By: Mary Walker on March 15, 2018
New York Times columnist David Brooks is known for his Op-Ed pieces on the social sciences, especially psychology. In his book, The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, Brooks establishes the interaction between the conscious and unconscious minds. Brooks synthesized a wealth of social science evidence into one narrative in order…
By: Jim Sabella on March 15, 2018
How does one succeed? Can you be truly happy? Is success in life, based on the skills we learn at a conscious level, those things that we strive to develop, or is success in life somehow rooted in the unconscious, which we often play down or do not find the need to develop? Everyone wrestles…
By: Kristin Hamilton on March 13, 2018
If you know me, chances are that you have gathered that my social and political leanings are a BIT left of center. Being a “liberal” in a conservative family and church tradition can easily put me into an “us vs. them” mindset if I’m not careful. In order to keep my mind and heart more…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on March 13, 2018
When we consider shaping church culture, it is advantageous to view it as an emergent system, created as the result or outcome of all the parts coming together. “Emergent systems exist when different elements come together and produce something that is greater than the sum of their parts.”[1] For instance, “a marriage is an emergent…
By: Stu Cocanougher on March 13, 2018
Several weeks ago, I began listening to the Audiobook The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks. Brooks is a cultural commentator and a write for The New York Times. As I began listening to The Social Animal, I was intrigued by its design. Brooks had compiled a massive…
By: Stu Cocanougher on March 8, 2018
It happened at the gym. I had just hopped on an exercise bike, started moving the pedals and began to read the next book from my Doctor of Ministry reading list. The book was Leadership Pain by Samuel R. Chand. Now, even though this book had a name that was attractional as “How to Make…
By: Chip Stapleton on March 8, 2018
This week we read the book Leadership Pain: The Classroom for Growth by Samuel Chand. I initially misread the title as Leadership PLAN which lead to a few minutes of confusion, to be sure, but really wouldn’t have been that far off. Chand is essentially proposing that to lead is to experience pain and, in fact, your…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on March 8, 2018
As a leader it is inevitable that we will encounter experiences and situations that produce growing pains. Some of which can come as a blindsided occurrence while others are a set of circumstances that have built up over time. Whether the pain comes from financial stress, staff issues, exponential growth or even personal crisis, each…
By: Katy Drage Lines on March 8, 2018
There is much in our assigned reading of Samuel Chand’s Leadership Pain[1] this week that troubles me (not least that the assumption of “success” is “growth”, or that a book written on leadership in 2015 uses male pronouns). I was bothered by the goal of ladder climbing, “devils” of resistance being signs we can/can’t handle…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on March 7, 2018
As much as we hate to admit it, pain or discomfort does produce change. If it doesn’t break you, it produces character as reinforced by the popular phrase: What doesn’t break you makes you stronger. Chand reminds of some important principles of pain: “The longer I avoid a problem, the bigger it generally becomes. Pain…
By: Jim Sabella on March 7, 2018
Dr. Chand has approached a topic that is seldom talked about publicly: the topic of pain in ministry. If I had to sum up his theme in one sentence, it would be, pain is a part of change, leaders are change agents and therefore, pain is a part of…
By: Mary Walker on March 7, 2018
Growth, Change, Loss, Pain — Growth I couldn’t possibly write a book on leadership pain without honoring Brenda, my wife and “pain partner” since 1979 and my best friend since 1973. Together we have been through the darkest times—leadership failures, poverty, deaths, marriage challenges, parenting, failed business ventures, people disappointment, betrayal, plans gone awry, and…
By: Lynda Gittens on March 7, 2018
When ever you work hard toward a goal, there will be pain. If you are building body muscles, there is pain. If you are losing weight, there is pain. If you give birth, there is pain. Can we say, anything worth while…
By: Kristin Hamilton on March 6, 2018
Growth = Change Change = Loss Loss = Pain Thus Growth = Pain[1] I don’t think anyone would debate that pain is a part of the human condition. There are many debates of why pain exists or where pain comes from, but the fact remains that humans experience pain. When we are young we…
By: Kristin Hamilton on March 2, 2018
And if the dam breaks open many years too soon And if there is no room upon the hill And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon. – Pink Floyd When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of…
By: Chip Stapleton on March 1, 2018
This week we read Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures by Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima. While it wouldn’t be honest to say that I have enjoyed reading all of the books we have been assigned in this doctoral program, I have appreciated all of them and,…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on March 1, 2018
Our reading this week, Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership by Gary L. McIntosh and Samuel D. Rima, I felt was timely (at least for me). I tend to read books like these with caution due to the fact that they attempt to put people in a box and reveal all of their issues while…
By: Lynda Gittens on March 1, 2018
Authors McIntosh and Rima wrote this book to open our minds and eyes to our truths. We all have a dark side (issues) that affect our lives, negatively and positively. We must acknowledge our dark side first in order to effectively address it. As leaders in the spiritual realm, we will be faced with opportunities…
By: Jim Sabella on March 1, 2018
Leader: don’t let the title deceive you. The dark side of leadership is not in the leading. The epicenter of the dark side is located within the leader! I begin with a quote and some questions every leader should ask themselves. “Why is it that we always assume that our leadership is good? Why do we believe…
By: Stu Cocanougher on February 28, 2018
Working in my office today, I stumbled across a live feed from the U.S. Capitol Building. The deceased Billy Graham, the most well-known preacher in the modern world, was given the privilege have having his body “lie in honor” in the Rotunda. I had already read that Graham’s coffin was handmade by inmates in Louisiana’s…
