Links & Quotes

Leaders would do well to remember that they lead a group of unique individuals. Let the unique gifts of those unique people be used in unique ways, and watch both the individuals and the organization grow! 

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

“As Tyler Cowen wrote in The Free Press, ‘Whether or not you work in the AI sector, if you put any kind of content on the internet, or perhaps in a book, you are likely helping to train, educate, and yes, morally instruct the next generation of what will be this planet’s smartest entities. You are making them more like you—for better or worse.’ Now, maybe someone thinks, ‘I’ve hardly got any followers, who cares what I post? It probably won’t matter.’ But the principle means we should care. The philosopher Immanuel Kant famously offered his ‘categorical imperative’ as a test for ethical decisions: ‘Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.’ In other words, we should only do what we think would be good for everyone to do.” —Axis.org

How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live ’em.
How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give ’em. —Shel Silverstein

A fantastic mini-biography of Otto J. Klink who went from being a Christian, to an atheist socialist, to failed presidential assassin, to a Pentecostal author and evangelist. Wow!

“My acceptance of the universe is not optimism, it is more like patriotism. It is a matter of primary loyalty. The world is not a lodging-house at Brighton, which we are to leave because it is miserable. It is the fortress of our family, with the flag flying on the turret, and the more miserable it is the less we should leave it. The point is not that this world is too sad to love or too glad not to love; the point is that when you do love a thing, its gladness is a reason for loving it, and its sadness a reason for loving it more.” —G.K. Chesterton 

Marshall Segal said this about our daily Bible reading time, “I want to walk through a five-step prayer you could pray when you sit down with your Bible to meet with God. The five steps are built on an acronym for FEAST. Focus my mind; Enlighten my eyes; Address my sin; Satisfy my soul; Train my hands.”

“A man of character will make himself worthy of any position he is given.” —Mahatma Gandhi 

“A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is the true token of greatness. Successful people forget. They know the past is irrevocable. They’re running a race. They can’t afford to look behind. Their eye is on the finish line. Magnanimous people forget. They’re too big to let little things disturb them. They forget easily. If anyone does them wrong, they consider the source and keep cool. It’s only the small people who cherish revenge. Be a good forgetter. Business dictates it, and success demands it.” —Elbert Hubbard 

“Leadership is not about being in charge, but about taking care of the people in your charge.” —Simon Sinek 

Flowing Data has a fascinating look at how people spend their time during the day. Their adjustable chart shows activities by age, sex, and time of day. It reminds me of a blog post I shared about time management, where I noted, “You cannot add more Tick, Tocking! time to your day, but you can keep more of your day from Drip, Dropping! away.”

“We might think, ‘Well, hey, if I’m devoting myself all the time to looking out for others’ needs, who’s going to be looking out for mine?’ The Lord, of course, because He knows what you need even before you ask Him, and He has ways of meeting your needs that are more wonderful than you in your cleverness or strength could ever conjure or provide (cf. Matthew 6:25-34).” —T.M. Moore 

“We all know that exercise makes us feel better, but most of us have no idea why. We assume it’s because we’re burning off stress or reducing muscle tension or boosting endorphins, and we leave it at that. But the real reason we feel so good when we get our blood pumping is that it makes the brain function at its best, and in my view, this benefit of physical activity is far more important—and fascinating—than what it does for the body. Building muscles and conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially side effects. I often tell my patients that the point of exercise is to build and condition the brain.” —Dr. John Ratey 

T.M. Moore has a hard but good word for Christians: “If this day, and this expectation and hope [when we heard King Jesus say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’], are not the driving force for every aspect of our lives and work, then it is doubtful we have really understood the Good News of the Kingdom or received the salvation freely offered to us by the King. I say this again: If we are not motivated and driven, day by day, by the prospect of hearing ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ then we need to examine ourselves, whether we truly know the Lord of glory. That’s pretty hard language, I know, but let’s face the reality: If we have not submitted to Jesus as Lord of every area of our life, all the work we’ve been given to do, then we are still living for ourselves, not Him.” —T.M. Moore

The Craig And Greg Show: Business By The Book

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The multitude of books written about business and leadership is nearly incalculable. If you began reading now and did nothing else you could spend the rest of your life reading business books and still have many unread at the end of your life. Yet the wealth of knowledge contained within these books still pales in comparison to the insights provided to us by THE book—the Bible. In today’s episode Greg and I are happy to announce we are working on a new project called Business By The Book, which combines biblical insights with real-world applications.

  • [0:00] Introduction 
  • [0:40] Greg and I are working on a project that we are so excited to be doing!
  • [1:50] We cover all the “boxes” on a corporate flowchart with this project. We start with the CEO box.
  • [3:56] We have been working as leadership coaches before there even was such a term.
  • [5:34] I will be writing from the Bible side and Greg will be writing from the business side in all of these books.
  • [8:21] If you are the point leader in your organization, you need to go first in reading this book and getting copies for others.
  • [9:10] We need your help for future books in this series.

A Tour Of The Tabernacle

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I was absolutely fascinated by a Messianic Jew’s insights on the Old Testament Tabernacle, and how every aspect of it pointed to Jesus the Messiah. 

The overview of the construction of the Tabernacle starts in Exodus 25 and covers the next fifteen chapters in that book. Here are a few of my main takeaways from my friend’s teaching. 

All of the Scriptures I mention can be found here. 

The materials for the Tabernacle are brought as a freewill offering given by freed slaves (Exodus 25:1-2). This gold, silver, bronze, linens, and other materials were gifts from the Egyptians when the Israelites left on the night of the Passover. 

The Tabernacle is at the center of the Israelite camp (Numbers 2:1-34), signifying God’s presence in the center of our lives. When the Israelite community moved out, the tribe of Judah went first. Judah means “praise.” What a great reminder to let praise to God be at the forefront of all we do! 

In Exodus 27:16, the materials to be used for the curtains compromising the entrance to the Tabernacle are blue, purple, and scarlet. The blue is for sky (Heaven), the purple designates royalty, and the scarlet signifies the blood of the sacrifices. Jesus came to earth as royalty from Heaven, and by His shed blood He opens the way for all of us to be with Him in Heaven forever! Jesus said He was the only way to Heaven (Hebrews 2:14-15; John 14:6). 

The bronze altar for cleansing was just inside the entrance (Exodus 27:1-8). The worshiper offered this sacrifice in place of their sin. The priests would then move to the laver to wash off the dirt of the world. It’s important to note that the priests wash at the laver, not in the laver. Jesus is the One who washes us and cleanses us (Ephesians 5:26). 

There are four different coverings over the Holy Place. As the priest progresses farther into the Holy Place, the coverings become thicker, so less outside light is visible. 

  • First covering (Exodus 26:1) was blue, purple, and scarlet yarns (like the colors at the entrance) with cherubim woven into the fabric. The priests looking up would see these angels. 
  • Second covering (v. 7) was goat’s hair. Goats were used for sin offerings, reminding the priests that there was a sacrifice to cleanse them so they could approach the presence of God. 
  • Third covering (v. 14) was a red-dyed ram skin, showing the blood that covers us. 
  • Fourth covering (v. 14) was the durable leather of a badger. Now there would have been very little light from outside, but the angels would still be seen for those inside the Holy Place. 

In the Holy Place was the showbread (sometimes called the bread of presence) pointing to Jesus as our Bread of Life (Exodus 25:23-30; John 6:35). Also in the Holy Place was the lampstand filled oil (vv. 31-37). Only one stick holds the oil and supplies the other six branches. The priests could only work by the light of God. Jesus is our light (John 8:12). And we also find the altar of incense here (30:1-7). This was a unique perfume that wasn’t used anywhere else. The prayers of the saints that arise before the throne in Heaven as said to rise as incense (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 5:8). Worshipers in God’s presence are saturated with the aroma of Jesus (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). 

In the Holy of Holies is the ark of the covenant of the Lord (25:10-22). Inside the ark were the stone tablets that contained the Ten Commandments. On top of the ark, overshadowed by the wings of two huge cherubim angels, was the mercyseat or atonement cover. Notice that mercy is over the Law, and that the blood of the sacrifice of Jesus covers my disobedience and makes me at one with God (the literal definition of atonement). 

How beautifully all of these aspects of the earthly Tabernacle point to Jesus (Hebrews 8:5, 10:1)! And even more amazingly, Jesus fulfilled every requirement in this Tabernacle to make it possible for all who put their faith in Him to enter the Heavenly Tabernacle and remain in His presence for ever and ever! 

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The King’s Bride

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How many of you have taken time to watch a royal wedding? It captivates the attention of so many people when actress Grace Kelly becomes Princess Grace of Monaco, or when a Kate Middleton becomes the Princess Catherine of Wales. There is something that enthralls us when someone who isn’t born to royalty is elevated to such a special place in a fairy tale-like romance and wedding. 

Remember that these Royal Psalms are pointing through the earthly representative to the heavenly Reality. Psalm 45 is a wedding song, quite probably a wedding march for King David’s bride. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

I’m intrigued by the preamble to this Psalm, as it is longer and more descriptive than most. 

  • For the director of music—appears 55x in the Psalter. 
  • To the tune of “Lilies”—appears only here and Psalms 69 and 80. 
  • Of the Sons of Korah—these are the skilled worship leaders. There are 11 songs written by them or for them. 
  • A maskil—this means it is to be a reflective song and is used 13 times. 
  • A wedding song—sometimes called a “song of love” in some translations. This Hebrew word is used 9 times in the Old Testament, always in poetic form, but Psalm 45 is the only instance it is said to be a wedding song. 

When we combine the beauty of lilies, the reflection of a maskil, and the skill of the Sons of Korah, we have a unique arrangement for a fairy tale-like romance that is culminating in a royal wedding. 

So I ask you to imagine this royal wedding ceremony where this song is sung from the perspective of the bride who is about to become royalty. As we see King David standing at the front awaiting his bride, let’s watch the scene expand to find King Jesus standing and awaiting His Church. 

  • Psalm 45:1-2 … Hear the bride, “How handsome You are, my Beloved! Oh, how charming!” (Song of Songs 1:16), and hear the wedding guests Revelation 19:6-7. 
  • vv. 3-7 … see the King standing with all the trophies of victories He has won. Verse 7 is quoted by the writer of Hebrews, specifically stating, “But about the Son [God] says…” (Hebrews 1:8-9). Also see Revelation 19:11-16. 
  • v. 8 … the aroma of victory is on the King and imputed to the Bride (Song 1:3; 2 Corinthians 2:14-15; Song 1:12). 
  • vv. 9-15 … the King is enthralled with the beauty of His Bride (Revelation 19:7-8; Song 1:15; Ephesians 5:25-27). 
  • vv. 16-17 … a blessing is pronounced on the couple (Ephesians 5:32). 

When we are enthralled with our King—when we only have eyes and hands and heart for Him—we are a pure virgin in His sight (2 Corinthians 11:2). But we are also a testimony to those who watch us watching our King.  

Just as royal weddings on earth captivate people who are watching the fairy tale-like wedding celebration, so will our devotion to the King intrigue and captivate a watching world. Notice again verse 17, “the nations will praise You for ever and ever.” When we love our King with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then love others with that same love, we will draw the nations to our King (Revelation 22:17). 

If you have missed any of the other messages in our series looking at the Royal Palms, you can find them all here. 

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Links & Quotes

On our 100th episode, Greg and I talk about how important it is for leaders to let people learn through their struggle, so we need to reject the temptation to jump in to help them too soon. Check out the full conversation The Struggle is Real (but Necessary).

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

John Piper was asked how to identify false teachers or prophets, and he gives four biblical tests to determine this. But I also appreciate this admonition: “Don’t set the bar so low that you only stop listening to people if they can be properly called false teachers. Lots of people are teachers who are simply misguided and unhelpful in many ways but might not come under the ban of being called a false teacher. Set your standards high. Listen to people who are truly God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated, Spirit-dependent, who bear the marks in their lives of authenticity.” 

In imploring Christians to not shrink back from difficult trials but to rise and conquer in the strength of the Spirit, Greg Morse makes this observation: “When the risen Christ walked among His early churches (as He walks among them still), His eye was very keen to observe and His heart very ready to address a particular kind of person in every assembly: ‘the one who conquers’ (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). To each of the seven churches, He summons and strengthens the one who would overcome, prevail, hold fast, keep strong, stand firm, and move forward—the victors in Christ amid a larger group in the church who only profess to know Him.”

Two separate geological studies found a period in history where rock formations were impacted by massive amounts of water. ICR adds, “Because conventional geologists deny the historical accuracy of Genesis, they operate at a loss. They see evidence of massive erosion and tremendous water flow at the end of the Tejas Megasequence and just prior to the Ice Age but are hampered by their uniformitarian thinking to explain it. But the Bible gives us answers. Genesis describes a global flood that peaked on Day 150. The sedimentary rocks across all of the continents confirm this peak occurred at the end of the Zuni Megasequence (at the K-Pg). And the rocks confirm that the Tejas Megasequence records the subsequent receding phase.”

There was a Man who
dwelt in the east centuries ago,
And now I cannot look at a
sheep or a sparrow,
A lily or a cornfield,
a raven or a sunset,
A vineyard or a mountain,
without thinking of Him. —G.K. Chesterton


Clinton Manley addresses the place of physical exercise in the life of a Christian. Before sharing three astute observations about this interaction, he notes, “Body or soul is a false dichotomy. As Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 9:24–27, physical fitness and spiritual fitness don’t have to be either-or; they’re best as both-and. The body and soul have an inseparably reflexive relationship: the body affects the soul, and the soul affects the body. God created us to glorify Him by enjoying Him, and the body is the soul’s training partner in the pursuit of spiritual pleasures.”

“Who will trust me with a spiritual body if I cannot control even an earthly body?”  —C.S. Lewis 

Listen, Listen, And Listen Some More

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We rob ourselves and diminish the other person with whom we’re conversing if we aren’t fully listening. Listen, listen, and (really!) listen some more before you share your opinion.

Solomon said, “He who states his case first seems right, until his rival comes and cross-examines him” (Proverbs 18:17 AMPC).

And I like this thought from John Maxwell:

     “The best way to understand people is to listen. The best way to learn from others is to listen. The best way to receive people’s best contribution is to listen. The best way to learn what others need from you is to listen. The best way to gain people’s buy-in is to listen.” —from John Maxwell’s book High Road Leadership 

I shared several quotes on this topic in the posts Leaders Listen and How to be Wise with your Mouth and Ears. 

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P.S. After posting this, I came across an article on the Desiring God website called Listen Well to Love Well. She wrote, “Listening is hard work. While our ears automatically welcome sound waves and ship them to our brains, it doesn’t mean we always hear other people. We might even wonder if listening well is worth the effort. … We have a long history with listening that makes it essential to who we are yet difficult to get right. Sarah Clarkson writes, ‘We are by nature a listening people. If we were spoken into being by the Word of God, then at our core we are to be listeners, and to attend to the word that spoke us into life.’”

What Are You Reading?

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I would like to ask you a simple question: What are you reading? 

You may have heard the phrase, “Leaders are readers.” Is that true? Is that the best use of your time? If this phrase is true, how do we know what to read? 

Here are some related blog posts I would suggest you peruse: 

The post from Scott Hubbard that I mentioned is called “What Should I Read Next? 

If you are a pastor or ministry leader, I would humbly suggest that my books might be a good addition to your reading list:

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Links & Quotes

Some human employers may ask us to do business for them without giving us a good example or enough resources. But when Jesus told us to be about the Father’s business, He gave us an example and the full empowerment of the Holy Spirit! Check out this full sermon.

I have a lot of new video content on my YouTube channel every week. Please check it out and subscribe so you don’t miss anything.

“Compromise is a costly word; non-compromise, even more so.” —Bono 

Shane Morris said, “But as much as AI’s potential can cause harm, blaming it alone misses the point and likely makes these problems worse. Humans are the fallen ones, and that fallenness manifests in all kinds of destructive ways. Machines, strictly speaking, don’t have morals or intentions. They can only reflect ours.” Check out his podcast AI is not the problem, we are.

“I do not believe that a nation dies save by suicide. To the very last every problem is a problem of will; and if we will we can be whole. But it involves facing our failures as well as counting our successes.” —G.K. Chesterton 

I love reading and I have a long list of what I would like to read next. Scott Hubbard addresses this question: “Perhaps the question ‘What should I read or listen to?’ would come into sharper focus if we had a better sense of why we read at all. ‘Why read?’ has more than one right answer. We read to learn, to rest, to deepen friendship with fellow readers, to enjoy the craft of skilled wordsmiths. But alongside these good reasons, consider three others that put our reading into the service of greater loves.” 

“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a mouse.” —Walt Disney 

“The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. … His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way.” —Nikola Tesla 

This week marked the 100th anniversary of a court case that was known as “the trial of the century,” perhaps you have heard it called the Scopes Monkey Trial. It was, and has been, more sensation than substance. Check out this post that puts this trial in its proper perspective.

Clarifying Questions Avoid Trouble

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Misunderstandings happen all the time. Leaders can help their teammates navigate these verbal landmines—and avoid a lot of trouble—by asking the clarifying questions that will bring the whole team together. 

Check out the full conversation Greg and I had about unifying your team. 

We would love to serve as your leadership coach, so get in touch with us. My book Shepherd Leadership also has some biblical principles that leaders can immediately apply to their organizations. 

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Refuge From The Shoving

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I don’t know when the last was that you may have tried to get a dozen little kids lined up, but it’s quite an experience! Everyone is vying for their spot. Someone gets mad and yells out, “He cut!” And then the reply is yelled back, “No, I didn’t. She was saving my spot!” This usually results in lots of pushing and shoving as each person tries to reclaim their rightful place in line. 

This is the backdrop for Psalm 7. The introduction tells us that Cush is causing David grief. Maybe because Cush is from the tribe of Benjamin like King Saul, and he doesn’t want David cutting in line so he is shoving him back to his proper place. 

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

There’s a musical term David uses, which isn’t used in any other psalm: shiggaion. This means a rhythm that isn’t normal—it’s a freewheeling, irregular, impassioned beat. This also helps set the atmosphere for what’s happening in David’s life. The root word for shiggaion implies a shakeup (or a shoving and pushing) that could lead to someone losing their way. 

David tries to do the right thing. He asks for God’s help (v. 1) so that he doesn’t get ripped to shreds (v. 2). He even takes time to ask himself if he has done anything that led to Cush’s shoving (vv. 3-5). But notice these are all David’s attempts to make things right. 

Remember that this is a Royal Psalm, but we haven’t heard anything about God as King yet. But now we come to the end of v. 5, which is also the end of David’s own striving. It’s marked by the word Selah. 

My little friends push and shove to try to get their place. But all of that stops when I say, “Johnny is my line leader, and this is the way the rest of you are going to line up behind him.” David’s Selah pause was a call to switch from doing things on his own to yielding to the King to sort things out. He was saying, “The King of kings is the Leader and He knows my place in line.” 

It’s only after the Selah that we see the royal terms for the Undisputed Leader:

  • He is the One who will decree justice (v. 6) 
  • He will rule…from on high (v. 7) 
  • He is the Supreme Judge (vv. 8, 11) so David yields his introspection to Him (vv. 3-4, 8-9) 
  • He is God Most High (vv. 10, 17) 

Our King has no rival. No one can shove Him. No one can contradict Him. No one can hide anything from Him (vv. 11-16). 

We must bow only to the King of kings (Philippians 2:10-11). 

We mistakenly bow our knee to man when…

  • …we aren’t willing to own our mistakes 
  • …we try to administer our own “shove” of justice 
  • …we make our own refuge 

So we bow to the King when…

  • …we acknowledge, confess, and repent of our sins (vv. 3-5; Psalm 19:12, 69:5)
  • …we follow the example of Jesus when we’re shoved around (1 Peter 2:21-23)
  • …find our refuge solely in God (v. 1; c.f. 2:12; Ephesians 6:12; James 4:7)

Our best response in troublesome times—when you feel like you are being shoved around—is to fall to your knees in reverence to the King of kings (v. 17)! The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; He covers him all the day long, and makes His dwelling between his shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:12 AMPC). 

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series looking at the royal psalms, you can catch up by clicking here. 

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