What The Church Can Learn From Apple

I experienced this cultural ritual first hand while loitering in a local Apple store. What I saw and experienced got me thinking about how we honor those who have worked for us. Perhaps I should say, “if” we honor those who have worked for us. I have found that most churches do a wonderful job at honoring those folks who attend weekend to weekend but fall short when it comes to honoring staff either while they are present or when they leave. There frequently seems to be a neutral to slightly negative “spin” given to explain the departure.

What I observed in the apple store that day would transfer nicely to the church. Here are my three observations.


1. They Show Up

My first impression when walking into this store which, by the way, I have walked in to a hundred times, was how extremely well staffed they were on this particular day. I decided to ask one of the staff at the apple store why there were

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3 Dates Every Parent Should Remember

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Whether you are just beginning your parenting journey or have been on the road awhile there are three dates we should all remember.

 

1. ValiDATE

Sometimes as parents we mistakenly think that validating our child’s behavior is equal to condoning their behavior, not true. In fact, if we don't validate what our kids are feeling they may end up moving farther away from us. They may have made a choice and that choice was a bad one. Instead of jumping over the (counter) or conversation and moving straight to consequence or punishment maybe we could start a dialogue. Something like this...

“I understand why you felt like you need to lie in that situation, I could feel that way to if the circumstances were the same. Can you tell me about what happened?”

That validation may feel a bit counterintuitive, it did for me, but it will get and keep your child talking and as our children grow perhaps they will be more willing

5 Practices of Great Leaders

Practice Number 1: Lingering In The Moment

Good leaders are often thinking a mile ahead. Vision, goals, you get the idea. What we fail to do is linger and that’s what great leaders do. Lingering feels like “standing around” and, of course, great leaders don’t “stand around.” (Hint of sarcasm in case you didn’t see it.) Great leaders are people of action, right? While that is true it’s also important for us to linger in the moment. To stand a little longer in a place of beauty. Savor a moment that is especially impactful. Remaining fully present in front of a friend you haven’t seen in a while. Today, simply choose a moment to linger. Choose to be reluctant to escape back to the rigorous schedule that is so desperately calling to you. Just linger…for a moment.


Practice Number 2: Leaning In To The Day

If someone is speaking to me and I can’t quite hear what they are saying I usually lean in. I lean in to get closer, so I can clearly hear what they are saying. Each day that we face as leaders will speak to us in a unique way. Sometimes we need to lean in, even if the day is being rude to us, and hear what it’s saying. We shouldn’t go into our day reluctantly but with great

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Multitasking vs Mindfulness And The Winner Is?

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Multitasking, we all do it and some of us do it better than others. Some would say they were born with it, some would say they learned it or had to in order to survive. Some are born with a larger capacity for it and those who have the ability usually want more. What is multitasking exactly?


Multitasking is engaging in two or more activities at the same time.


Now, when I look at that definition I think to myself, “I wish I could do more than two things at the same time!” My experience in talking with several people about the topic it seems like guys struggle with the idea and ability to multitask whereas the gals seem to almost be predisposed to it.


The question, the big question is this,
“Is multitasking healthy?”


Well, apparently, it’s not.
There is significant research that suggests multitasking is not just unhealthy but downright bad for us. I know, right? How else would we get it all done? How else would we get anything done?

When we multitask

Leaders: Why A Text Isn’t A Substitute For A Touch

I realized something about myself this past week. I communicate a lot and connect less. I’m not sure when this happened or why but it did. I can’t point to a moment where it happened it was more of a subtle drift to complacency rather than an intentional effort.

Over the last few weeks I have been asked the same question over and over in one for or another. I have answered this question on medical forms, school paperwork, website subscriptions and in person to the guy sitting next to me at Starbucks. The answer is “I communicate.” The question, “What do you do for a living?”

How can a person who says they communicate for a living feel like they aren’t connecting? I am probably telling you something you already know but here it goes, communicating with someone is not the same as connecting with someone.

I send texts, e-mails, make phone calls, leave voice mails, Skype and communicate verbally all throughout the day. I write stories, communicate through a Blog, speak to audiences and yet oddly enough I feel this is only surface level stuff.

Like a proverbial rock skipping along the surface of the water until it eventually looses momentum and falls desperately to the bottom in quiet sleep (Usually around 11:00 o’clock).

I have replaced connecting with

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15 Minute Anxiety Detox For Leaders

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It’s easy to write about how to get rid of anxiety in a blog. Put it in four steps and your done. Deep down I know that four steps won’t cure anxiety in your life or mine so I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that if you practice these four steps our anxiety will be thing of the past, it won’t. However, a few friends of mine have been contemplating a “detox” of sorts.

If you Google the word “detox” you will find diets, supplements, prescriptions, plans, recipes, tests, blogs, pictures, foods and tea. However, not one program to cleanse anxiety and that’s the one I could really use!

I guess the question we should start with is why? Why are we anxious? If we remove all the deep language anxiety is directly connected to fear. Fear of what will happen, fear of what’s next, fear of what’s coming, fear of failure. I’m not sure how many of us look back at the past week and feel anxiety, My guess is it’s a low number. It’s usually when we look ahead that anxiety sets in. The bottom line, we're afraid of uncertainty.

Philippians 4:11 Paul says we can learn to be content

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4 Reminders For Raising Polite Kids

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As a parent, do you ever feel like you are repeating yourself?

Repeating ourselves is part of a parent’s job description. We are reminded in Deuteronomy 6:7: “Repeat them [the commands] again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”

When I see or hear the word “repeat” within the context of parenting, I get exhausted. “Can you please turn off the light? Turn off the light, turn it off, turn it off, turn it off! Can you please take out the trash? Take out the trash, take it out, take it out, take it out! Can you please turn off the game? Turn off the game, turn it off, turn it off, turn it off! Can you please pick up your clothes, pick up your clothes, pick them up, pick them up, pick them up!”

The word “repeat” in Deuteronomy 6:7 is translated from a Hebrew word that actually means “whet.” No, not wet, whet. The best way to understand this word in a modern way is to think about how to sharpen a knife. I don’t know how