I recently watched and listened to a portion of a panel discussion involving individuals who had been involved in a number of political campaigns. All of them had worked for the same person. All had been with him during both losing and winning campaigns. I know that some of them (I think all of them) had also been with this man during his time as our president. As they talked and reminisced, one thing became abundantly clear. People in positions like the ones they had and who have the responsibilities they had absolutely do not work either an eight-hour day or a forty-hour workweek. Neither does the person for whom they work. The fact that…

It happened again in this week’s ladies’ Bible class. We were reading from Genesis 17 when God reaffirms His covenant with Abram, changing his name to Abraham. This is also where God institutes the sign of the covenant – circumcision. The focus of our lesson was on the underlying meaning of circumcision as it is used throughout scripture. It represents a choice to obey and make ourselves more sensitive to God’s will over our own. But what I noticed (as I often do) was a side note. It’s found in verses 24-27: “Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old…

The one who calls himself “the preacher” in Ecclesiastes 1:1 stated, “It is better to go the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting” (7:2). Often, when we hear that verse quoted, we wonder how it can possibly be true. Yet, in the rest of that same verse, a reason is given for this statement: “For this [the house of mourning, ADF] is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” We live in a world where feasting (or, as we might say it, living it up) is seen as the end-all-be-all. We just want to be happy and think about…

A recent edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an article that I found fascinating. The title of the article was the same as the title of this post: “How to Lead like George Washington.” The article contained a great amount of information about leadership. The focus seemed to be on how present-day leaders in various fields could learn some lessons from “the father of our country.” The author, Sam Walker, mentioned some leadership models and philosophies advocated by some and apparently practiced by many today that are not working. After discussing some of these models, the author turned his attention to the leadership qualities possessed and exhibited by Mr. Washington as…

Starvation is no laughing matter. Close to a billion people go hungry annually. Statistics say a child dies of hunger in our world every five seconds. Hunger is understood to be the most extreme form of poverty, as individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food. Our son Daniel has always been a picky eater. One night years ago when he was just a toddler he refused to eat even two bites of grilled chicken at suppertime. I remember this epic battle of parents versus child. My wife and I decided to go the distance. For more than 24 hours he refused to eat the…