On every apple tree, there are 1000 Mackintoshes to choose from. It's sort of the same with the leadership tree. There is enough fruit to write a thousand books and schedule ten thousand conferences.

So here are a few pickings for church leaders from today's tree:

First commandment first

Te first and greatest commandment is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." The second is also great, but is definitely second: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Leaders who serve people risk getting so caught up in loving neighbors that the can easily put the second commandment first. Doing so will wear you out and take you down. Love God and then the others.

Diversify

Get a hobby. Find a second job. Teach a class. Write an article. Go back to school. Just don't limit yourself to your primary leadership role. We should think of our lives as mutual funds that invest in different stocks. When some are down, others are up. None are up all the time. Leaders ...