Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Recently, I was reflecting on my journey, specifically as it relates to formal (ministry/leadership) education. A long time ago, I came to believe that the highest goal of education (for me, at least) was formation, not knowledge acquisition, or the diploma at the end of the program. Formation is a goal of all personal growth … Read more
I have had a sense (or at least a hope) that Lent 2010 will be an especially transformational time in my life, in my home, and in my church. Knowing that we have to be intentional about our own spiritual growth, I’ve been thinking specifically about my growth plan for Lent (this continues the thinking … Read more
I grew up in a denomination that was pretty much King James Only (KJO). I don’t think we were as militant about it as some groups, the King James Version (KJV) was simply the preferred/accepted Bible translation. (Of course, many of the modern translations started being published around the time I left the denomination, although … Read more
Edited on May 26, 2012 to say that this list is a little dated, but hopefully, it’s still helpful. I have always been a researcher. Back in college and seminary (just before the internet became widely available), I commonly had tons of sources in my research papers and I often spent many hours/days researching before … Read more
Experience is a good thing. We need experience in order to grow. But there is a downside of experience. The more experience we get in using our God-given gifts/abilities, the more confidence we get in our abilities. (BTW, I believe I got this idea from a book by Bruce Wilkinson that I read several years … Read more
Following up on my Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry post, I’ve been mulling over the difference between urgency and impatience for a while now. On the one hand, impatience is obviously a bad thing. But I believe that having a sense of urgency is a good thing. What’s the difference? Impatience is defined as … a dislike … Read more
At the Bishop’s Retreat this week, Tex Sample talked about how we are formed by our practices (see other learnings here). Because of that, we need to choose good practices. I think this is one reason why habits, disciplines, systems and routines are important to me. It’s not just about finding an easier, faster way … Read more
While listening to music by FFH yesterday, I was especially struck by their song, “You Write the Words.” The song describes a songwriter’s struggle to write something new and fresh, something that would stand the test of time. The songwriter notes that songs like “Amazing Grace” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” have already been written. But … Read more
That’s a question that seems to keep coming up wherever I go in the last couple of weeks — a Sunday school class, a gathering of pastors in my district, an online community for pastors, and even in one of my sermons. That’s probably not a coincidence, but something I need to process. As my … Read more
Watching Ethan grow is teaching us a lot about human development. One significant area is watching Ethan learn to feed himself. Ethan has made a lot of progress in the seven months he’s been with us, but he also has a long way to go. These days, Ethan can be trusted to feed himself with … Read more