Many articles are dedicated to nurturing a leader’s growth, giving practical advice and insights. But what about those who don’t want to grow to become a good leader? Look no further. Here are the 8 worst ideas for leadership growth: [Tweet this]
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Pulling into a church parking lot, I often find myself groaning at the bold, brazen, and boisterous declarations people make on the back of their cars.
There’s always the classic, “My child is an honor student” and the retort, “Your honor student sells bumper stickers!”
But I’m amazed when Christians really get into it. Like the Jesus fish stomping Darwin. Or the “God is not a Democrat” and “God is not a Republican” that gain popularity every four years. Or a church in Denver whose bumper stickers read, “My church can kick your church’s a–!”
Why do churchgoers place hard-to-peel-off statements on the back of their vehicles?
Because Christians love to talk smack!
Now there are a few arguably good reasons to talk smack if you’re a Christian: Continue Reading…
(Disclaimer: This is not my story–thankfully. I grabbed it from here: http://goo.gl/gTFoJ)
Like everything in life, farts have a time and place. However, I never realized that in the wrong time and place, flatulence had enough power to alter my course in history. Well, it can if it’s the third date with the man of your dreams. And, if it makes his eyes burn. If God destined us to be together, I was one SBD away from foiling His plans (that’s “Silent But Deadly”).
After weeks of giving up contempt for Lent, I realize just how much more I’ve become aware of the presence of contempt in my life as well as the many ways it expresses or shows itself-sarcasm, biting comments, darker humor. I also find myself catching myself-apologizing quickly for making such comments, changing the conversation’s direction, silencing any further statements.
While being aware is essential, I long for more. I don’t want to just be aware of contempt or even give it up but be rid of contempt. Maybe that’s not possible. But I keep praying. Keep asking. Keep hoping for some sort of further breakthrough.
The days are passing by. Easter is coming. Jesus. Bring. Your. Resurrection. In. This. Area. Of. My. Life.
*Photo courtesy of here
I first heard of Comedian from John Acuff, author of Stuff Christians Like blog & book. We were talking about public speaking, humor, and the art of communicating effectively. He said, “You’ve got to see it!” What he didn’t mention is that it wouldn’t be the easiest film to track down. Since it released back in 2002, it’s not exactly lining the shelves of Blockbuster or filling the racks at Red Box. We used a friend’s account with Netflix to rent a copy–and we’re oh-so-happy we did.
Whether you’re a pastor, preacher, teacher, or public speaker of any kind, something about being on stage stirs terror, fear, excitement, thrill, calmness and every response in between. All of those emotions and more are revealed in real-time in Comedian.
Comedian follows the journey of Jerry Seinfeld, post Seinfeld, who is building a new comedy act from scratch. All new material. Nothing from previous shows. May sound simple, but as the film progresses, you discover how brutal, difficult, challenging the process is. He starts with a few minutes of material and over the course of the movie develops it into a full show–honing every word, the timing, the delivery. Along the way, the darker side of the comedic life–the insecurities, self-doubts, failures on stage emerge–and viewers are given a sneak peek behind the scenes of what it takes. Appearances from Colin Quinn, Robert Klein, Ray Ramano, Chris Rock, Gary Shandling and a long list of other comedians back stage and at late night meals add depth and insight to the film.
The two moments I can’t get out of my mind are an exchange between Seinfeld and Orny Adams about why a comedian chooses to be a comedian (raising parallels of why people choose to serve in ministry), the conversation between Seinfeld and Jay Leno about Leno’s handling of money and how he plans for the future (provocative for what he’s facing now) and the closing moments between Seinfeld and Bill Cosby that almost bring the comedian to tears.
If you’ve never seen Comedian, you need to–it will change the way you see and appreciate people who preach, teach, and step on and off a stage of any size.
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Margaret Feinberg is a popular Bible teacher and speaker at churches and leading conferences such as Catalyst, Thrive and Extraordinary Women. Her books and Bible studies have sold over 600,000 copies and received critical acclaim and extensive national media coverage. Click the image to learn more.
