Dan R. Crawford's Page

Years ago, I found myself in charge of an organization that was deeply divided. Every decision was challenged. Every vote was split. As I struggled to lead, a good friend said to me, “Just lead! We will follow!” While not everyone followed, the organization survived. If you have ever been a part of an organization that suffered from a lack of leadership, you know how painful that can be. How agonizing it is to watch a group of people flounder around with no direction, wasting their time in…

My role models have all been workaholics. Many of these have also been perfectionists. This is a dangerous mixture. Trying to justify such a lifestyle, I searched the scriptures, until I discovered Jesus saying in His sermon on the mount, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Then I learned that Jesus is here setting a goal, that is certain to be impossible. The pursuit of perfection is important, even if the attainment of it is…

Since grief is such a big subject, there isn’t a single definition that covers it. A commonly used definition is “Grief is the normal and natural emotional reaction to loss or change of any kind.” Let me illustrate. Last week I attended a conference that involved several hundred cross-cultural missionaries, some of whom were former Seminary students of mine. I received two invitations to teach a short-term class on prayer (my favorite subject to teach) in two different countries, far removed…

What does a real friend do? I now have a new answer to that question. It was a sickening feeling to arrive at my hotel and begin unpacking my luggage only to miss seeing the small zip-lock bag containing my prescription medication. A call home revealed that the bag was indeed ready for the trip but was sitting on the counter in my home bathroom. It never made it to the luggage, thus was not available when I unpacked in another city, in another…