leadership lessons i was reminded of on vacation

Sunday, October 14, 2012

This past week I took some time off to come up for air and hang with the kids while they were on their fall break. We had a great time watching movies, wrestling, playing games, doing yard work (yes I love doing yard work), sleeping in, having fires, fishing, hiking and camping (yes for real tent camping). Below are a couple of leadership lessons I was reminded of while I was relaxing with the family!

A Change of Scenery can Change Your Perspective

It was great getting out of the desert for a bit and hanging out in the trees up at Woods Canyon Lake! It’s funny how many times we forget this simple lesson as leaders but it’s essential to remain healthy and creative as a leader to put ourselves in different environments to keep us looking at things from a fresh perspective.

Enjoy the Journey

It was eerie being woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of elk bugling in the distance (they sound like whales). But that morning when I came out of the tent to get the fire going I was met by 3 elk about 50 yards from our tent. I quickly got the kids out of the tent and we just sat there taking it in for a few minutes before breakfast. If you can’t enjoy the scenery along the journey, you’ll never enjoy the destination once you get there (if you do).

The Right Work can be Refreshing and Gratifying

I know it’s weird, but I love doing yard work. I got to trim the pygmy date palms, overseed the yard and get rid of the weeds in the decomposed granite (all of my friends in the desert understand). When you’re playing the role on the team that you were created for all of the sudden your work becomes satisfying, refreshing, and meaningful.

Always have a Plan-B (and C, D, E, & F)

We ended up leaving the campground a day early due to the weather report; I actually had 1 bar (big shout out to Verizon). Good thing we did because our friends who stayed up there in a RV said they woke up to hail and ice on the ground. Sometimes as a leader you’ve got to know when to go to plan-B, be flexible, and sometimes even call it quits.

Posted in Family, Leadership

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big news in the alexander house

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I am thrilled to be able to announce that Lisa and I are getting ready to welcome our fourth child into the Alexander family. We are pregnant! I’ve always thought it was funny that guys say, “We are pregnant!” This will be number four for us, one more and we can field our own basketball team! That’s not the goal by the way. The girls are ready to practice all of their “mommy skills” and Lincoln is hoping for a baby brother to train up in the ways of the force. Lisa and I are just thrilled that the Lord would trust us of all people with another child! We’d appreciate all of your prayers as we begin this new part the journey as a family.

Posted in Family

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managing the tension between marriage and ministry part-1

Monday, July 2, 2012

Some time ago we set aside a Staff Training Day at Sun Valley Community Church and invited a couple of area churches together to invest in our Staff and their spouses. If you haven’t noticed lately the statistics are telling us that leaders in ministry are checking out every day on their families and their ministry. Any quick Google Search on “Pastors leaving Ministry” will give you loads of information and statistics on the subject. I managed to grab the .mp3 files of a couple of talks for you from that day. Here they are for FREE!

Session #1
Tom Shrader, Founding and Lead Teaching Pastor of Redemption Church
Recently lost his wife to cancer.

Download the first session (right click and “save as…”)

Session #2
Al Ells, Founder and Director of Leaders that Last
An interview with Al who serves as a professional counselor, coach, and mentor to many high level leaders.

Download the second session (right click and “save as…”)

Posted in Family, Leadership

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Special Needs: is the church forgetting an entire segment of the population?

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Recently my wife and two daughters (8 and 7 years old respectively) began volunteering in the Special Needs Ministry at Sun Valley Community Church. Every week my girls come home beaming; excited to tell me stories about their “buddy” that they helped at church that week. They’re 8 and 7 so it’s pretty simple stuff to be honest with you. They help with crafts, with snack time, and for those who are able to they go with them to a large group worship time. Mostly they’re just spending time with these children, playing with them, and being a friend. At first I was proud of them for serving and learning to put others first.

But after hearing stories of families who were never able to come to church before due to the unique needs of their children, my heart has moved from feeling “nice” to feeling “right.” As I grow in my understanding of special needs children and their families I am increasingly proud that my daughters are unknowingly fighting against a great injustice in the world. Caring for the children and families from a segment of the population that the church has seemingly forgotten about. I can’t help but wonder how many families, aren’t exposed to the gospel, don’t come to church, and never benefit from being a part of a community of believers because churches simply aren’t thinking of them and preparing for them. I can’t help but wonder why so many churches seem to be content to sit back and do nothing to address the needs of these families. Am I the only one?

Posted in Spiritual Formation, Volunteers

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building a family roadmap

Sunday, April 22, 2012

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak at Sun Valley Community Church While I don’t typically post talks that I give, this one generated some serious conversations afterwards so I figured I’d share it with you. So here’s to hoping that God uses this talk and the resource below to place your family on the right trajectory!

Want to take this talk and put it into action? Here’s a great tool that I highly recommend to help you build your own plan for where God wants to take your family. Get your copy here!

Many parents want to lead their children on a spiritual journey, but they just don’t know how. “The Family Road Map” answers the question, “But how?” This workbook is designed to be a step-by-step guide for parents in planning the purpose and direction of their family. “The Family Road Map” will guide parents through creating a family purpose statement, establishing family values, identifying key mile-markers for their children, and thoroughly evaluating the yearly personal growth of each of their children. “The Family Road Map” will serve as a guide for parents in raising their children to become all that God wants them to be.