Dallas Willard has a chapter in Renewing the Christian Mind that is refreshing in examining “leadership.” There are some great thoughts that stood out:

First, God is looking for people. People look for methods, but God is looking for people. Methods are temporary. People are needed so over a lifetime there is growth in spiritual maturity. God isn’t looking at your results as much as he is looking at the person you are becoming.

Also, we need a strategy for constant renewal. What has cultivated goodness in my life in the past? Do that again!

Then there was this: Write. Not to publish, but write. This is why I’ve kept a blog all these years. It’s why I have stacks of journals. It’s why I have thousands of pages stored from lectures and sermons. Would I like to publish? Certainly. But, then again, what is there to say? Writing helps hone my thoughts. It helps me learn. It gives me clarity at times. Even if I simply copy passages out of books, which is a lot of my journaling and certainly a lot of my blogging (like this piece), I am helping bring clarity to my thinking.

One of my favorites: Know your Bible. Willard writes this: “Your life and your Bible should start forming a seamless whole. Wear out your Bible. Read it in large stretches, and repeatedly. Read the New Testament in one go… Take notes, because you will get stuff that will be life-giving.”

I have Bibles that are marked up in a hurry. I have notes in the margins. I have post-it notes in familiar passages. I have loved the study of the Word since high school. It is a thirst in me that only grows year by year. This is a sweet walk the Lord has given me and I bear witness to Dallas’s words