A Month of Sundays

A Month of Sundays

    While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.” Matthew 17:5 This is one of the most difficult texts in...
Becoming Compassionate Leaders

Becoming Compassionate Leaders

    Nehemiah faced one of the of the most complicated and most documented leadership challenges ever when God called him to oversee rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. At the time, Nehemiah lived a thousand miles from Jerusalem and served as the cupbearer...
The Emotionally Intelligent Pastor

The Emotionally Intelligent Pastor

    Jeannie Clarkson PhD is a Christian psychologist and researcher behind a landmark study linking emotional intelligence (EI) and performance-based self-esteem with burnout among pastors. She is the founder of Christian Care Connection, a multisite...
The Perfect Church Part 3: We Love Each Other Well

The Perfect Church Part 3: We Love Each Other Well

     As I look at the scriptures and then I look at how we do things today in our churches, I think we’ve got a few things backwards. Specifically when it comes to defining “love”. Love looks different in each of our relationships. The relationship dictates...
For-Prophet Leadership

For-Prophet Leadership

    The pastor walked slowly toward the podium as I sat on the stage behind him, waiting to be introduced. Clearing his throat, the pastor nervously shared, “My wife and I are grateful for the opportunity to serve here, but we’ve decided to resign as your...
Sin Is Not a Dirty Word

Sin Is Not a Dirty Word

    Recently, I had coffee with a friend I hadn’t seen in a long while. I knew her from years ago, when we served together with our husbands in the same ministry. She had moved to Arizona to join an art colony, and her life has taken many different turns...
The Decline and Fall of Seminaries

The Decline and Fall of Seminaries

    I am not a teacher, but an awakener. Robert Frost In the medieval world, thinking about God was done in a monastery where it was bathed in a liturgical setting amid devotional practices. In the modern world, thinking about God is done in a university...