Nick Chellsen's Blog, page 6

How to Start Reading the Bible Everyday

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Do you want to make reading the Bible a daily habit?

One of the simplest ways to start is with the Book of Proverbs. 

There are 31-chapters in Proverbs. This makes it the perfect book of the Bible to use as a daily devotional. 

Essentially what you do is turn to the Book of Proverbs, and based on the date, you read that Proverb. For example, if the date is February 9th, you’ll read Proverbs 9.

The Book of Proverbs is believed to be written by Ki...

Why Legacy is Important

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Have you ever thought about what your family and friends will say at your funeral? Or what about what your coworkers will say about you when you retire, quit, or get fired? Regardless of how your leadership ends, the point is that it eventually will. This is why legacy is important. 

Your legacy is what people remember about you when you’re gone. This can either be a positive or negative thing. Will your family remember you as present or as absent? Will your coworkers say you ...

How Many Miracles Did Jesus Perform in the Bible?

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There are 24 healing miracles and 3 resurrection miracles documented between the four Gospels. This list is just the healing and resurrection miracles. It doesn’t include the miraculous signs Jesus performed, such as turning water into wine (John 2:1-11).

There were also miracles and miraculous signs that were undocumented. John concluded his Gospel by stating: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world wo...

How Many Parables Did Jesus Teach?

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There are 40 parables in the Gospels. A parable is a short story that teaches a spiritual principle. Jesus used these short stories to teach His disciples. One of the benefits of parables is that people remember stories. Even non-Christians are likely to have heard of “The Good Samaritan” or “The Prodigal Son.” Consider how you can incorporate storytelling into your leadership.

The Parables of JesusLamp Under a Bowl (Matthew 5:14-15, Mark 4:21-22,...

How Mistakes Help You Learn

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Have you ever worked with a leader who didn’t allow mistakes? Perhaps he would say things like, “Failure is not an option!” There are three problems with this mindset. The problem with this mindset is that mistakes can often be great teachers. 

When we look at the leadership of Jesus, we see that He not only allowed His disciples to make mistakes but that He also used those mistakes to help them learn and grow. An example of this is in how He led Peter.

Peter made a lot of...

What is Empathy?

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As a leader, you will inevitably be present with people during times of loss. It could be losing a job, losing a dream, or losing a friend or family member. This is why empathy is important. 

Brené Brown has written extensively about empathy. In her book, Daring Greatly, she wrote, “It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘You’re not alone.’” Essentially, being empathetic is about ...

Leaders are Servants

Have you ever worked for a leader who acted like he was better than other people? Perhaps he refused to do tasks he thought were beneath him. Or perhaps she expected her team to serve her. Leaders today might segregate themselves from those that work for them. However, this was not how Jesus led. As He told His disciples, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45 NLT). 

As Christian leaders, we are not better than the people we lead. It is not our...

What Does “Choose Your Battles” Mean?

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Have you ever worked with a leader who would regularly turn a small disagreement into a big fight? Perhaps he had a hard time deciding what hills to die on. Or perhaps she didn’t know how to choose her battles. 

Choosing your battles is not about avoiding conflict. It’s about deciding which conflicts to engage in.. When you engage in every small disagreement, you don’t have the time and energy to engage in more significant matters. This is why choosing your battles is importan...

How to Inspire Others

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 There are two reasons someone might follow a leader: Obligation or inspiration. Obligation is when you have to follow a leader. Inspiration is when you want to follow a leader.  When we look at the leadership of Jesus, we can see that He inspired His team. An example of this is when He called His disciples. 

In Luke’s account of this story, Jesus saw a group of fishermen cleaning their nets. Jesus asked them to cast their nets out again. When they cas...

Why Purpose is Important

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When I was in college, I would usually begin my papers and projects with a thesis. This is a section that explains the purpose of the assignment. 

It might seem monotonous to write out what you are going to write about. However, many of my professors argued that every A+ assignment has a great thesis statement. Similarly, I would argue that a great leader has a great purpose. 

A leader’s purpose is the reason he leads. He might call it his goal, cause, or mission. Also, a l...