By Waylon Bailey James Clear is a favorite writer. He has written about the power of habits and how you develop those powerful habits. Recently he wrote about adding value to other people. He said that before you ask for value you must give value to others. This fits many areas of life. Think about marriages. Most of the time we think about what our spouse doesn’t do. He/she doesn’t meet my needs, think about me, etc. James Clear would say that we have to add value to others before we can ask value from others. In other words, be sure that you are giving fully before you ask to receive. While I don’t know about James Clear’s religious beliefs, like so many other helpful people he is really expressing powerful words found in Scripture. Jesus told us to “do unto others as you want them to do for you.” Have you applied that to your marriage, your family, your friends at school, or your workplace? Have you considered the kind of difference this could make? What about what Jesus said about loving others as you love yourself? Would this turn everything around you upside down? And, what if two people in the marriage practice “doing unto others” and “loving others as we love ourselves?” Have you thought about your … [Read more...]

By John Hebert ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM)—I’ve learned a lot about leadership through the years, especially as a pastor and working with other pastors in my ministry with the Louisiana Baptist Convention. But some of the most memorable lessons, and many of the fundamentals, I learned while playing basketball for great coaches: -- Dale Skinner, the Rapides High School head coach during my freshman year, was inducted into the Louisiana High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame; -- Rick Huckabay was my Rapides High coach for the next three years; won the 1973 AA State Championship; and was inducted to the Louisiana Athletic Hall of Fame; and, -- LSU Coach Dale Brown, a four-time SEC Coach of the Year, and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. What was common about these championship coaches is the unique emphasis each of them placed on using each player’s strengths, or giftedness, as they put together top teams. Wise leaders always use the giftedness of others – taking inventory of the resources of the people around them and employing them on their team according to their giftedness. In a previous article on creating ownership, I discussed in depth the need for leaders to recruit capable … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey James Clear is a favorite writer. He has written about the power of habits and how you develop those powerful habits. Recently he wrote about adding value to other people. He said that before you ask for value you must give value to others. This fits many areas of life. My blog tomorrow will expound on this idea and how it applies to Scripture and to us. Today, I want to talk about productivity and time management with something James Clear said in the same article. “The fastest way to raise your level of performance: Cut your number of commitments in half.” Almost all of us are asking, “How can I do the things that really matter?” Obviously, we first have to ask, “What really matters?” This is a great life lesson and life exercise. Certainly, your family, livelihood, and faith would fit in these areas. What else should fit, and what shouldn’t fit? What should you not do, and what should you give to someone else? These are the kind of questions that help us be more productive and to add value to others. As we move to the weekend, I want to encourage you to look deeply at what you are doing and the contributions you are making. Look for ways to make a difference in the people around … [Read more...]

By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) - Something strange happens to the psyche of a nation in difficult times. The downtrodden begin to resent government and wealthy corporations and individuals, seeing them as out of touch with, if not the cause of, their plight. Desperation can lead to a reversal of values so that any who rise up and strike back are cheered and viewed as heroes. Sometimes the rebel-heroes seem justified as in the traditional tale of Robin Hood, but others are simply lawbreakers like Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who terrorized middle America in the early 1930s. While stories of their kindnesses to their victims made the rounds, such tales only confused the issue: Were they bad or were they good? The ambivalence toward this couple serves as a warning for us: It's important to discern good from bad in the spiritual dimension of life. And nowhere is that more necessary than when we are confronted by spiritual doubt. Modus Operandi Modus operandi is one of those Latin phrases that made its way from the pages of criminal investigation textbooks into our cultural conversation. Literally, it means "way of operating." Criminal investigators study the way a criminal operates to find patterns of … [Read more...]

By Stewart Holloway What does it take to be a champion? It has been fun to watch LSU football this year. Since I work Sunday, I usually go to bed on Saturdays long before the game is over, but I couldn’t do it this year. It was too much fun to watch the team work as a unit to execute amazing plays, and I loved the sincere passion of Coach O. The man is living his dream. Not many of us get to do that, but he is - and he is making the most of it. I’ve also enjoyed watching our oldest son fall in love with LSU. After making a few games at Tiger Stadium with my mom, he’s hooked. He may even rival Rebecca’s passion in the years to come (but good luck with that). As a leader, I’ve watched this season asking, “What’s the difference?” I’m sure there were a lot of football technicalities at work, but it was the leadership of Coach O that I think made the difference. It is obvious Coach O genuinely loves this state, LSU, his team, his staff, and the fans. While love motivates, it was wisdom that brought the difference. Coach O was wise enough to realize that he didn’t have all the answers, so he recruited the right players, hired the right people, and even brought in others to speak into his team through the year on key points. The … [Read more...]

By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptists missions and ministry team leader ALEXANDRIA (LBM) - The Areopagus is just a bare marble outcropping near the Acropolis in modern-day Greece. It is an important tourist attraction because at one time it was the place where major decisions were discussed in the city of Athens – even court sessions were held there, especially murder trials. By the Apostle Paul’s day, it was a place where new ideas were heard by the philosophers of the city. More importantly for our purposes, it was the place where Paul made a speech to city leaders known as the sermon on Mars Hill. In that speech Paul skillfully adapted his message using cues from the culture to more effectively communicate the Gospel, piquing interest by putting the message in terms that made sense to the locals. He was responsive to the community. Serious church planters and leaders should always be responsive to the communities they are trying to reach. He must speak the language of the community -- not just the dialect, but the local narrative or context, especially the prevailing elements of the culture. In Athens the narrative was philosophical in nature, and it’s clearly visible in Paul’s approach recorded in Acts 17:22-23. … [Read more...]