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Unity Matters
Few things matter more to Jesus than the unity of His people, the church. Jesus said in John 17:23 “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” It would seem Jesus takes…
Read MoreThe High Calling of Doing the Mundane
As a leader, how often do you think about resigning your current job and moving onto something more exciting and engaging? Usually, the response I get to that question is, “Most Monday mornings!” Let’s face it, there are some things about our jobs that serve to send adrenaline rushing through our veins. After that rush,…
Read MorePastors Aren’t Here to Pump You Up!
One of the more influential churches in the New Testament period was that of Antioch. Now I don’t have any idea how many folks they had coming on Sundays, how many services or how big their building was, how many youth they had in youth group, how many programs, etc…I’m of course being a little…
Read MoreEmpowering Leaders
I simply could not believe my mother-in-law would abandon our first born. After a few days of modeling infant care she left him in the care of two complete novices. I remember her smile and reassuring pat on the arm as she said, “you will all be just fine”. She was right. He survived –…
Read MoreTrees
If your life were reflected in a particular kind of tree, what kind of tree would that be? It sounds like a question you would hear at the local tofu and granola lovers meeting (for the record – I like both tofu and granola). Many would want to be a giant redwood or a sequoia. …
Read MoreAre We Teaching the Right Things?
I taught a class at my church on Wednesday nights for the past four weeks. Pastors do that sort of thing. But this class was different—different in purpose and different in participant’s responses. Let me begin with some context. Our congregation had just spent the Lenten season reading through the New Testament in eight weeks.…
Read MoreBrokenness
Many years ago, Pastor J. C. Philpot wrote: “There is much presumption, pride, hypocrisy, deceit, delusion, formality, superstition and self-righteousness to be purged out of the heart of God’s child…” Philpot was kind. That’s the beginning of the purging our hearts desperately need. We are broken people. What does that mean for us on a…
Read MoreAgony
Some things you can know too much about. We all have that friend who obsesses about _________, and when the conversation remotely ventures toward his or her area, there we go. I suspect we all have an area or two that sets off the nerd alert in our circles, “Speaking of conflict, did you know…
Read MoreCelebrating 40 years of Consistent, Obedient Ministry to Youth Pastors
Despite the wisdom of the advice to never judge a book by it’s cover, I admit that I have judged a book by it’s title. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson qualifies as a great book with an excellent title. Consistency appears to be a rare commodity in today’s instant gratification…
Read MoreWho Will the Next Church Leaders Be?
In a time when pastors are leaving the ministry at a very rapid rate (Just Google that and brace yourself.), here’s a question to which every church needs to respond: Who will the next generation of pastors be? Of course, we don’t need to limit this to pastors. Who will the future leaders of the…
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