stinging failures. And surviving in leadership, I am learning, means stepping upward on those mistakes—owning them, learning from them, and having the stability in Christ to keep leading after them.” Read more about how leaders can fail well.

J. Warner Wallace addresses the claim that all religions are true or are essentially the same.

“The Scriptures represent the Holy Spirit, not only as moving, and occasionally influencing, the saints, but as dwelling in them as His temple, His proper abode, and everlasting dwelling-place. And He is represented as being there so united to the faculties of the soul, that He becomes there a principle or spring of a new nature and life.” —Jonathan Edwards

The Craig And Greg Show: Coach Up

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

There seems to be a belief among some leaders that the louder they yell, the better they’re understood. No need to call anyone out, but we’re sure someone just came to mind. When you received that kind of coaching, did you receive it well? Of course not! Coaching should be focused on correcting and improving for the next time, not berating for things in the past. So tune in, and learn more about how you can coach up.

  • [0:18] Leadership ideas can come from all over the place. 
  • [1:34] We need to focus on the “up” in our coaching, not just yelling at our teammates.
  • [3:15] We should coach up with questions instead of statements.
  • [4:55] The instructions we give before “the game” pay huge dividends in the heat of the moment.
  • [6:42] Treat mistakes as coaching opportunities.
  • [7:50] When leaders are coaching up their teammates, they need to focus on tone and timing.
  • [10:38] We share some additional thoughts about seeing the potential for coaching in our teammates’ mistakes.
  • [12:27] Every person learns differently so every teammate needs to be coached differently too.
  • [13:21] I share a memorable story from my time working with the Guys With Ties group.
  • [16:03] Greg shares an encouraging quote.
  • [18:03] Coaching takes place outside of the spotlight, so we need to learn the right timing for our coaching.
  • [22:08] Leaders can’t be the armchair quarterback, but they must trust their teammates who were closer to the action.
  • [23:59] Coaching up will eliminate most of our HR problems.
  • [24:44] Greg and I love coaching up, so please get in touch with us if we can help coach you up. 

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.

A Leader’s Commitment To Lifelong Learning

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

Bruce Barton said, “When you’re through changing, you’re through!” I think the same thing could be said about a leader’s learning—when you think you’ve learned it all, your leadership is beginning to crumble. 

I never want to get to the place where I think I have “arrived” as a leader, but I want to be humble enough to admit that there are so many things I have yet to learn. Jesus reminded us, “Every student of the Scriptures who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like someone who brings out new and old treasures from the storeroom” (Matthew 13:52 CEV). 

“New and old treasures” tells me that there’s some good stuff we need to protect, and also some good stuff we haven’t yet learned. 

A mark of a godly leader is his commitment to being a lifelong learner. 

Here are three new things the Holy Spirit has recently taught me: 

Acts 6:3 says, “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.” 

My lesson: The résumé for those that are to be placed in ministry leadership positions should include servant-heartedness, Christlike character, wise experience for the task, and reliance on the Holy Spirit.

“This Moses whom they disowned…is the one God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer” (Acts 7:35). 

My lesson: When God calls someone His leader, it doesn’t matter if the world calls them disowned. It’s not about popularity with men, but faithfulness to God.

Notice the plural pronoun “they” in 1 Kings 11:33. 

My lesson: When King Solomon sinned, he then gave license to the people to follow his example. As the leader goes, so go the people.

I hope you are learning new things every day. In fact, feel free to share in the comments something new you’ve learned. 

This is part 73 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

The Craig And Greg Show: Wait, You Like Meetings Too?

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

Too often we fall into the trap of seeing meetings as perfunctory, tedious, and downright boring to attend. In this episode, Greg and I are here to tell you, we like meetings! If managed correctly, meetings can be an impactful leadership tool that helps grow and bond your team. So set aside any of your preconceived notions, and let us tell you why they think you should embrace opportunities for meetings.

  • [0:57] We’re robbing ourselves when we just try to “get through” a meeting. 
  • [2:33] Leaders help everyone learn during the meetings.
  • [4:00] Don’t spring brand new information on your team at the meeting, but help them prepare to contribute ahead of time.
  • [5:40] There is a value in getting our teams together.
  • [7:50] Sometimes the best leadership move is to cancel a meeting.
  • [9:28] How can leaders make meetings more efficient?
  • [10:42] A leader’s attendance signals the value of the meeting.
  • [11:23] Greg has a sarcastic quote that makes a great point about meetings.
  • [12:57] Not every meeting needs to involve every team member.
  • [14:36] Leaders need to set expectations before the meeting starts.
  • [16:37] How insecure leaders sabotage meetings.
  • [19:01] Be conscious of the workloads of those who are invited to your meetings.
  • [21:47] How do leaders keep people on-topic during meetings?

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.

The Craig And Greg Show: Be A Noticer

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

When was the last time you noticed your team? Not just on a surface level like saying hello in the hallway, but really truly paying attention to what’s going on with your team. Noticing is easy to do, but it does require you to spend time doing it. It’s impossible to see what your team is doing locked inside your office, so get out there and notice!

  • [0:17] Kids on the playground demonstrate an important leadership attribute.
  • [1:43] Leaders sometimes get too engaged in their work—how do we keep this from happening?
  • [3:48] People are dying to be noticed!
  • [6:17] What happens when we do or don’t notice the uniqueness of our teammates?
  • [9:54] Leaders need to know the difference between windows and mirrors.
  • [13:25] How our teams reciprocate for their leaders who notice them.
  • [14:45] There are some huge and lasting benefits when leaders create a culture of curiosity.
  • [17:11] Greg challenges leaders to learn a leadership lesson from Jesus.
  • [19:20] We need to build noticing into our weekly schedules.
  • [21:07] One group that all of should notice and celebrate: Our veterans and the family members of fallen vets.

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.

Be Careful Of Your Ego

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

The Scriptures I reference in this video—Mark 12:38-40; James 3:1; Mark 10:45

Some other blog posts and videos that can help you go deeper on this topic:

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

A Leadership Separator

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

We are more likely to act ourselves into feeling good than we are to wait until we feel good about something before we act on it. That self-initiative is a true leadership separator. 

Check out the full episode of The Craig And Greg Show where we talk about grit, perseverance, and resilience.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Trading Truth For Popularity

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. 

I am sure everyone has heard the comical philosophical question, “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” At Creation, the chicken clearly came first. But in other instances, sometimes the correct answer is not either-or but both-and. 

The apostle Paul warned his protege Timothy, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3). In other words, the people are saying, “The truth makes us uncomfortable, so tell us something that makes us feel good. If you do, you will be rewarded by our popular support.” 

Nearly 600 years earlier, God had something to say to those popular teachers, “Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!” (Ezekiel 13:3). The New King James Version says they “prophesy out of their own heart” and the New American Standard Bible says they “prophesy from their own inspiration…following their own spirit.” In other words, they are speaking a popular message, not a truthful message. 

So which came first: the chicken of people with itching ears or the egg of false prophets with a popular message intended for itching ears? I think this is a true both-and. It’s both people looking for a feel-good message, and false prophets realizing they can be rewarded for sharing a popular feel-good message. 

Absolutely no one benefits from a prophecy from my own inspiration. True prophets of God don’t want people following their own spirit but following the Spirit of God. 

A mark of an ungodly leader is one who uses God’s name only as his platform for personal gain.

To those false prophets, God says, “Woe are you, for My judgment will fall on you.” To those with itching ears who trade popularity for truth, Paul says to Timothy, “Have nothing to do with them” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). 

This is part 72 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Links & Quotes

When someone wants to “grow” an organization, what exactly does that look like? Is growth only numeric or is it something that’s perhaps a bit more difficult to count? The leader needs to have this clear in their mind, and they need to regularly communicate this metric to their team. I unpack this in greater detail in my book Shepherd Leadership. Check out more of this message here. And be sure to check out all of my videos on my YouTube channel.

It appears that creativity is largely fueled by two things: proper sleep and finding your “sweet spot” each day. If you are an early bird, protect that creative time. If you are a night owl, don’t try to become an early bird to emulate someone else, but lean into your productive time. Check out this full post.

I love reading, but even I have trouble finding time to sit down with my books. But this insight from John Piper totally rejuvenated my thinking about reading. “Suppose that you can read about 250 words a minute. Now, that’s not real fast; most of us can do that—250 words a minute. And suppose that you set aside fifteen minutes a day to read a great book—a classic or some book that you’d been longing to read that would help you grow in your wisdom, your understanding. Now, fifteen minutes a day for 365 days is 5,475 minutes a year. Now, you multiply 5,475 times 250, and you get 1,368,750 words that you could read in a year at fifteen minutes a day. Now, an average book has about 300 to 400 words on a page. So we’ll take 350, which is kind of in the middle, and divide that into 1,368,750. And you know what you get? You get 3,910—almost 4,000 pages a year. An average book has about 200 pages. You see the implication of that? You could read twenty books by this time next year by setting aside fifteen minutes a day.”

An ancient Hebrew inscription consisting of 48 letters was discovered on Mt. Ebal in Israel and is centuries older than any known Hebrew inscription from ancient Israel. This is yet another archeological discovery that speaks to the historicity of the Bible.

T.M. Moore wrote one of the endorsements of my book Shepherd Leadership. His thoughts here about the role of godly shepherds is right on the mark: “The work of shepherds consists of helping the people of God to connect with Him—to know, love, fear, and serve Him in every area of their lives. This work cannot be fulfilled by one who is merely a good speaker, an effective organizer, or an inspiring motivator. This work must be done by one who truly knows the Lord. For unless we know the Lord, the Lord will not know us, and He will not honor our labors.”

You are one-of-a-kind! There has never, ever been anyone like you, and there never will be. God made you on purpose and for a purpose. And God wants to reveal the purpose He has for your life. You be you—that is how God is most glorified through you.

The Craig And Greg Show: Stop Doing Traditional Performance Reviews

Listen to the audio-only version of this podcast by clicking on the player below, or scroll down to watch the video.

Performance reviews are a great tool to help leaders measure and celebrate the growth of their team, but the standard model of quarterly and yearly reviews is a terrible way to go about it. In this episode, Greg and I suggest a different approach to reviews that relies on frequent coaching and giving your team “the answers to the test” to set them up to succeed.

  • [0:15] We all have “have to” and “get to” leadership tasks in our organization, but we think performance reviews never should be in the have to” category. 
  • [1:29] Performance review times are a great time to unleash potential in our teammates.
  • [2:44] Greg shares how his daughter’s school does this well and how an organization he worked with did this poorly.
  • [4:02] I teach leadership principles to a group of young men called “Guys With Ties,” and I always have them focus on future growth.
  • [5:22] Leaders can only do effective reviews by having regular interactions with their teammates.
  • [7:00] We suggest a better way to give out compliments and corrections.
  • [8:35] Three key elements in performance reviews: (1) honesty, (2) timeliness, (3) looking forward.
  • [10:54] How do we handle situations where the review doesn’t match the projected employee bonus?
  • [12:55] Many of our teammates have probably had a bad experience with a previous performance review, so we need to address that upfront.
  • [13:16] Accountability is a heavy word but it is a vital growth piece.
  • [15:23] What happens when leaders are tired?
  • [17:27] What does it say to our teammates if we’re always too busy to schedule a time for a performance review?
  • [21:13] The culture we need to foster in our organization is an “improvement culture.”

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.