Posts Tagged ‘The Focus Group’
Stewards of the Reign of Peace By R. Scott Rodin
What does the “Reign of Peace” mean to you? As you read these first few words of this blog, something is ruling in your heart. Right now, something has a hold of you, and its reign is dominating your thoughts, emotions, and attitude. What has dominion in your heart at this moment? How about when…
Read MoreHearing God in an Odd Convergence R. Scott Rodin
Convergence of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday From the Heart of a Steward Today represents an interesting convergence of two days. I love Valentine’s Day. I mark the Day with gifts and words conveying my love for Linda each year. It is a warm and bright day amid a dark and dreary season. So, I…
Read MoreA New Year’s Challenge By R. Scott Rodin
For this New Year’s Challenge – Start 2024 with a Sieve In 2019, my novel, The Four Gifts of the King, was published. Like most novels, the novel has a meta-narrative – a big story to tell. Every person in the book has a part in telling that story. No one is superfluous. No one…
Read MoreThe Speed of Darkness – A Christmas Blog By R. Scott Rodin
A Christmas blog about darkness? Really? Let me explain: Jesus was born in the physical darkness of a stable. He came into a social darkness of poverty, oppression, and fear. He entered a politically dark culture under cruel Roman rule. His first cries rang out in a spiritual darkness where the spirit of the law…
Read MoreThanksgiving Is All in Your Head By R.Scott Rodin
Is Thanksgiving in your head, and should it be? The Oxford Dictionary defines thanksgiving as “the feeling of being happy or grateful because of something.”[1] I think the Oxford Dons got it wrong. What they’ve described is thanksfeeling. If they are right, then it will only take a brief viewing of local, national, and world news to convince you to leave…
Read MoreLiving and Leading in an Age of Anxiety By R. Scott Rodin
Learn to Resist the Anxiety the World Provides Mark Sayer’s new book, A Non-Anxious Presence, How a Changing and Complex World Will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders, suggests that anxiety is the dominant theme in our world and our leadership. This anxiety is generated by what he calls the ‘gray zone’ in which…
Read MoreLost in a Maze of Self-Reliance By R. Scott Rodin
Lost and The Need for the Way Out Sometimes, leaders lose their way. Amidst personnel challenges, cultural pressures, financial uncertainties, and self-doubt, we can muddle along, unsure of where we are going. Unexpected challenges, unsuccessful strategies, criticism of our best efforts, and rapid change can bring us uncertainty, lack of direction, and even despair. Do…
Read MoreNeither Born nor Made By R. Scott Rodin
The Truth Beyond the “Born or Made” Debate There’s an ongoing debate in leadership studies as to whether great leaders are born or made. The nature vs. nurture discussion has focused on successful leadership traits and asked whether these were inherent in some people’s DNA or acquired skills that some people have learned and plied…
Read MoreHow a Jar of Dirt Can Save America By R. Scott Rodin
What will you do with a jar of dirt? What will we learn from a jar of dirt when It’s challenging to enter 2023 without some sense of foreboding? We seem to be living in an unrelenting tension between our firm conviction that God is on the throne and the evidence of a nation that…
Read MoreEnough is Enough: A Thanksgiving Prayer By R. Scott Rodin
Finding The Way Back to Thanksgiving Thanksgiving week has become a most peculiar season in American life. I love this day; it’s my favorite holiday of the year. But each year, when it comes around, I find myself saddened by the disjointed nature of the activities of the week that seem contradictory at best and…
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