Today's FIVE Minutes with Phil is different. It's a call to action to take your life and/or ministry to a higher level in these challenging days.

Leadership can be exhausting. It will take every ounce of strength you have, and more. It will take every morsel of brain power and wisdom and love. And it can leave you sapped, gasping for air, needing a transfusion, hot coffe, and wondering if you will survive the night.

In my experience, many in leadership will give all they've got and more, and those who are cheering on from the sidelines will encourage them to keep going. Most leaders, when asked how things are going, will respond "Busy! Busy!" as if that's a badge of honour!

So…

Bombshell.

Paul's reason for women not being in authority over men, and not teach men in the church has three components:

Wow. I think I'd better unpack each of those, and see where it takes us.

In case you didn't know, I love sports. I always have, and I expect I always will. Every sport is different - baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer, football - they are all played differently, and they all illustrate life in different ways.

Speaking of a Gameplan…

Today, I'm going to focus on how the gameplan works in football, because I think it best shows what a gameplan is all about.

Do you have an idea that's grabbed your heart, and you just know you have to accomplish it? Welcome to FIVE Minutes with Phil, where I'm laying out the steps, principles and ingredients for achieving that dream.

Today, I'm going to talk about what it's going to cost.

Albert Einstein, arguably one of the most intelligent persons to ever live, said “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn't … pays it.”

$10,000 today?

I remember being asked which I would prefer as a gift: $10,000, or 1 penny, doubling each day for 30 days.

At the end of 30 days, $10,000 is still $10,000, while what began as $0.01 has become $10,737,418.24. That's right - almost 11 million dollars!

And that's why compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world!

On the other hand, if you have a credit card with a $10,000 balance, at 24% interest, if it was possible to not pay the minimum each month, after 10 years you would owe (drum roll) $84,944.26! If you had paid the minimum monthly payment, after 10 years you would have paid $26,400 in interest, and you would still owe $10,000!

If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, travel with others.

If you have something truly worthy of investing your blood, sweat and tears, do not attempt to make it alone. Find the right people, and travel with them.

I have to wonder how many people have crashed and burned simply because they insisted on trying to do it themselves.

Paul writes, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet."

So many questions, so little time. I hardly know where to begin.

So let's begin with the first word: I. Is this Paul speaking? I'm comfortable with that. Is it God speaking? To be honest, I'm a whole lot less comfortable with that, but I also know that "All scriptures are God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16) so every word needs to be taken seriously.

Are you ready for some contentiousness? I think we'll find it.

A few years back, I had a conversation with someone who said, "You can't believe anything that Paul says in the Bible. After all, he hated women."

Ummm, I don't believe that at all. First, I don't believe Paul hated women, and second, we misunderstand some of Paul's writings because we don't understand the context in which they were written. However, I'll admit it, sometimes it's just hard to reconcile. Some of that is here.

Sooner or later, if you have an idea and a plan, it turns into work. So get to it!

No more getting ready to get ready. No more starting to start. You decided that this was something you had to do - something you have to do - so, no more dilly-dallying.

Get to it!

And let's face it - for most of us, that's hard.