Barnabas File

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”—Galatians 6:2, NIV I have made many mistakes over the years, but I finally came to realize one that I could correct.  For too many years, I depended on my own ability to handle things.   Sometimes the thing I was dealing with was professional and at other times it was personal.  I felt that if I just exerted enough time and energy, I could make it happen. Fortunately I discovered two things: first, I had limitations; second, other people were willing to help me.  Both of these discoveries required humility.  I had to learn that I could not do everything and also to learn how to ask for help. Think for a minute about those who are available to help you. First, there are fellow team members who can be of assistance.  Others have abilities and gifts that can complement your own.  Where you are not particularly talented, another person may be very gifted (and vice...

While introducing me to a group last fall, my friend Bo Prosser said, “Ircel has shown an ability to reinvent himself.”   I felt complimented by this observation and readily embrace it.   Although my vocational bent has been Christian ministry, I have had the opportunity to pursue that vocation in several ways—pastoral leader, campus minister, denominational worker, and now as a coach and educator.    Some of this has been intentional but there have also been times when, in the providence of God, doors have opened that I did not expect.   I say this to be very clear that there are some things that we do not orchestrate in our lives, but even so we can develop a mindset that is open to learning, inquiry, and personal growth that provides new insights and prepares us for the unexpected. Learning is a key to this idea of reinvention.   In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Monique Valcour suggested some intentional steps one can take to...

In TransforMissional Coaching , Steve Ogne and Tim Roehl write:     “A great C.O.A.C.H. . . .      Comes alongside      Observes carefully      Asks questions wisely      Communicates options and resources      Holds accountable (and cares for the Heart)” A life coach or leadership coach is not a miracle worker, but a good coach can make a positive difference for a person at crucial points in life.   So when do you need a coach?   Here are three (of many) possibilities: 1.   You have accepted a new responsibility that may very well exceed your present capacity.   You are being stretched.   Perhaps you have accepted a new pastorate, a new leadership role in your denomination, a job with a new organization, or been promoted to a new responsibility in your present setting.   It’s time to step up to the plate and hit a home ru...

In an article on the exponential growth of knowledge, David Russell Schilling wrote: Buckminster Fuller created the “Knowledge Doubling Curve”; he noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today things are not as simple as different types of knowledge have different rates of growth. For example, nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months.  According to    IBM, the build out of the “internet of things” will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours. Of course, all knowledge is not of equal value.   There are some things that we can live without knowing but there is other information that can be invaluable to us.   How do we do about acquiring it? As you begin a new year, how will you go about acquiring the knowledge that will...

This is a movie about a committed, gifted physician who takes a stand against a powerful bureaucracy.   No, Concussion is not about Dr. Ben Carson but Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), the gifted forensic pathologist who fought against efforts by the National Football League to suppress his research on the brain damage suffered by professional football players. On many levels, this is a story about faith.   Omalu is a man of faith but he is also a man of science.   He clearly sees no conflict between the two and when he finds truth in science, he must share it with a religious fervor.    In doing so, he takes on a uniquely American expression of faith—football. As one character points out, Omalu is attacking an industry (not just a sport) that “owns a day of the week, one that used to belong to the church.”   Another character describes football as a “blessing,” “salvation,” and “the beating heart of the city.”   Strong words for a secular e...