This weekend, I missed a shot that should be automatic.  Yes, I admit my perfectionistic tendencies and how those are not always beneficial. This one, however, bothered me as in I lost sleep over it.  After getting the youngest down for his nap the next day, I went to my normal "thinking place" - for those that do not know me that means I was shooting my bow - and then I had "a moment."  Once again, archery taught me a lesson about life.

In Matthew 20, Jesus sheds significant light on the topic of leadership, authority, and greatness as He offers an amazing contrast between what people perceive and what actually is.  Far too often, this passage is quoted without the all-important context that is vital for understanding.  He concludes a grand discourse that has presented several parables and, most recently, announced to His disciples that He would die at the hands of the Jewish and Gentile leaders.  At the end of this teaching, a mother approaches Jesus to ask for her sons to have preferential treatment in His kingdom.  She was exhibiting faith that He was the promised Messiah but also betraying a misunderstanding of the Messiah.  Needless to say, the other ten were not happy and then we hear leadership gold from Jesus!

Saul, the first Hebrew king, offers us an example that cannot be overlooked - particularly for those that are business starters or hold a newly created leadership position.  He made decisions that are typical of an "initiator" and we would do well to learn from his example to save us from expensive AND extensive difficulty.  To unpack his life and leadership, we will go to the book of 1 Samuel for a summary explanation of his life and decisions.  Please note that we cannot cover the majority of one Old Testament book in a short blog, so this will only hit the highlights.  We will close with five specific applications of those lessons for leaders.

This blog entry will start a new series (The Mess of the Monarchy) and a new category (Hebrew Kings).  For the longest time I struggled with Hebrew history with a particular focus on the mess that men made of the monarchy.  In my quest to analyze and figured that out, I stumbled upon the work of J. Robert Clinton and his conclusions from studying hundreds of Biblical leaders (should you want to learn more, see his article "Listen Up, Leaders!").

With everything that took place during the pandemic shutdowns where businesses were closed and gatherings minimized, our deepest human desire - for personal connection - was starved.  Unfortunately, however, that occurrence is not an isolated incident.  The starving for a personal touch has expanded in recent years due to our increased reliance on digital tools.  We focus attention on "friends" we have never met but are hundreds of miles away while neglecting those within the walls of our home.  How do we as people, and as leaders, address that deficiency.  We will take a look at what some have done in the fast-food industry to combat this factor.

If you know anything about me, you know that I am an avid archer.  An abundance of life (and leadership) lessons exist within archery, so I am starting a new category to focus on those lessons.  Take a look at the image below - it teaches us that connection IS direction.  If you want to learn more, then keep reading below as we will talk about the 4 parts to the image and get into the specifics of the lesson that we can learn.