20 Keys For Leading 20-Somethings On Your Team
As Matt says, these are good leadership principles for any age group.

Preparing Your Teens For College
The Kindle version of Alex Chediak’s book is on sale for $2.99.

Ezra And Nehemiah: Types of Christ
A Christ-centered Expository Commentary from Jim Hamilton. You can buy the book here.

Jog Your Memory
Infographic on the effects of exercise on the brain.

Where is the Weeping In Your Sermon Notes
“It’s not that I need to be reminded of the reality of hell. I need to be reminded of tears. But I don’t come from a family of huggers. We’re Germanic. We might salute each other, but we’re not about to hug. I’ve never seen anyone from my dad’s side of the family cry, and we’ve attended funerals together. My relatives are more apt to bean bunnies over the head with shovels than wiggle their noses at them.”

Mental Illness and The Christian: Scripture and Science
What do Christians do about mental illness? Do we look to Scripture, science, or both?

The Gift of Rest
For parents raising children with special needs, the ability to have a break every now and then is critical for continuing the emotional and physical marathon of caregiving.

It’s that season again, when speakers from every walk of life compete for the most viral commencement speech of the year. Politicians, actors and actresses, journalists, singers, business leaders, generals and myriads of others vie to utter the most inspiring, motivational, stirring oration. So far it looks like ex-Navy Seal Admiral William McRaven is this year’s star speaker with almost 1.5 million views of his address at the University of Texas.

Various bloggers have also joined the fray, posting their own “commencement speeches” to pump our young people and to fuel their drive and ambition.

Well, I’d like to jump into the mix too, but my aim is to give the most “boring” commencement speech ever.

I’ll let others do the soaring; I want to bring our graduates back down to earth. I’ll let others paint a future full of exceptional dreams and visions; I want to give you everyday routine and the mundane. I’ll let others thrill you for a few minutes; I want to impart what will last and endure for decades. I’ll let others say what you want to hear; I’ll say what you need to hear. I’ll let others talk about grand pillars and glorious edifices; I’m going to talk about unseen foundations and invisible girders. I’ll let others speak of champions, winners, and leaders; I want to speak about administrators, organizers, and filers.

I’m going to give you 10 actions that will change your whole life; not in a dramatic way, but in a slow, steady, almost imperceptible way. These are 10 actions I wish I’d learned 30 years ago, 10 actions my schools never taught me, 10 actions I’ve had to learn through painful experience, and that I’m still learning even up to the present.

1. Keep an up-to-date calendar
One of the most frustrating experiences for employers is when young people don’t show for interviews or meetings. It’s happened to most of you hasn’t it, and the main cause is trying to remember everything in your head (or just depending on Dad and Mom to remind you). That might have worked in the past but life is going to get more and more complicated. From this moment on make it a habit to write down every appointment, every meeting, every deadline. Ideally use an online calendar that you can access on various devices. My favorite is Google calendar. And remember to read it at the beginning of every week and the evening before every day to ensure that you keep your commitments.

2. Schedule every day
This is one of the most helpful tips I’ve recently learned. Instead of just getting up and getting going at 100mph every day, or alternatively ping-ponging from one thing to another with no sense of purpose or urgency, take 10 minutes at the beginning of every day to write down the tasks you will do today and when you will do them – preferably the most important first. And include 15 minutes for the admin in points #1-10. What you’ll find in life (especially with tasks you don’t like) is if you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen.

I use Google Calendar in “Day View” for this. I create a new calendar within my Google Calendar, I call it “Schedule” and I make the entries in red. That allows me to turn it on and off so that I can just see my appointments when I want. This will help you not to plan too much but also prevent you just going round in aimless circles.

3. Keep a To-Do list
If you don’t, you will forget, you will fail to keep your promises, you will be forever apologizing, and you will be in a constant state of worry and stress. It will give you tremendous peace of mind to write down every to-do that is presently filling your mind and calling for your attention.

I use Wunderlist because it’s free on all platforms and devices and syncs seamlessly. It’s got tons of features but you don’t need a PhD to use it. It allows you to have different To-Do lists for different areas of life and work, and also set due dates and reminders.

4. Complete Financial Peace University
This is the best $100 or so you will ever spend. It is perhaps the biggest regret of my life that I never heard of Dave Ramsey until I was 44. Follow Ramsey to the letter and you will not only avoid a ton of debt and stress, but you will be able to build wealth so that you can be a more generous giver. Zero-sum budgets, balancing a check book, accountability, etc.,- yes, I won’t deny it, totally boring processes – but you will be incredibly excited by the results over the long run. If you don’t want to spend the $100, then you can get a cut-down version of the essentials in Total Money Makeover.

5. Move your life to Evernote
Even in this digital world, it’s incredible how much paper is still generated when you start to live more independently. Many of you already know this from your studies. You will never be able to keep track of it all. So get yourself a cheap scanner, or pay a bit more and get one with a sheet feeder that’s been designed to work with Evernote and get into the habit of scanning everything – insurance, bank statements, letters, certificates, invoices, college notes, everything – then shredding almost everything.

Evernote is free and the free version will probably be enough for you starting out in life. But, for $45 a year you can get the Premium version that gives you even better searchability and allows you to store a greater range of document types. The searchability is the main selling point of Evernote, and again you can access all your files from every kind of device. It’s a kind of portable digital filing cabinet that can be searched with a click of a few buttons. If you don’t do this now, you will wish you had done it five years from now.

And while we’re on the subject of digital organization, sign yourself up for Diigo or some other bookmarking service, and keep a well-indexed track of all the great websites and blog articles you come across. Over the years it will become like your own personal Google that makes searching for stuff so much easier.

6. Set aside an admin space
No matter how small or cluttered your apartment , you need a dedicated space with a desk that you do all your admin in. I recommend one “In-tray” that you put everything physical in (e.g. letters, bills, receipts, instruction manuals) and you process that every week (preferably the same time every week) by going through the whole tray, doing what needs to be done, scanning what needs to be scanned, and shredding everything you can. The aim is as digital as possible and as paperless as possible. Even most instruction manuals have an online pdf version that you can upload to Evernote.

7. Limit and block email
Try to use one message system for administration. It’s almost impossible to keep track of Facebook Mail, and SMS, and Email, etc.

I recommend GMail because of it’s searchability, and try to get as many people in your life as possible to contact you through that one channel. You can use Facebook and Texts for social stuff perhaps, but for admin, organization and professional life, you are best to have only one pipeline into your life.

And not only limit your channels but limit the time you spend dealing with it to two blocks of 15-30 mins a day. It is extremely damaging to your mental and emotional well-being to be checking email 18 times an hour (which is the present average for office workers). Have a quick scan first thing in the morning and deal with anything urgent; then set aside 15-30 mins in the early afternoon and/or last thing in the day to deal with as many emails as you can as fast as you can. I time myself doing this to keep the pressure on and make me as efficient as possible. I then count the number of emails processed in that time and work out an “emails-per-hour” speed which I compare day-to-day. I’m always aiming for a personal best – probably a man thing.

8. Minimize interruptions
Do not work with email, Twitter, Facebook, Texts on and open with all their various chimes, cheeps, beeps and blips. You’ve probably got into some pretty bad habits in your studies with innumerable digital and physical interruptions.

You must make it a priority to develop and strengthen concentration by working for 15 minutes uninterrupted, then 30 minutes, then 1 hour and work on increasing that week by week. You will accomplish so much more and have much more quality time to spend with people in your professional and social life.

9. Build regularity into your life
Younger people tend to be a bit chaotic and unpredictable. Through your studies you may have got into the habit of just doing what you feel like doing, or working frantically on what what’s late and due. Every day is different and that’s so enjoyable in a way.

I want to encourage you to build as much repetition and rhythm into your day as you can. God is a God or order not of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33) and He’s made us to thrive best when we image Him in His order and regularity. Work on regularizing the times you work, eat, exercise and sleep, until your body clicks into the rhythm that will put you in the zone daily.

10. Rest
Sleep 7-8 hours a day and take a full Sunday off work and study every week so that you can worship God and build community with others in a local church. Both regular sleep and a regular Sabbath have been proven to enhance every area of human well-being. If you doubt me, have a look at some of the recent studies on the epidemic of sleep deprivation that is ravaging our generation.

And let me finish by urging you to rest in Jesus, to cease and desist from trying to work your way to heaven or even achieve your way to happiness on earth. He’s lived the perfect life and died the perfect death and offers it to you. Jesus does not primarily call you to service, to mission, to achieiving, to extraordinary acts of spirituality. He calls you to rest, to come away from all your “To-do’s” to His “Done.” He says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

There you go, the most boring but perhaps the most useful commencement speech you’ll never hear. I thought of making a video of it but it would probably get about 10 views. I’m not waiting for colleges and universities to flood me with invitations for 2015.

But perhaps here and there some young people who have not been taken in by the soaring oratory of unrealistic dreams and false promises will say. “This man’s not out to make a viral video. He’s out to build a solid practical foundation for my life.”

And if you haven’t fallen asleep yet, here are my Top 10 Books for Graduates.

5 Ways People Hurt Their Credibility Without Even Realizing It
I’m always fascinated with the science behind body language. Preachers, note this: “Every conversation is two conversations — message and body language. When they’re not aligned, body language always trumps content.”

Girding Up The Christian Mind
Michael Morales: “With the church’s mounting capitulation to secular culture, God’s people have increasingly been marked by the antipathy to learning so characteristic of that culture.”

Reflections On My Break-Up With The Gospel Coalition
Now THAT’S sanctification!

Pastoral Advice on Affirming The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith Alone
A summary of the pastoral advice the URC Synod gave to churches about confronting the errors in what is commonly called “the Federal Vision.”

A Dialogue On Our Design
This is a really good start at presenting the biblical teaching on male/female roles and relationships in attractive terms. We’ve had lots of polemics on this topic but we need much more of this aesthetic approach to arguing.

Author Debunks Divorce Rate Statistics
According to 2009 Census Bureau numbers, 72% of people are still married to their first spouse – and the 28% who aren’t, includes people who were married for years until a spouse died! That’s not what you hear in most popular statistics. Read this post to discover why accurate statistics are so important for maintaining hope in difficult times.

Reconsider South Africa
Watch to the end and you’ll discover much more than a travel commercial.

Many of us have a tendency to over-promise. Over-promising is produced by being over-optimistic about our abilities and under-pessimistic about the possible difficulties and problems we are likely to meet along the way. Some of its symptoms include:

• Setting impossible daily to-do lists every day that can’t even be accomplished in a week.
• Underestimating expenditure, over-estimating income or spare cash, and taking no account of unexpected bills.
• Presenting visionary plans for the future of one’s church, business, career, etc., which would require numerous co-ordinating miracles to pull off.
• Committing to so many meetings, speaking engagements, and writing projects that none are done well, or some are done very poorly.
• Promising friends, family, church members that you will be in touch soon to meet or talk and yet the list keeps getting longer rather than shorter.
• Taking on more and more when already at capacity without reducing any commitments elsewhere.
• Raising people’s expectations that can never be met.
• Starting exercise programs that you can never sustain.

Over-promising produces mega-stress in the one making the promises and huge disappointment in the ones receiving the promises.

So how do we fix it? Here are 10 cures:

1. Do a time audit. For a couple of weeks, write down every task that you do, time it, and record the time immediately. You’ll probably be amazed at how long certain routine tasks like making phone calls, writing emails are taking you. From reviewing the audit results you will be able to schedule more realistic times for these tasks in the future, thus relieving pressure.

2. Build margin. If you think something is going to take 30 minutes, schedule 45; if you think it will take you three days, schedule four, and so on. If it takes you less time you can fill the time with something else that’s useful. If it takes the full time scheduled, you can finish the job with less stress and you don’t have to cancel or postpone anything else.

3. Expect problems. Over-promisers tend to think everything is going to go smoothly. No interruptions, no unexpected bills, etc.  This despite almost every indicator to the contrary! To some degree, you can plan for the unplanned and expect the unexpected. Optimists need some pessimism to help them maintain their optimism!

4. Say “No” more often. I love what Seth Godin said about this last week:

If you believe that you must keep your promises, overdeliver and treat every commitment as though it’s an opportunity for a transformation, the only way you can do this is to turn down most opportunities.

No I can’t meet with you, no I can’t sell it to you at this price, no I can’t do this job justice, no I can’t come to your party, no I can’t help you. I’m sorry, but no, I can’t. Not if I want to do the very things that people value my work for.

No is the foundation that we can build our yes on.

Decide what you are good at and called by God to do, and ruthlessly say “No” to everything else.

5. Do less than you think you can do. Over-promisers tend to over-estimate their abilities. “Sure I can do that conference, write that article, go to these meetings, chair that committee, review that book, and so on.” Sometimes it’s only one commitment too many, and your mental state could be transformed by one cut of the pruning knife.

6. Spend 20% less than you think you have. And while you’re at it, save 20% more than you think you need.

7. Don’t make specific public commitments. Unless you are forced into it, and unless are you are almost 100% sure you can accomplish something, don’t say to someone “I will do X by Y.” Even if you think you can do it, say something like, “I can do X-20% by Y+20%.”

8. Schedule. Instead of just listing all the things you are going to do today, schedule them. Put them on a calendar and block out the times you are going to spend on each item. You’ll probably quickly realize that you don’t have 48 hours in a day or that you can only spend 10 minutes on one-hour projects. So, it’s out with the knife!

9. Review. I’ve just started this, but already I find it a huge help to take 10-15 minutes at the end of each day to review what I planned and whether I accomplished it. Michael Hyatt also recommends an hour or so at the end of each week, and a day or so at the end of each quarter. Look at what you hoped to accomplish at the end of the day/week/quarter, and compare it with reality. You’ll probably be amazed that you ever thought you could do all you’d planned, and you’ll be forced into more realistic aims in the future.

10. Accountability. It is so good to have someone who will speak into your life and say, “David, why did you ever say that? You know we can never do it, or at least never get to it within the next few years, so why even bring it up?”

Over-promising is usually well-intentioned but ultimately self-destructive. It frustrates others in your life and eventually makes them skeptical of your promises and doubtful about your vision and plans. It also adds huge stress and anxiety to your life as well as diminishing the quality of your work.

So why not promise to stop it!

The Perfect Fundraising Letter
Very clever. Hope it’s effective.

22 Strange And Fascinating Facts About Sleep
One for the staffroom or the family table. My favorite is #20.

What Millennials Want in Leaders
Mentoring, gentle spirit, integrity, transparency and authenticity. And here’s one on 20 Habits of Untrustworthy Leaders.

The Hardest Thing A Leader Says…The Last 2%
So true. So challenging.

50 Strategies for Better Preaching
Taken from a book about writing.

On The Job Training Isn’t Working
Boz Tchvidjain: “The on-the-job training of pastors and other faith leaders in preventing and responding to child sexual abuse isn’t working – it is dangerous and all too often has devastating consequences.”

The answer?

“GRACE recently convened a team of Christian theologians, pastors, counselors, educators, and child protection professionals who have each demonstrated a commitment to protecting children and serving survivors. This historic committee has embraced the task of developing the first substantive seminary curriculum designed to educate and train Christian leaders on effective prevention and ministry responses to child sexual abuse. Our objective is to develop this curriculum in such a way that it can be easily adapted into virtually any seminary curriculum.”

Such a great idea! Can’t wait to incorporate this into the counseling program at PRTS. And on the same subject, here’s CCEF on Pastoral Wisdom And The Mandate To Report Abuse.

A Special Valedictorian Speech

My main argument against evolution is my office. An even stronger argument – my computer files.

Everything tends to chaos and mutation not progress and improvement.

Sometimes, it’s paralyzing to look at Apple’s “Finder” or my desk or my floor (or what’s left to be seen of it).

I can’t afford the time to get organized; yet neither can I afford the time I’m spending looking for things.

Filing time just feels so much like wasted time. Even an hour spent on it seems to accomplish so little. I need to spend hours and hours and hours to get everything in its right place physically and digitally.

As I said, paralyzed.

But I’ve discovered a little trick. I count to a hundred.

No, not just sitting at my desk counting to a hundred.

Instead, I put a hundred things away each day. And I count everything – an envelope in the trash, a pen in the drawer, a book in the bookcase, a plate in the sink, a Word document in a folder,  - until I reach 100.

Sometimes it takes me 10-15 minutes, sometimes longer. But no matter how long, I sure do feel better about it.

Even when there’s very little if any visible change I remind myself (and my wife) of the magic number:  ”100! I just put 100 things away!”

And day by day, the hundreds mount up, the desk is emerging, I remember what color my carpet is, and my Finder is actually useful for finding things again.

At this rate I might even get my digital photos organized before I retire.