Failure seems to be the last thing we're willing to talk about in ministry. We'll talk about staff issues, attendance, building campaigns, missions committees, elder board meetings, budget issues and denominational meetings. But not failure.

A recent television reality show featured three chefs in a competition. They received the same list of ingredients and were to prepare several courses. Each chef had the same amount of time and could use only the ingredients on the list. When the gourmet meals were finished, a panel of judges picked the winner.

The famous American pilot Eddie Rickenbacker once said, "Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared." But, it's very human to think of courage being the absence of fear. That's why Rickenbacker's observation can help us in our Christian lives.

When was the last time you read Dale Carnegie's classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People? Although it's sprinkled with time-dated illustrations, its core messages are timeless. For example, consider the following excerpt on how to correct a person without unduly offending them. As a husband and father, this lesson has broad reaching application:

I once came across an interesting article on motherhood by a man named W. L. Caldwell written back in 1928. Here's what he said:

When I was ten, my family lived on Parkside Avenue in Brooklyn near Prospect Park. We live in a small railroad apartment, so called because it had three narrow rooms in a straight line, like boxcars. My older brother, younger sister, and I shared the only real bedroom. My parents slept on a pullout sofa in the living room, no more than twenty feet away from us. We were obviously a very close family.