On Leading Well

Author: Ken

  • Go Beyond! God’s Heart for All Nations from Genesis to Revelation


    During the Go! Missions Conference in College Station, Texas, I’ll walk through these twelve passages which progressively reveal God’s heart to bless the nations through the person of Jesus Christ.

    Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

    May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,

    that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Psalm 67:1-2

    And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:5-6

    And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction…. These twelve Jesus sent out… Matthew 9:35-10:1, 5

    Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

    And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15

    And [Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:46-47

    “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

    Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21

    But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

    The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

    After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands… Revelation 7:9

    All Scripture quotes from the English Standard Version

  • Let Your Message Come Through

    The ability to clearly communicate sets excellent leaders apart from the others. One way to ensure poor communication is by medicating people with boring, run-on, predictable presentations.

    You’ve got something important to say. How do you say what you mean and increase retention of what was said?

    Here are a few tips:

    • The greatest teacher the world has ever known used three time-proven methods. He told stories, asked questions, and practiced what he preached.

    • Give me a word picture, or a great image. Unless you’re training someone for a very specific task, avoid powerpoints with lots of small bullets.

    • Read this FastCompany article on good presentations.

    • Make it Stick. Consider reading Made To Stick by Chip & Dan Heath. They help us communicate SUCCESsfully by exploring six qualities that make ideas easily memorable. Keep things:
    1. Simple
    2. Unexpected
    3. Concrete
    4. Credible
    5. Emotional
    6. Stories

    I think I can remember those.


  • 35th Spiritual Birthday

    On a Wednesday afternoon in a bank’s unused meeting room, one woman banged out some hymns on a piano while 40 some-odd kids followed along. A second woman then began telling stories from the Bible using a felt-board. Felt-boards were what people used to communicate before Velcro, Power-point, 3M sticky notes and cell phones were invented.

    This felt-board had a big heart with a door in the middle. Jesus waited politely on the outside (the side without a door handle). Only the person inside (me, in this case) could invite him in.

    As a 10-year old fourth grader, I didn’t need a lot of data to convince me of my own sin and my need for a savior. Later, after dinner, I vividly remember going upstairs to my room, kneeling beside my bed, and inviting Jesus to invade my life, forgive my sins, and help me follow Him. That was Halloween night 1973. Shout at the devil.

    Thank you, Ann Pugh, for faithfully presenting the message to a kid who desperately needed to hear it. Another ten years would pass before I fully surrendered to Christ’s wonderful Lordship. You have borne good fruit to God’s glory among the nations. Your labor was not in vain.

    Did you know…? On this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany, pouring gas on the flame of the nascent Reformation. Shout at the devil again.