The Painful Beauty of Creativity

The musician, poet, songwriter Leonard Cohen used the following image for the creative process of writing (for teachers, artists, preachers, etc.):

[The ...

J.R.R Tolkien's Story about Gifts and Talents

In J.R.R. Tolkien's (The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings) lesser-known short story "Smith of Wootton Major," Tolkien has a profound insight ...

A Benediction about Serving Wherever You Are

Richard Halverson, former pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland and also the former chaplain of the United States Senate used the ...

Baseball Scout Saw Years Down the Road

Tony Liciardello was baseball's greatest scout, having signed fifty-two youngsters (including two Hall of Famers) who would rise through the minor league ...

The Old Preacher's 67,600 Pages of Sermons

In Marilynne Robinson's beautiful novel Gilead, the old preacher John Ames starts digging through a box of sermons in his attic. One day he figures ...

Ordinary Volunteer Finds Her Leadership Gift

Leadership coach Karen Miller tells the following story about how she and her husband needed to identify and develop new leaders for a new church plant: ...

Every Christian Is Called to Pursue Bold Leadership

Claude Alexander, bishop of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, urges Christians from all walks of life to step up into bold leadership. Here's ...

Six Ways People Find Meaning in Work

American essayist, historian, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote: "It is not enough to be industrious. So are the ants." The British science magazine ...

Blacksmith's Ancient Swords Illustrate Excellence

In his book Deep Work, author Cal Newport provides an example of excellence—a blacksmith from Wisconsin named Ric Furrer. Furrer specializes in ...

A Pearl of (Very) Great Price

A tourism officer in the Philippines recently unveiled a family treasure: a 75-pound pearl. The officer, Aileen Cynthia Maggay-Amurao, received the pearl ...