Leadership

The Cowboy and the Shepherd – Leadership in a Rural Setting
Over the last week, I have seen this video numerous times. It was emailed to me by one of our elders at church, it has popped up numerous times in my Facebook feed, and then it was used as an example for 32 Leadership Lessons. I love videos like this because they show the reality of ministry. It’s tough, but

Leadership Traits Needed by Our Nation’s Leaders
I’m already sick of the constant bickering by political candidates. We have a desperate need for strong leadership in our world today. So what does that type of leadership look like? What characteristics and traits should we be looking for in our leaders? Unfortunately, I feel that many people in our country are looking at the wrong qualities for our leaders.

How Not to Make Disciples
I love this video by Francis Chan. It really makes you think about how your church is structured to make disciples.

Leadercast 2015
For the past five years, I have helped coordinate the Leadercast right here in our hometown of Galax. It has been a great partnership between local small business leaders, church leaders, and Crossroads. My passion is developing leaders, and that’s why I decided to get a Master’s Degree in Christian Leadership from the Seminary at Liberty University. One of the biggest

The Problem with the Pursuit of Excellence
I recently read an article that made a point that I have been thinking about. Tony Morgan shares It’s possible to obsess about excellence–which is more about the execution–and completely ignore the outcomes. Churches, in particular, need to be more outcomes-minded. We need to make sure what we’re doing is actually having impact and getting results. Excellence sounds like a

Interesting Links – February 2015 Edition
I haven’t had a chance to do much writing lately, so I have decided to share some great articles with you. I use a web service called Pocket to collect interesting articles online to read later. From time to time, I will be sharing interesting links and articles that I have read. Do you like working in a Coffee Shop,

Thoughts From Week 3 of My Sabbatical
The past three weeks have been incredible. It’s amazing how clearly I start thinking when I actually slow down. The image above is our view each night at sunset, so it has been easy to relax and soak in the beauty of God’s creation. The first week, we spent most of our time at the Fiddler’s Convention in Galax and

Thoughts From Week 1 of My Sabbatical
It’s been quiet here on the blog for a few weeks. Preparing for a sabbatical is a lot of work! But now, after a week of rest, I’m starting to unwind and think a little more clearly. My pace of life has been wide open for a long time, and this break has come at the perfect time for me. It’s

Seven Years
It is hard to believe how my life has changed over these past seven years. Today, seven years ago, I started full-time as pastor of Cornerstone. For the 12 years before that, I worked as a mechanical engineer crash testing airplane seats and designing weight lifting equipment. That seems like a distant memory now, and I can honestly say I’m

A Blogging Milestone: 1000 posts and 1000 comments
mile·stone /ˈmīlˌstōn/ Noun: An action or event marking a significant change or stage in development. This has been a summer of milestones for both me and my family. As an engineer, I became very familiar with Gantt Charts and milestones. Managing projects, budgets, resources, and timelines was a common task, but we were always able to celebrate significant milestones along the

Finished!
Let me share a little of my past with you. I started serving in part-time youth ministry in 1996. By 2000, I was hooked and I felt God calling me into ministry. Over the next two years, I went through the license and ordination process for our local Southern Baptist Association, and was officially licensed and ordained as a minister.