Finally, Worshipful, not Manipulative As the final installment, just a few closing comments on worship. It’s a great final element to consider because as a school leader, you likely play a role in setting the tone for worship, leading your teams in worship, and modeling right thinking to the rest of the school community. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give … Read More
A Look Back and a Look Ahead 2018
At the beginning of 2017, I took a look through the most popular CACE blogs from 2016 and developed four themes to keep an eye on in the year ahead in what appears to now be an annual attempt to take A Look Back and a Look Ahead. In 2017, the four most read blogs included: 1. What Lessons can … Read More
Posture of Prayer – Part 3
Next, Submissive but Not Resigned We are to submit our desires to his good pleasure—that is hard sometimes, isn’t it? This can be a challenge when enrollment or donors aren’t where we want them to be and we are tempted to question why we are serving in a particular place or market. However, that is where God put us and … Read More
Do Sweat the Small Stuff
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men… (Colossians 3:23) Thank God for singing cosmic rhythms into the steady beat of time! He fills our waiting hearts with hope-inspired imagination of how things might be different each new day, week, year. In schools we are invited into this hope as … Read More
Posture of Prayer – Part 2
So, this background on prayer reminds me of an idea – posture of prayer. Posture of prayer can be a great way to think about leading others as it is something that can be shown. Our own weaknesses, even though real, don’t necessarily keep us from leading others in a right thinking about the posture of prayer. We can see … Read More
Posture of Prayer – Part 1
Have you ever wondered how to pray? Have you ever not known how to pray? Not that you didn’t know the mechanics (that’s easy enough), but you didn’t know what to ask for. Faced with a certain problem or situation, you were at a loss and didn’t know what to say or do. As a leader, this can be especially … Read More
Taxes, Christmas and Christian Education
The recently passed tax reform seems to be crowding out Christmas. Instead of stories of acts of kindness that seem to be on the uptick this time of year (I just experienced a rather small but maybe significant one on an airplane where a person gave up his first class seat to one of our armed services personnel who was … Read More
Jon Eckert: Innovation, The Novice Advantage and Collective Leadership
Introduction: Even though this is the third blog in a series of interviews I’ve done with innovative leaders in Education, it is actually the first interview I did as I’ve learned to try out my own innovations on friends. Jon Eckert and I graduated from Wheaton College in subsequent years, but didn’t become great friends until we reconnected a few … Read More
Becoming an “Unexpected” School
Most of us don’t have the opportunity that Karin Chenoweth has had over her career and particularly the past decade – to visit many schools and synthesize what works. Starting with the question “What does it take for a school to succeed beyond expectations?” and then focusing on neighborhood schools, where low income students and students of color are learning … Read More
Kim Marshall: A Conversation about Innovation, Leadership and Teaching Quality
Introduction: Recently, I began to reach out to friends and mentors to help me think through leadership, innovation, and educational issues that continue to provide me great passion for the work I get to do within our profession. My first attempt at this sort of recorded blog was with Rex Miller on Leadership and MindShift, and I hope to share … Read More