Inner Work and Acknowledging Your Limits
A crucial part of the inner work of leadership is being realistic about the limits of our abilities, competencies, and gifts. Sometimes leaders seem to think they need to be omni-competent, able to do everything required of leaders. Plus, to be fair, sometimes the people they lead expect the same of them. But wise and effective leaders will have done the inner work of leadership, honestly evaluating what they do well and what they don’t do well. When we do this, sometimes this evaluation will lead to additional training and/or coaching so that we can grow in our competencies. But sometimes it’s right for us to say to ourselves and others, “I don’t do that very well. I need some help with this.”
Read Post Astonishing Acts of God – Part 2
King Nebuchadnezzar realized the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego is truly a deliverer. Similarly, from the scriptures our hearts are warmed and encouraged and we can shout in adoration: our God is a protector and deliverer.
Read Post Astonishing Acts of God – Part 1
During life’s challenging times when we are faced with conflict, and even with confrontation to go against God’s Word or compromise our beliefs, we can miss an opportunity to see God at work in amazing ways.
Read Post Inner Work and the Exercise of Power
No matter where you are when it comes to exercising power, I believe the Lord wants you to do the inner work associated with power. Pay attention to your hungers and fears, your temptations and hesitations. Ask the Lord for the grace to be humble, not by never exercising power, but rather by learning how use your power with genuine humility as you serve others. Above, all, may God grant you the grace to “humble [yourself] under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
Read Post Unmasking Your Desire to be the Solo Hero
We who lead might be tempted to seek our own glory as the solo hero who solves the big problems of our organization. But, though individuals can make a difference through their efforts, that difference is most effective when it involves equipping, encouraging, and supporting others. For this to happen, we who lead need to examine our hearts, to identify and work on any tendencies we might have to want to be the exalted hero. We must learn to empower others and rejoice in their accomplishments.
Read Post The Inner Work of Knowing What You’re Really Seeking
It feels good when people praise us. But sometimes we can be so eager for the approval of people that we neglect the approval of God. The example of the Apostle Paul encourages us to make pleasing God our chief motivation. In order to do this, we need to do the inner work of searching our souls for what we’re really seeking in life and leadership.
Read Post Must Have Been Something in the Water
Jesus’s baptism means something for how we understand his glory in Epiphany. It also means something for how we understand his temptation, and his ability to resist temptation, in Lent.
Read Post When Ash Wednesday Falls On Valentine’s Day
In Psalm 103 there’s a profound relationship between our dustiness and our belovedness. Because God loves us, God sees us in all of our sinful, mortal dustiness, yet has compassion for us. Therefore, when we think of love as an attribute of God, we can make a connection between Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day. When we receive the imposition of ashes and hear it said, “You are dust, and to dust you will return,” yes, we’re reminded of our mortality. But we can also remember that God has compassion for us because we are dust. God’s love for us, the powerful, deep, abiding love revealed through the cross of Christ, is right there with us in all of our dustiness.
Read Post Make Your Way to the Balcony
If you want to do the inner work of leadership, if you want to see yourself with new clarity and perspective, then you need to make your way to the balcony, so to speak. Do whatever helps you to see your life and leadership from a perspective that promotes your growth in wisdom.
Read Post Pay Attention to Yourself
Ephesians 5:15 invites us to what we in the De Pree Center have been calling “inner work.” Yes, we also should pay attention to our actions. But careful attention will look beneath what we do to what’s going on inside of us. It will examine our thoughts and feelings, our longings and losses, our hopes and fears, our hates and loves.
Read Post The Dry Place
The struggle for power: Where does real power come from? Under whose authority is Jesus operating?
Read Post The Deep Place
Did Jesus have to go back to these deep waters of baptism and submerge himself in the waters of God’s love whenever he questioned his own leadership abilities? Did he ever feel discouraged about them?
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Inner Work and Team Leadership: A Personal Example
The example of Nehemiah encourages us to think about how we have done inner work that shapes our leadership.
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Inner Work and Leading a Team
The book of Nehemiah shows that Nehemiah’s effectiveness as a leader wasn’t just a matter of skill or charisma. It was a result of the prayerful inner work he had done at the beginning of the story and continued to do as he was leading the people. There was something about Nehemiah that called forth a positive response from those who chose to follow him. Yes, it had to do with his vision and plan. But it also had to do with his character as a leader people wanted to follow.
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