By: David Weston on May 1, 2025
I must start with a confession: I had reservations about Dr. Eve Poole’s book, Leadersmithing: Revealing the Trade Secrets of Leadership, [1] from the beginning. I stand on the other side of my reading with a significant modification to my initial, unexamined view. I admit that I had several biases in my understanding of how…
By: Linda Mendez on April 24, 2025
During worship time with my sons tonight, we read the story of Adam and Eve, the moment when God gave them a single, clear command: not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In our Bible storybook, one line stood out: “That mistake, which seemed so small and unimportant at…
By: Linda Mendez on April 23, 2025
Singing has always been my escape, a way to clear my mind and release what weighs me down. I quickly learned a powerful truth in choir: you are not in control. Someone else is conducting, others are harmonizing alongside you, and if you miss a note, chances are no one will notice. You blend into…
By: Darren Banek on April 21, 2025
Last week was the crescendo event of the 2025 FIRST Robotics season. Nearly 50,000 people from 160 countries converged on Houston, Texas for the World Championship. It was an exhausting week of problem-solving competition that saw tears of joy and defeat. For our family, the season started in the fall of 2024 as an after-school…
By: Ivan Ostrovsky on April 18, 2025
I was about to turn 30 years old. I planned a four-day, three-night whitewater rafting trip over in California, the American River, inviting about 60 of my church members, youth, young adults, and their families. Somehow, I was able to find a spot right next to the river, with a mountain rising on the other…
By: Michael Hansen on April 18, 2025
It was another clear and crisp morning at 4 a.m. when we stumbled out of our tent and peered into the West Texas skyline to view the glow on the horizon. Ken, Jerry, and I quickly shaved and began our routine ten-minute stroll to the operational control center, where we were planning the next phase…
By: Christian Swails on April 18, 2025
It’s unsettling how much intentionality is required to spend our hours doing what we want to do. In our transcendence through the information age into now limitless potential and possibilities, creators and leaders are paralyzed by freedom. The biggest obstacles creators (entrepreneurs, knowledge workers, pastors, artists, writers, etc) face is knowing what they are supposed…
By: Linda Mendez on April 18, 2025
Since September 2024, when I decided to return to school, my days have followed a demanding rhythm. Mornings begin with waking the kids, packing lunches, getting everyone ready, and making the school drop-off, all before starting my workday by 7:30 a.m. That early start is often the only moment of peace before the flurry of…
By: Jeremiah Gómez on April 17, 2025
One of the least fun or exciting tasks—but perhaps one of the most important—I’ve completed in recent days is a crisis response plan for the church I serve as lead pastor if I’m suddenly unable to perform my duties. I know that death, incapacitation, or dismissal would be a tremendous challenge for the organization, especially…
By: David Weston on April 17, 2025
As I sat down to write this blog post on Shane Parrish’s New York Times Bestseller, Clear Thinking [1], I suddenly became quite fuzzy due to heavy ingestion of serious painkillers. I knew that many things were competing for my clarity of thought. I suddenly felt the urge to turn this ordinary moment into an…
By: Alex Mwaura on April 17, 2025
Leadership is hard work. Particularly when you think of all the factors that go into improving one’s leadership mindset, style, and approach. Jules Glanzer, in last week’s reading, indicated that “everyone is called to serve, and some are chosen to lead.”[1] The idea of “being chosen” comes with great responsibility in not only how we…
By: Jess Bashioum on April 16, 2025
In Clear Thinking, Shane Parrish explores biological defaults that shape human behavior. The “emotion default”[1] arises when emotions overpower rational thought, a phenomenon Dr. David Rock attributes to limbic system activation reducing prefrontal cortex function.[2] The “ego default”[3] defends self-worth and social standing, often reacting defensively, aligning with Rock’s concept of status, where threats are…
By: Joff Williams on April 16, 2025
I was recently presented with an opportunity to define leadership from my cohort colleague, Robert. Here’s how I chose to do so: Leadership defines what today is and influences others toward what tomorrow will be. Good leadership does so while not losing one’s own soul. It’s a work in progress and open to critique. In…
By: Betsy on April 16, 2025
This week’s cohort zoom chat made me cry because the vision of my life bubbled up in heat inside of me. I do believe that trauma recovery should change the world and is a message that is entirely about the Kingdom of God. I really enjoy our cohort Zoom chats and the contributions everyone brings.…
By: Rich on April 15, 2025
This week, we read Shane Parrish’s book, Clear Thinking.[1] The author identifies challenges that get in the way of thinking clearly, strategies to overcome those challenges, and a framework for decision making. The book is a compilation of wisdom and learnings from business leaders, cross-referencing material we have read from authors including Katheryn Schulz, Thomas…
By: Robert Radcliff on April 14, 2025
Clear Thinking by Parrish is a stoic look at decision-making through the lens of taming your natural instincts. Parrish’s point is that we can live deliberate lives by overcoming our defaults with reason. He writes, “The overarching theme of this book is that there are invisible instincts that conspire against good judgment. Your defaults encourage…
By: David Weston on April 12, 2025
In 1987, I wandered around the former Byzantine Cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Church in Constantinople, modern-day Istanbul. I was ill-prepared to experience what was about to take place. The Hagia Sophia (also spelled Agia Sophia) was first built in 537 AD during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In 987, Prince Vladimir…
By: Michael Hansen on April 11, 2025
I was introduced to peer evaluations while attending the United States Military Academy. As a nineteen-year-old, I didn’t glean much from the experience. However, I distinctly remember the results and my follow-up discussion with our tactical officer. We were asked to rank our classmates from our company (floor) and identify five who we would qualify…
By: Ivan Ostrovsky on April 11, 2025
Just when I thought I had read and learned everything about leadership, who knew that picking up the book The Sound of Leadership would provide me with a different perspective and deeper insights! As great as it is, my favorite part describes God as an artist and creator, portraying us as something artistic and special. In the…
By: Jeremiah Gómez on April 10, 2025
And some days weeks months seasons it’s harder than others. When I first picked up Glanzer’s The Sound of Leadership, I read it inspectionally and thought, “Great! A quick and easy read!”[1] What I encountered, though, was a helpful tool intersecting not just in a challenging season but in a week full of unique experiences……
