resources

I'm thankful for the opportunity I've had to put down on paper some of the things God has put on my heart. If you're interested, a few of those resources:

• The Real Deal - Interactive Leadership Guide
• Increasing Your Personal Impact - Interactive Leadership Guide
• The Miracles of Jesus

While most of my content on this blog will be out of convictions formed in my heart and/or things I am currently exploring, I would misrepresent myself if I didn't give credit where credit is due. Beyond God (of course), I'd like to thank the following people for their contribution into my understanding of leadership, including how you can benefit from them as well:

• Dan Webster, Authentic Leadership Inc.
  
  Dan was my youth pastor and through his teaching/life introduced me to Jesus Christ. Our relationship was in a large ministry (2000+ high school students), so we really never bonded until after I graduated high school and began to intern in the program he was leading. Later, we formed a more active friendship and I have been blessed by his mentoring on so many occasions that I've lost count.
  
  The thing on Dan's heart is simply that - the "heart" of leadership. If you are interested in knowing more than the "right thing to say" but becoming the kind of person who is about the "right things," I'd encourage you to check out Dan's many resources and begin your journey in an authentic place.



• Bill Hybels, Willow Creek Community Church
  
  I'll be honest - some of my greatest lessons I've learned from Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, came about by cleaning his office. I was a third-shift janitor (part-time, just out of high school) and gleaned much from the intentional way he sought to give God his best. I won't go into details on this, but I will say that you learn much about a man by what he does and doesn't throw away in the trash can.
  
  Obviously, Bill is known for greater things than what I am mentioning. Accordingly, you should check out the WCA web site for more info his leadership resources. Bill is a high Type-A, but don't hold that against him... he seems to be getting the job done.



• YouthSpecialties
  
  When I was trying to gut out an effective ministry to teenagers in a variety of contexts, I came across this amazing community of dangerous wonder... thinkers, feelers, activists, contemplatives, and so on who believed that there was more than one "right" way to help the church have the healthiest future possible - all by loving God and loving students. Had YS not entered my life when it did, I might have thrown in the towel on more than one occasion. The National Youth Worker Convention has saved my sanity, spirituality, and strength when all three had dropped below "empty."
  
  I am thankful the time I've spent with three of the key leaders in YS - Mike Yaconelli, who once told me (in love) to shut up and start listening; Tic Long, whom I've appreciated in all the energy he put forth into the conventions; and Marko (Mark Oestreicher), who in recent days has become a sideline friend whom I feel an active burden to pray for... mainly because his hands are on a key steering wheel that can potentially bless the future of Christendom, and I am confident that his heart is in the right place.



• Rob Bell, Mars Hill Bible Church
  
  While Rob Bell has his groupies and his critics, I simply consider him a breath of fresh air during a time in my life that I needed much oxygen. The community he helped form called Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan blessed my family in numerous ways, and the sideline conversations he and I have shared in person and electronically helped me realize that I wasn't insane after all... sometimes Type-A and Type-B people are not as evil as the other thinks.
  
  Rob's big contribution these days is most notably Nooma videos, and he absolutely upset the apple cart with his book Velvet Elvis. Again, I'm not a groupie and encourage you not to be either. I don't agree with Mr Bell on a few things, but I do appreciate the conversations he's helped stir up.
  
  
• Joe Seaborn, Larry Mitchell, and Bud Bence
  
  These three gentlemen had profound influence on me in college, and to this day I keep this picture close by for a reason. It's not for that reason, though... it's because these guys taught me some lessons through some hard stuff in their lives. Nothing more needs to be said than that, but I wanted to post this here for that reason.