A young person, with whom I had a special privilege of working with, brought this truth to home in my own life.  He was a ‘star’ youth group member when his closest friend was killed in a road traffic accident, it was a tough time that hit us all hard.  This youngster in particular removed himself from people and his grief took a heavy toll.  A long time later he went missing and I was asked to help find him.  In a moment of inspiration, I went straight to where he was, said nothing, and sat near him until he was ready to leave the gravestone by which he sat.  We said very little and as I left him at his front door, he said, “Thank you, I knew you would understand.”

Sometimes, our presence matters above all else.  Where do we find ourselves when it really matters?

That is until the pictures have been viewed, the news items skimmed because then the paper is tossed away, its value gone, and then it becomes an issue for someone else.

A statement like this can be seen in many different ways.  When typed in isolation and read as a matter of fact there is little doubt as to the suitability of the day yet, with intonation or a hint of sarcasm in its tone, the words would be understood most different.  You could also delve deeper and ask what the interpretation of the word “good” signifies to the writer, or what the length of a “day” really means.

Sometimes we need to be more matter of fact, accept the words given and move on.  Dissecting every last detail wastes time, is often unnecessary and regularly misses the original point.  Have a good day!

I don’t know about you, but my preference is for the type of person who makes the effort to commit to what they say, even if it is costly.  The type of person who may have promised too much, who may fail in their plans yet, still, they make the effort.

That’s the type of person that I like to hang around with, the type of person that I want to be too!

People have a remarkable ability to forget things, they forget less their feelings after you have made them feel comfortable, wanted and loved.  When you treat people well, even the strongest of disagreements can be placed to one side.

In youth ministry appointments, people may spend longer debating whether the job title should be ‘youth pastor’, ‘youth minister’, ‘youth worker’ or some other derivative.  The conclusions usually relate to how people view the title rather than the role that needs to be fulfilled.  When looking for speakers at events, we look for the ‘high powered’ or the ‘celebrity’ as they can provide an extra endorsement, in business we love the titles to demonstrate our impressive abilities – President, Vice-President of Operations, CEO, CFO, Director, Principal and so forth and so on.

Titles can be necessary and important but, in my opinion, we need to be careful that we do not hold these things in awe, rather in humility.  The badge that we wear can easily be removed, the person that we truly are can never be taken from us.  Are we people of integrity, working for truth, humility and justice? Or are we those that are seeking the best seat in the house, with the ‘best’ company? How do we view our own title?  Certainly some questions that leave room to ponder.

One of the most difficult things for older leaders is the ability to allow younger leaders space to grow and develop. I think that this has as much to do with pride as anything.
Hoping that my pride yields to humility more quickly than I have experienced