Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Leading transformation is hard work. And, according to James Harnish, the cost is great! Several years ago, we read You Only Have to Die in a Doctor of Ministry class at Asbury Theological Seminary. Harnish is pastor of Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida. The book is written on the premise, “Hope is … Read more
When I read The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson this past year (I wrote several posts; the last one was 5 Takeaways From “The Circle Maker”), one section that struck me was the idea that as we age, we typically follow one of two paths: we either move toward memory or imagination. Batterson writes … … Read more
I recently started reading through Francis Asbury’s journal (see my previous post). I’m still only on page 50 of Volume 1 (of 3), but one thing that strikes me is how much Asbury writes about preaching, and how much he talks about his preaching in experiential terms. Here are a number of examples of how … Read more
For a while now, I’ve been casually reading American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodists by John Wigger. I’m enjoying it, but I also recently began reading Asbury’s three-volume journal (Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3). Asbury begins his journal talking about a conference that took place on August 7, 1771 where he made himself … Read more
One book I just started reading is Tell It Slant by Eugene Peterson (I’ve always loved Peterson; his book, The Contemplative Pastor, had a huge impact on me early on when I was in seminary, preparing for ministry). The subtitle of Tell It Slant is, “a conversation on the language of Jesus in his stories … Read more
In 2006, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro gave a talk at the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit called, Dead Leader Running. The talk struck a chord with me, at the time, and Cordeiro’s experience has stuck with me. In fact, when my ordeal began 19 weeks ago, it was one of the first things I thought … Read more
I recently finished reading Secrets From the Treadmill by Pete Briscoe and Patricia Hickman. The book spent several years on my reading pile (I picked it up during my D.Min. days at Asbury), but I decided to finally get to it when I realized I needed to manage stress better. I took it with me … Read more
I’m reading Longing for Spring: A New Vision for Wesleyan Community by Elaine A. Heath and Scott T. Kisker. I was challenged by the authors’ description of discipleship when Christianity is popular. In its earliest days, Christianity was at times “illegal and semi-covert” until the conversion of Constantine in A.D. 312. Constantine made Christianity legal … Read more
Over the years, some statements I’ve heard or read have stuck with me. One statement I read sometime around twenty years ago, I believe came from a book by James E. Means, Leadership in Christian Ministry (1989). The statement, as I recall, was … Great pastors don’t build great churches. Great pastors build great people, … Read more
Two years ago, I wrote about Rev. W. Lee Spottswood, a Methodist preacher from the 1800s. Spottswood served here in Clearfield 1858-1860. He wrote a book about his life in ministry called, Brief Annals, in 1888 (thankfully, it’s not too brief). My previous post focused on his experience in Clearfield, but after reading the rest … Read more