Follow Jesus. Lead the church. Change the world.
Recently, I was reading in Matthew 20 where Jesus asked two blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” I love what the Scripture says next: “Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him” (Matthew 20.32-34, NET). … Read more
Ever since I heard about Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown, I was interested in reading it. I finally got around to it, and I was not disappointed! There’s so much in the book, it’s impossible to review it all here. But here are some of my favorite thoughts. McKeown describes the … Read more
I recently read Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman. The book aims to help churches become missionaries in their communities. According to the authors, “breaking the code … means discovering the principles that work in every context, selecting the tools most relevant for your context … and then learning to apply … Read more
Stewardship is about honoring God with what he’s blessed us with. One of God’s gifts is time. And, it’s a precious gift, because in the grand scheme of things, our time on earth is extremely brief! Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting … Read more
My One Word for 2015 is TRAIN. It was the focus of my sermon on Super Bowl Sunday. Last year, I challenged people to come up with One Word, and so far this year, we have nearly twice as many people who submitted their one words for the year! (My one word last year was … Read more
On July 1, 2009, the beginning of our second year in Clearfield, I wrote a prayer in my journal for our ministries. Though the prayer has been revised over the years, it has stuck with me ever since (in fact, I posted an earlier version of it in 2011). A few months ago, the Clearfield … Read more
Inspired by Psalm 103, worship leader and songwriter Matt Redman cowrote the song, “10,000 Reasons” with a Swedish friend, Jonas Myrin. In Psalm 103, David lists several reasons why his heart is full of worship for God. So, Redman and Myrin made a list of their own reasons and noted they were barely scratching the … Read more
Earlier this year, United Methodist leaders published Finding Our Way: Love and Law in The United Methodist Church, edited by Bishop Rueben P. Job and Neil M. Alexander. Several bishops each contributed a chapter, including … Enforce (Gregory V. Palmer) Emend (Hope Morgan Ward) Disobey (Melvin G. Talbert) Disarm (Kenneth H. Carter, Jr.) Order (J. … Read more
Our favorite leadership development event is the Willow Creek Association’s Global Leadership Summit. This year’s Summit was the 20th event, and our fourth in a row (see my posts on the 2011 and 2013 Summits). Here are some of my favorite quotes/thoughts from this year’s Summit … Bill Hybels Hybels is the leader who challenges … Read more
Two years ago, I started reading Replenish by Lance Witt after a season of experiencing a lot of stress. There’s a lot of helpful content in this fairly short book. The book is divided into 41 short chapters. It’s impossible to cover it all, but here are some of my favorite highlights. Witt cautions about the … Read more