Nat Crawford - Executive Coach, Speaker, Leader

In the previous blog , we finished answering the question: Does morality point to God? The answer was "yes." However, even with the moral argument being sound,  t here are two common objections when it comes to an objective moral law.  Here they are: The first objection is morals are simply relative to the individual. Some people call this ethical subjectivism. We typically refer to it as moral relativism. You could say it’s the belief that whatever a person thinks, feels, desires is right. Rightness is relative to the individual. It’s subjective. But if this were true, no one could ever be wrong about his or her moral views. So no one could claim that Adolph Hitler’s racism and his murdering of 6 million people was wrong. It was just simply his preference and no one should put up a fuss about it. It’s all relative. The Parkland shootings wouldn’t be wrong, because it was the shooter’s preference. He felt it was right to attack and kill those kids and teacher...

In the last blog , we looked briefly at the moral law for God's existence. If you didn't read it, check it out.   Now, I’d like to propose 3 reasons why we know the moral law actually exists. Reason #1: We react like we have one. Think about it. There is something inside of us that tells us when certain things are good or bad. If you turn on the news and you see that a 2 year old boy was found locked up in a cage covered in cuts and bruises and malnourished, immediately you’d react with sadness, anger, and desire for justice. You didn’t force that reaction. It naturally occurs. If you hear about a young woman who was walking home from work and she was raped and beaten, you naturally get a knot in your stomach and hope the rapist was caught and justice was served. You hear about a mass shooting and you say to yourself “That is horrible. Innocent lives taken in cold blood. That’s wrong! This reaction happens naturally. Here’s the reality, it doesn’t matte...

Does God exist? If so, how can one know? Can you be sure?  For centuries, there have been several popular arguments for God's existence. We looked at two of these in previous blogs.   The first line of evidence which we looked at was the  teleological argument . It is the case for design. We looked at two premises: Every design has a designer. The universe displays highly complex design. Therefore our conclusion was that the universe has a designer. Read the full blog  here .  The second line of evidence for God’s existence was called the  cosmologic alargument.  Simply put, the cosmological argument is the argument for causation. In other words, every effect must have a cause. We look at two premises: Whatever begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore our conclusion was that the universe has a cause.  Read the full blog  here .  By the end of the two blogs that we can be MEGA SURE...

Depressed . I couldn’t even get off the couch. It was my 29th birthday and I was down and out. “What’s wrong?” my wife asked. “I’m a loser,” I said.   “What are you talking about? “She said. “I’m 29 and I’ve accomplished nothing” I replied. Of course that wasn’t true, but as far as my career I had not achieved what I had wanted. I had spent a few years in my early 20’s owning and operating a small marketing company. That was fun and a good school of hard knocks. I had pursued opening up a salon to no avail. So there I was laying on the couch hitting bottom. I knew I was made for more. I had an idea of what God wanted for me. And thankfully, He allowed me to hit “career-life” bottom to get me to pursue my passion and goals . Many people ask, “Okay, so what’s the secret formula to getting life back on track and doing what you really want to do? It’s not that complicated – just hard. Even so, I believe everyone can accomplish their life goal...

In my recent blog, What To Do When Life Throws You a Curveball , I talked about a major life event. It was and is major…and manageable.  We all experience events and experiences that are unexpected. I have recently and chances are so have you.  This reminded me one of the most powerful equations in business (and life). I first came across Jack Canfield’s famous equation E + R = O seven years ago, when my chiropractor Dr. Leif Olson gave me The Success Principles . At that time I didn’t appreciate it like I do now. As far as I’m concerned, it is one of the most powerful and correct equation in business and life. Why? Let me break down the equation for you. E = Event -- We all have events or experiences. Each day we have big events, small events, good experiences, bad experiences, normal experiences, and unpredicted experiences. Each day, each moment we are having them In 12 short years of marriage, my wife and I have had many experiences and events. We’ve had job lo...

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” ~ Randy Pausch We all face roadblocks. We all face obstacles that get in the way for what we are called to do. You’d think knowing this would help. And in a way it does. But when they show up, we still don’t like it. Do you have a roadblock right now? Are you going to let it stop you? You don’t have to. There are many formulas for success. Many strategies to complete your goal. But one ingredient to achieve success, you need a band of brothers and sisters. Success in these regards is ambiguous. It could be marital, financial, entrepreneurial, organizational or something else. Here are three reasons why you need to have that Accountability . A band is loaded with accountability. Ac...

Proverbs 19:21 says "Many are the plans in a man's heart; but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." I have told hundreds and hundreds of people "Today is normal and tomorrow your son has cancer. Today is normal and tomorrow you are raising your kids by yourself. Today is normal and tomorrow you hit the jackpot." It's happened to me. It happened to you. And yet we still don't believe it. "Many are the plans..." A little over 4 years ago after experiencing a curveball, a good friend asked me, "What has changed about you from last week till now?" In other words, in light of the the curveball, what's changed about me? The answer: Nothing. I am still me with the same skills, abilities, experiences, degrees, etc. It is only information that has changed. Thank you, Tom. That question and advice still stands. I still experience curveballs. I still will experience them. You have and you will! In the face of a curveball...

What popular leadership buzzword(s) comes to your mind?   For me, it’s empowerment. Empowerment defined is the power given to someone. This notion of giving away power sounds great. Who wouldn’t want it if they’re a leader? But here’s the problem with empowerment: you can lose it as quickly as it was given. There was a myth that Nordstrom had a one page policy guide. On its one page it said, “Use good judgment at all times.” That sounds awesome! True empowerment. Here’s the reality. Nordstrom’s real policy guide is 7,344 words long. So much for empowerment. So if empowerment isn’t the solution, what is? Ownership . As a leader, I prefer ownership over empowerment. Why? Empowerment is conditional and on loan. Ownership is self-driven and comes from within. Wait. Ownership? What about accountability? That's another leadership buzzword. Isn’t accountability the leadership way? Let me answer it with an illustration: Have you ever stayed at an Airbn...

Forget the Golden Rule. That's the best leadership advice, if you want to increase engagement in employees and volunteers.  "What?  You'r ea pastor! You can't tell people that!" I know you’re thinking that. It's okay.  In the workplace, I think we can do one better than practice the Golden Rule...not actually  forget it. Here’s what I mean: Today, I dropped off my kids at school and my Kindergartner’s teacher handed me a “thank you” for volunteering this semester. What did she hand me as a thank you? You guessed it: meatballs. Let me be more specific: a meatball sandwich. “So what?” you ask. She understands the Platinum Rule from Ty Bennett’s “The Power of Influence” and the concepts taught in Gary Chapman’s “The 5 Love Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.” If you want to reward and thank your volunteers, employees and those you lead, you got to thank them the platinum way. According to Ty Bennett,The Platinum Rule goes b...

“I don’t believe that anymore” is one phrase Christian parents fear most. Unfortunately, Christian parents are hearing these words in greater numbers than before. Is there a way to help prevent these words from being spoken? Yes. And that’s exactly what apologists Sean McDowell and J.Warner Wallace do in their new book So the Next Generation Will Know. So the Next Generation Will Know was written: “to show you how to teach the truth of Christianity to the next generation, the special challenges they face and their unique identity.” [1] Their goal is not to teach you what is true. Rather, they aim to teach you how to teach what is true to the next generation. That’s what makes this book unique. Here are some quick stats of Gen Zers from the book: ·          33% believe gender is how a person feels, not their birth sex. ·          49% believe happiness is defined by financial success. ·...