Gifted for Leadership

Should Women Lead No Matter What?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:38:21 -0600

In December of 1972 Helen Reddy’s song “I Am Woman” grabbed the top spot on the Billboard charts. Fueled by the energy of the women’s liberation movement, “I am woman, hear me roar,” became a unifying slogan for a generation of women. Sometimes for good, sometimes for ill. Personally, I’ve been a devotee of Reddy’s words for many years as I happen to be a self-confident, sometimes over-bearing sort of gal who believes God has...

Standing in the Shallows

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:29:34 -0600

Editor’s note: I read this passage in Rep. Marsha Blackburn's new book, Life Equity a few months back, on a gray, cold Chicago day. But these words brightened my mood right up. In fact, this passage fired me up, made me want to shoot off firecrackers and wave a flag. But because it was a gray, cold day (and I actually have no idea how to shoot off firecrackers), I stayed put in my cozy...

Leading in the Lands of the Free

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:20:43 -0600

My seven-year-old son is on a freedom kick. Whenever we talk about a country (and this is often, since he and my five-year-old daughter are also on geography kicks), he’ll ask: “Do they have freedom there?” I love that he asks this. Because when the answer is “yes” it gives us an opportunity to talk about what cool things and amazing opportunities freedom allows people in whatever free country we’re talking about. And when the...

Weary of the Gender Wars

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:02:56 -0600

I grew up in the faith while “Onward Christian Soldiers” was still regularly sung at church. However, due to the Viet Nam War, it lost its appeal as we were bombarded with the images of war on the nightly news. I learned very quickly that war is costly: two members of my church youth group were killed within months of each other. Then, through my reading of Scripture and the teaching I sat under, I...

Why Don't We Feel Like We Have Enough?

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:42:53 -0600

In late winter, a new Salvation Army store opened with surprising fanfare in my mid-Michigan hometown. At the Grand Opening, bargain shoppers started lining up outside in 30 degree weather at 7 a.m. and patiently waited two hours for the manager to unlock the doors. When he did, it took 20 minutes for the crowd to file inside. Throughout the day, shoppers again waited in lines to purchase the goods that filled their carts to...

How to Take a Compliment

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:03:30 -0600

While checking my children into the nursery at church last week, an acquaintance of mine approached. “Susan, this is who I’ve been telling you about!” she exclaimed, pulling her friend behind her. She turned to me with a big smile. “I’ve been telling Susan all about you, how you’re so good at speaking. You are the best teacher!” I froze, not sure what to say. She continued, “I don’t know how you do it all,...

Leaders Should Consider Twitter

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:01:42 -0600

Though it’s been around for three years, Twitter hit the main stage of American culture when Oprah decided to write her first tweet. Though the site was excelling before the Oprah nod, more people are on Twitter today than ever before. So why should you consider signing up? 1. By Signing Up for Twitter, You Can Avoid the Blank Stares. In our modern age, there are some products, people, and Internet sites that everyone seems...

Wondering Why We're Sent

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:29:27 -0600

When I walk into a roomful of strangers, I engage in what is, at best, a self-imposed test in discernment; at worst a superficial gamble. I scan the women to whom I will be speaking and instinctually begin an imprecise version of memory, flipping cards in a lame attempt to match the earnestness of their smiles with the state of their souls. I do it with pretense, albeit pretense with an asterisk. Pretense: I want...

Seeing Yourself in Scripture

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:05:09 -0600

As friends and I met for dinner to enjoy pictures of mutual friends’ wedding, their four-year-old joined in the fun. At one stage I asked this child which picture was her favorite, and she quickly pointed to one saying “This one!” When I asked why, she pointed again and said the name of her best friend. Her parents and I strained our eyes to have another look. We’d been focusing on the images of adults...

Leading in a Complaining Culture

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:20:10 -0600

One of the most taxing things one encounters when mothering a three-year old boy is the whining: the use of an annoyingly complaining voice. One would think—and many experts assert—that if a child is never given the item for which he whines and is always required to rephrase his request politely, the behavior would eventually be extinguished. But no such luck in our household. Our myriad anti-whining strategies have met with no real success to...

Confessions of a Finite Follower

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:16:02 -0600

“How long will it be before I am better?” I asked a trusted mentor and advisor. He thought for a moment and replied, “If you are really careful, I expect you’ll be somewhat recovered and almost back to normal in about eight months.” I blinked in disbelief. Eight months? It was not the answer I wanted or expected. A week, a month, at most, but eight months? It didn’t seem possible; he must be mistaken....

Leading Through Downsizing

Fri, 29 May 2009 10:43:20 -0600

I’m an old pro at downsizing. It’s true. While the rest of the world has watched recent events with anxiety at the possibility of losing their job, I’m quite familiar with this life of uncertainty. A veteran of the textile industry for 15 years, I’ve spent the last five watching the companies I’ve worked and cared for slowly shrink into oblivion. It’s been difficult. It’s been unpleasant. But, it’s been a learning experience like no...

Sotomayor, Sexism, and the Supreme Court

Wed, 27 May 2009 12:33:09 -0600

When I was in sixth grade, a classmate told me that his dad told him that a woman could never be president because she’d “get all PMSy and probably ‘push the button’ in one of her mood swings.” This was in 1983, so that button she’d push was the “nuclear-war starting” button we all imagined on the big red phone next to the president’s bed. I ended up hearing this argument more than one time...

Who Do You Follow?

Tue, 26 May 2009 14:48:39 -0600

I don’t often have a strong reaction one way or the other to people’s Twitter updates—or “Tweets”—but this one from a friend of mine got me. He wrote: “Twitter is one of the few places where you need to be a good leader & follower at the same time—a unique dynamic.” Huh? I thought about this throughout the rest of the day—because I couldn’t disagree more. One of the few places? Totally unique? I have...

Praying for Our Prodigals

Fri, 22 May 2009 20:25:00 -0600

Satan plays dirty. Really dirty. He is so clever at finding our weak spots, to trip us up as we walk the paths God has for us. He whispers not-so-sweet nothings in our ears. He beguiles us with our best temptations. He spray paints the nearby grass a beautiful shade of green. He tells us we deserve the best. But we have grown strong and mature in the Spirit and we keep hanging on to...