Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
The desire to be recognized drives division in an organization. In preparation for last Sunday’s message, I briefly read 1 Corinthians 11. The chapter begins with a very interesting statement about division. I read it as something of a sarcastic statement by Paul, one of the Church’s premier leaders in the first century. “But, of … Read more
Lately, I’ve been thinking about good movies for leaders, movies teach, inspire, and challenge leaders to make a difference in the world. Here are some of my favorites … Coach Carter End of the Spear Freedom Writers (see our previous post here) Glory Road Mr. Holland’s Opus Pride Remember the Titans The Devil Wears Prada … Read more
Our adoption homestudy has been approved and sent to Korea. Now we wait. We formally began our international adoption process earlier this year in January 2007. Now after completing all of the paperwork, our homestudy has been forwarded to Korea. That essentially places us on the waiting list for a child. We do not know, … Read more
Eugene Peterson on how life slowly, almost unnoticeably leaks. I love the stuff Eugene Peterson writes. He’s best known perhaps for his recent work, translating/paraphrasing the Scriptures in The Message. When I was in seminary I read some of his books; in fact, his book, The Contemplative Pastor, was one of the most impacting books … Read more
We’ve reached an important milestone in the dissertation-writing journey. We finally talked with our faculty mentor, Dr. Russell West, earlier this week. Fortunately, we only had minor revisions to make before submitting our proposal drafts (chapters 1-3, out of 5), which went out in yesterday’s mail. This submission sets a number of things in motion, … Read more
7 Things Christ-following Leaders Don’t Say … I recently read an article by CarerrBuilder.com posted on CNN.com: Mistakes that can kill your career. It’s a pretty good list for any job, but it made me think about things that kill one’s leadership (i.e. leadership poison). Out of this, came the following list of statements that … Read more
Great ideas we picked up from our courses at Asbury. Now that we’ve completed our coursework phase in the doctor of ministry program at Asbury Theological Seminary, we’ve picked up some great teaching ideas along the way. Here are several things we’d consider doing (assuming one week on campus) … Worship Emphasis Many of our … Read more
My great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was a pioneer preacher! I’ve long had an interest in genealogy/family history, and one of the people I’m interested in learning more about is Adolph Nussman. Nussman was recruited by Lutherans in North Carolina in the 1700s because they did not have a pastor. Nussman, in Germany, answered the call and became the … Read more
John Dietrich Aurandt, one of my ancestors, a pioneer Christ-following leader, started a number of churches in central Pennsylvania. We don’t know a lot about him, but we know that he started several (Lutheran and UCC) churches in the area. According to a book, Aurandt is “The father of the Reformed Church in Blair County.” … Read more
Song from the movie “Music & Lyrics” makes a good prayer. Awhile back we watched the movie Music & Lyrics on DVD. It’s a romantic comedy that Joleen, particularly, wanted to watch. At first, it was just an okay movie, but overall, it was a good movie, especially if you like romantic comedies. Music & … Read more