Being in ministry provides leaders with a front-row seat to the good, the bad, and the ugly of people’s lives. If I’ve learned anything through the years, it’s this: Life is messy. And it doesn’t come with a nicely packaged answer to suit every occasion. Consequently,...
Understanding Victim Blaming
My pastor sat in his chair and steepled his fingers as he listened to my confession. When I finished, he asked me, “Did you enter this relationship with your consent?” I thought about my constant stream of nos, the boundaries pushed and prodded over and over, the...
Resisting the Hero Narrative
We want heroes and want to be heroes. We imagine ourselves as the Billy Grahams, the Elijahs. We like to imagine ourselves in their company. We want to be that effective. To shape a society where our set of values and preferences is the norm. Where we can fit in and...
The Five Goals of Discipline
Discipline is about teaching. In fact, the word discipline is derived from the Latin word disciplina, which means instruction or training. It is also derived from the word discere, which means “to learn.” Basically, discipline centers on providing instruction and...
Living Out Faith Beyond Boundaries
“I'm on a mission to end missions.” This was the wild proclamation I found myself scribbling down during what some might call a “burnout” or crisis of faith. After devoting more than half my life to Christian humanitarian work around the globe, I was exhausted and...
Faith’s Tapestry: Memory’s Profound Role
Why can I remember the hospital transport person who graciously pushed my wife’s wheelchair as we left the hospital when my daughter was born, but for the life of me, I cannot remember his name? While his name might escape me, his gentleness and candor do not. I do...
Laboring with Purpose: A Pastor’s Insight into Faith at Work
WORK IS THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY many of us have for fulfilling the calling of Christ and his command to love our neighbors as ourselves. Reflect on that statement. What if every Christ-follower really believed that? Building sewage systems, creating businesses,...
How Gen Z Can Find Its Calling
We’re living in uncertain times, of that I’m certain. A failing economy. The constant threat of a global nuclear war. Inflation. Pandemics. Polarizing politics. Natural disasters. Uncertainty tends to breed fear in most of us. And yet, those circumstances pale in...
How Social Media Changes Us
Social media likely shapes the people you love and disciple more than you do. What are you going to do about it? I think there are, simply speaking, two wrong ways to approach social media: 1) uncritical embrace and 2) passive ignorance. These are two ends of a...
Does God Really Care If I Get a Sex Change?
Being in ministry provides leaders with a front-row seat to the good, the bad, and the ugly of people’s lives. If I’ve learned anything through the years, it’s this: Life is messy. And it doesn’t come with a nicely packaged answer to suit every occasion. Consequently,...
Understanding Victim Blaming
My pastor sat in his chair and steepled his fingers as he listened to my confession. When I finished, he asked me, “Did you enter this relationship with your consent?” I thought about my constant stream of nos, the boundaries pushed and prodded over and over, the...
Resisting the Hero Narrative
We want heroes and want to be heroes. We imagine ourselves as the Billy Grahams, the Elijahs. We like to imagine ourselves in their company. We want to be that effective. To shape a society where our set of values and preferences is the norm. Where we can fit in and...
The Five Goals of Discipline
Discipline is about teaching. In fact, the word discipline is derived from the Latin word disciplina, which means instruction or training. It is also derived from the word discere, which means “to learn.” Basically, discipline centers on providing instruction and...
Living Out Faith Beyond Boundaries
“I'm on a mission to end missions.” This was the wild proclamation I found myself scribbling down during what some might call a “burnout” or crisis of faith. After devoting more than half my life to Christian humanitarian work around the globe, I was exhausted and...
Faith’s Tapestry: Memory’s Profound Role
Why can I remember the hospital transport person who graciously pushed my wife’s wheelchair as we left the hospital when my daughter was born, but for the life of me, I cannot remember his name? While his name might escape me, his gentleness and candor do not. I do...
Laboring with Purpose: A Pastor’s Insight into Faith at Work
WORK IS THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY many of us have for fulfilling the calling of Christ and his command to love our neighbors as ourselves. Reflect on that statement. What if every Christ-follower really believed that? Building sewage systems, creating businesses,...
How Gen Z Can Find Its Calling
We’re living in uncertain times, of that I’m certain. A failing economy. The constant threat of a global nuclear war. Inflation. Pandemics. Polarizing politics. Natural disasters. Uncertainty tends to breed fear in most of us. And yet, those circumstances pale in...
How Social Media Changes Us
Social media likely shapes the people you love and disciple more than you do. What are you going to do about it? I think there are, simply speaking, two wrong ways to approach social media: 1) uncritical embrace and 2) passive ignorance. These are two ends of a...
Helping Your Small Group Thrive
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