Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
In my last post, Eschatological Hope, I stated that the eventual return of Christ gives us hope to face whatever we might encounter in this life, and that our focus must simply be to be ready for Christ’s return. As I noted, eschatology is the study of end time events. Jesus certainly talked about end … Read more
Eschatology is the study of end time events. Few areas of scripture are more hotly debated, and perhaps misunderstood and misused, than parts than deal with end times events. Stuff can get off-the-wall pretty quickly. Some faith traditions talk more about eschatology than others. For example, it’s not a big focus in The United Methodist … Read more
When I hit the wall several months ago, I remember reminding myself during a time of prayer, “I’m not invincible.” At the time, I was pushing it pretty hard, physically (doing 30,000 steps/day as part of a 21-day national Virgin HealthMiles challenge). And, basically, I had been living on adrenaline, because that’s the only way … Read more
The Church needs transformational leaders! Last week, I began a series of posts praying for the Church. The church certainly needs awakening. It also needs transformational leaders. Joleen and I have always endeavored to be transformational leaders. Transformational leaders seek to help the churches they lead experience new life and to become more active in … Read more
I was a 19 year-old college student when I sensed God calling me into full-time ministry. Shortly afterward, I transferred to a different college and changed my major, and my life focus, from engineering to ministry. While I was finishing up my last two years of college, working on a Bachelor’s degree in ministry, I … Read more
I am beginning a series of posts, praying for the Church. Once a week, for a while, I plan to offer a prayer for the Church, each focused on a specific area. First up is awakening. O God, thank you for your Church, your hands and feet. Thank you for inviting us to participate in … Read more
The sooner we settle the issue of how desperately we need God, the better! Jesus once said … I assure you that the Son can’t do anything by himself except what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. … I can’t do anything by myself.” (John 5.19, 30) Later, … Read more
Recently, I read two articles on the Harvard Business Review blog: Fatigue Is Your Enemy and Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time. Tony Schwartz writes … Two years ago, I began hearing the phrase ‘It isn’t sustainable’ over and over from senior executives. They were talking about the everyday demands at work. The day of … 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