The following article was first published in June 2000 in CHRISTIANITY TODAY. Wendy Murray Zoba painted a beautiful picture of what Ruth Bell Graham called her "martyrdom of a long life." All of us at Gifted For Leadership extend our sympathy and prayers to the Graham family. Ruth was a leader we would all do well to follow - especially as her life pointed so clearly ...

When my daughter was in kindergarten, she headed off to school one morning with her hair done up in an arrangement that only vaguely resembled a braid. Actually, at the top it looked almost exactly like a braid. But the hairstyle quickly devolved into a loose semi-tangle with an odd dogleg, like a fairway at Augusta National.

The following morning Jessi asked me to please ...

I had a couple of ruthless high school English teachers who routinely "bled" across my and my classmates' papers with their red pens - fabulous teachers who taught us to write. One point they eventually got across is how much harder it is to write a short paper than a long one. This is counterintuitive but true. Today this point re-emerges when a client is ...

It is a simple proposition: In a culture of abundance, the greatest luxury is meaning. What does my life mean? What am I doing here? Do I matter? Is there more to existence than consumption? Are we called to improve the lives of our fellow human beings? Are we called to take care of the earth? Is it really possible for one person to make a difference?

If the above proposition ...

If you stay in ministry long enough, you will get hurt. In our small groups and church serving teams we can easily become close friends with those we lead. When hurt and disappointment inevitably comes, it's tempting to throw in the towel and quit, or at least to withdraw from the ones we are called to shepherd. Toxic cynicism can easily seep into our souls.

After ...

An excerpt from Leading with Confidence, a downloadable resource from GiftedForLeadership.com:

Paul's entire reason for confidence is rooted in the character of God himself - not what Paul did or didn't see going on around him. He's absolutely certain of one thing: God is in control. Period.

This, of course, is a great mystery to us. How does God take into ...

Elizabeth Gilbert, a regular columnist for GQ magazine, has written a new book -

Eat, Play, Love - that traces the spiritual quest of a modern, educated, well-employed American. When I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. As a woman, a Christian, and an anthropologist, I recommend it.

Like Liz, a lot of our friends and colleagues want a richer spiritual experience, ...

When I went into full-time ministry, I feared my children would resent church if I gave too much time or energy to it. I had stayed home for 11 years and when my youngest son Trent was in kindergarten, I decided to move into vocational ministry. I began a leadership role at Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago. It was a challenging transition, but surprisingly, ...

When God chose to speak to Moses out of the burning bush, it was for a specific purpose. He had a plan for Moses' life, and he was about to tell Moses exactly how to start carrying it out. Once Moses had properly positioned himself to hear from God, the Lord spoke: "I am sending you to Pharoah to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10).

Whoa!