Leading Today: Managing Well at Home

Eighteen years. In less than two decades, you'll go from being an expectant parent to being an empty nester. In less time than it takes to pay off a mortgage, your kids will graduate from diapers to a diploma. You'll spend 20, 30 or 40 years in leadership roles but only about 18 years raising children in your home. We have to do this right.

Illustration: Perspective, Heaven

Two female friends die together in a car accident. As they enter heaven, Peter says, "There's just one rule in heaven. Don't step on the ducks." As you can imagine, there were ducks all over heaven. When one of the women steps on one, Peter appears along with the ugliest man she ever saw and says, "Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity with this man.

Illustration: Lust, Self-Control

In his Turning Point Daily Devotional for July 16, 2004, David Jeremiah shares the Paul Harvey story about how Eskimos sometimes killed wolves: "A knife with a razor-sharp blade was soaked in blood, then frozen. After repeating these two steps numerous times, the blade was completely concealed by frozen blood. It was stuck in the ground, blade up, waiting for a wolf to catch the scent. A wolf, unable to quench his desire for the blood, would ultimately bleed to death from wounds inflicted by licking the blade."

Relevant Preaching

In his new book What They Didn't Teach You in Seminary (Baker), James Emery White stresses the importance of relevance in effective communication. He says, "Being relevant has nothing to do with watering down the truth of the gospel. It has nothing to do with removing all references to sin, the cross or commitment. It does not mean having to stay with topical messages that deal solely with issues such as parenting, family, marriage, self-image and relationships. All I'm suggesting is to avoid giving a 19th or 20th century message to a 21st century audience.

Illustration: Faith, Daring

Dorothy Parker once wrote of the dancer Isadora Duncan, "There was never a place for her in the terrible slow army of the cautious. She ran ahead, where there were no paths." What a wonderful tribute that would be for any of us -- that in faith, we run ahead, where there are no paths.

Illustration: Communication

A very zealous soul-winning young preacher recently came upon a farmer working in his field. Being concerned about the farmer's soul, the preacher asked the man, "Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord, my good man?"

Engaging the Culture, Changing the World

As an advocate of Christian higher education, I was delighted to see Philip W. Eaton's new book Engaging the Culture, Changing the World (IVP Academic), in which the author offers a vision for the Christian university in a postmodern world. Such institutions offer a tool for influencing the culture, and Eaton offers a bold way forward.