Barnabas File

“They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless.”--2 Kings 17:15b, NIV                                                                                                                 Following the death of King Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms and both began a downward spiral into idolatry, rejecting the worship of Yahweh for the fertility gods native to Canaan.  They turned their devotion from God...

Many of us have heard this question this summer as we have traveled with young (and sometime not so young) passengers.   Of course, this presupposes that we know where we are going!   We will only know if we are there if we have a clear idea of our destination.   Often, some have one idea while others have another. In a recent blog , Mark Miller wrote, “Have you ever been confused by a message you received from a leader? Have you ever received mixed messages from leaders in your organization? If your organization has at least two leaders, I’m confident the answer is ‘yes!’”   So how do you avoid sending mixed messages throughout your organization?   Who defines the destination so that we all get to the same place at the right time? Most organizations—secular or faith-based—tend to attract driven, creative people who are seeking ways to advance the mission of the organization (and perhaps their own agendas as well).   The greatest challenge is...

This summer I am facilitating an online “Coaching Practicum” class of very sharp, involved students.   We are doing much of the class in a participative, seminar-type approach with the students taking responsibility for certain topics.   They bring new and refreshing insights to the course and expand my knowledge in the process.  One student was assigned to present on SMART Goals last week.   SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.   We used this approach in Disciple Development Coaching© and the student had been using such goals since her college days including a time in a professional training setting.   In her research, however, she came up with an alternative called CLEAR Goals.   CLEAR stands for the following:  Collaborative—Does the goal encourage the person to work with others in order to accomplish the goal? Limited—Is the goal clearly limited in both scope and time? Emotional—Doe...