A leadership commentary on life today by Bob Shank
Have you seen Jesus? (Note: this is not an April Fools ruse…). That’s not a rhetorical question: in a real sense, he’s missing… and it seems that the trail has gone cold. It’s not Jesus the person; it’s Jesus the painting. Called Salvator Mundi (the Savior of the World), it is believed to be the …
Continue reading “Jesus – Invest two hours: Eternity in return”
Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” That’s an incredible question – wrapped around an offer – that would be amazing coming from anyone; it’s even more astounding when it’s posed by Jesus. How would you reply? It happens twice, recorded back-to-back in Mark 10; each offers a weighty insight about …
Continue reading “The most important question you’ll ever answer to Jesus”
October 17, 2016 Lots of people know; only a few know why. Every generation has been defined by discovery… but our generation has pushed the pursuit to levels never before imagined. In 1965, Gordon Moore – co-founder of both Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel – predicted that the capacity of the microchip would double every two …
April 13, 2015 Neil Young. Stephen Stills. Richie Furay. Jim Messina. Those aren’t just random names from the phone book; 49 years ago – this month – they were unknown musicians who came together under the name Buffalo Springfield, and had their debut performance at the Troubadour, in Hollywood. Together only two years before disbursing …
April 6, 2015 There should have been a one-semester class – at the beginning of high school – called "Freshman Orientation for Life." They were concerned with getting us outta-there in the prescribed time period. Their horizon was four years; not thirty. What would we have heard? Things like: you’d better take your Spanish seriously, …
March 30, 2015 Betrayed. You can’t find a story worth telling – or, hearing – that isn’t seasoned by betrayal. Sleep comes quickly if your bedside book tells only happy tales of people whose sublime pursuits are never opposed by someone they once loved and trusted. Every captivating plot weaves a similar tapestry: someone with …
March 23, 2015 Only 22 days ‘til the Ides of April. Are you ready? The big question, for many: file, or extension? The longer you live – and, the more complicated your financial affairs – the task of preparing for April 15th becomes more ponderous. No one is excused from the turmoil: whether you prepare …
February 23, 2015 Winners… and, losers. This morning, ISIS has been crowded out of the headlines. Terrorist threats to America’s cathedrals (our retail shopping malls) over the weekend have been taken in stride. In a culture more inclined to entertainment than engagement, Oscar trumps the field of nasty newsmakers… The Academy of Motion Picture Arts …
February 16, 2015 President’s Day. Washington’s Birthday. The third Monday of February is the federal holiday honoring George Washington. Nearly half of our 50 states have made President’s Day the state holiday, expanding their focus to include all of our former presidents. The details of history do matter. That reality was highlighted about two weeks …
January 19, 2015 He was only 39. It has been 20 years since my friend Bob Buford wrote his signature book, Halftime. I remember reading the manuscript – in a three-ring-binder – before its publication, and writing my endorsement. Now 800,000 copies are in print; Bob’s challenge has been heard around the Christian world: why …
December 15, 2014 I need to get in the mood… The mood music has been playing since Thanksgiving in all of the retail environments. Jesus can’t get a hearing in any public environment, but the tunes that connect with His birthday are in a continuous loop at Target and Nordstrom, between now and the 25th. …
December 8, 2014 “Are you in an Accountability Group?” That’s a pretty typical question posed in Christian circles; the incidence of the inquiry seems to go up every time the news reports another Christian leader whose bad choices have taken him/her out of their role and delivered them to the has-been/no-longer-qualified leper colony. It raises …
September 8, 2014 “First, the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me.” (Steve Martin). I took a break from the unrelenting news cycle over the weekend to get a couple of runs in with one of my mileage buddies. He posed an intriguing thought: why aren’t …
August 25, 2014 Weary: lacking strength, energy or freshness because of a need for rest or sleep. Bored or annoyed by something because you have seen it, heard it, done it, etc., many times or for a long time. Back in January, ISIS was compared by the White House to “the JV (junior varsity) team,” …
August 18, 2014 ”It ain’t that great.“ In a world ruled by personal opinions – expressed on everything from YouTube to Yelp – it doesn’t take much to order-up the headstone and doom someone/something to early death. Just let a loon with the leverage of social media express their opinion – well-founded, or embittered – …
August 11, 2014 Anomaly: an irregularity; something that deviates from the norm, or from expectations. We run across anomalies frequently: an American, who doesn’t embrace democratic ideals. A person driving an environment-friendly car, who throws a Starbucks cup alongside the road. A school teacher, who doesn’t like children. A university professor, who imposes a narrow …