They Do What They See

At the 2025 Global Leadership Summit, John Maxwell reminded us that explaining doesn’t do anything. You can give speeches, write memos, or cast vision all day long—but people don’t do what they hear, they do what they see.

That’s why leadership isn’t about telling - it’s about showing. The people you lead will follow your example more than your explanation.

The Apostle Paul said it this way: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

As leade

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Built on Our Knees

At the 2025 Global Leadership Summit, Juliet Funt talked about the IKEA Effect—the idea that people have a disproportionate affection for things they help build. When your sweat and effort go into something, your heart goes into it too.

That’s why God doesn’t just call us to observe His work but to join in it. We love the church more when we’ve prayed for it, served in it, and sacrificed for it.

But here’s the greater truth: in the kingdom of God, the real building starts on

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Leading From Your Knees

Back in 1998, when I was a senior in seminary, I was assigned to pastor a small church in New Jersey. Just down the street was a Korean congregation whose parking lot was always full.

One day, I visited their pastor to see what I could learn. His answer surprised me: “To be successful, you have to spend at least five hours a day in prayer.”

Five hours? I still haven’t gotten there. But what I have discovered is this: the path to becoming an effective leader is not found in c

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"Glad to Be Here, Coach."

At the 2025 Global Leadership Summit, Coach Nick Saban shared a story about Derrick Henry from their days at Alabama.

It was the middle of summer. Two-a-day practices. Heat pressing down. Tempers rising. Players frustrated. Coaches aggravated. Everyone was worn thin.

One day, Saban walked past Derrick Henry at his locker and casually asked, “How you doing?” Most players would have groaned or complained. But Henry, who would one day become an NFL legend, simply said: “Glad to

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A Diversified Life Portfolio

At the 2025 Global Leadership Summit, Thasundra Brown Duckett, CEO of TIAA, offered a word picture that has stayed with me. She said we should live our lives like a diversified portfolio.

Just as an investor spreads resources across different assets to weather the ups and downs of the market, so too in life we must recognize the different areas that matter—faith, family, health, work, relationships, service—and give each its rightful place.

She was honest: even with diversif

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Keystone Habit: My Bulletproof Vest

At the 2025 Global Leadership Summit, Craig Groeschel shared a thought that’s been echoing in my spirit ever since. He said instead of trying to build seven new habits at once, we should focus on one—what Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit calls a keystone habit. It’s the habit that triggers other positive changes in our lives.

I spent weeks praying and meditating on that idea, asking: What is my keystone habit? What’s the one thing that, when I practice it faithfully, se

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When You Lose the Map

I read something recently that hit me right between the eyes:

“The hard part is that you lose the map. If you’ve outsourced your definition of success your whole life, having to define it yourself feels like losing GPS mid-drive. You have to build your sense of direction while you’re already moving.” — Shane Parrish

Doesn’t that sound like life? We start out thinking somebody else will tell us where to go—family, culture, even church traditions. But then comes a moment when

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Finding Our Way Back

I came across these words from Timothy Keller the other day: “We have to find our way back to the true and living God—the only one who, if you find Him, can truly fulfill you, and if you fail Him, can truly forgive you.”

That stopped me. Because the truth is, all of us spend time chasing little gods—success, approval, control, comfort. They promise a lot, but they don’t keep their word. They can’t fulfill, and they certainly can’t forgive.

But the living God can. He is the F

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What a Friend in Ronda

We had just arrived in Ronda, Spain, when the sound of a saxophone filled the streets. The musician’s name was Pasquale, and the song he played was one I knew by heart: What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

It stopped me in my tracks. That very same hymn had already been chosen for worship back home at Mt. Zion for the week. Across an ocean, across cultures, across language barriers, God was weaving one melody.

It was a reminder that the gospel travels. Grace doesn’t stay confined

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