The Justice of Community
Jesus the Son told His disciples, “The poor you will have with you always.” God the Father told Israel, “There will be no poor among...
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- May 16
- 2 min
Asking For Help
Yesterday I had a little hiccup. About seven months ago, my wife and I felt prompted—I think now by the Holy Spirit—to have a CT scan to...
- Feb 6
- 3 min
Divine DNA...and You
Over the last few decades, there’s been a shift in evangelicalism in particular from the hyper-individualistic message of “personal...
- Jan 17
- 2 min
The Evolution of Language
The other day I happened to notice a poster about a Big New Blockbuster Movie coming out. The top line on the poster read: “Only in...
- Nov 28, 2022
- 3 min
Dogpaddling with Dolphins
I’ve been on both sides of a lead pastor transition. Years before serving in the lead pastor role at our church, everyone on...
- Nov 14, 2022
- 2 min
The Secret of Servant Leadership
Of the four essential elements that every leader must exercise—Integrity, Passion, Servanthood, and Imagination—Servanthood seems like it...
- Nov 7, 2022
- 3 min
A Continuum of Transformation
In a previous post titled Helping People to Become Inviters, I talked about giving the people in our churches more resources for becoming...
- Aug 24, 2022
- 3 min
The Problem With Traditionalism
The owner of a Chevron station in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle got tired of plastering advertising deals on his sign. Instead,...
- Jul 19, 2022
- 2 min
Changing the “Routine Paradigm”
At one time I had my Christian life neatly prioritized. It was: first, God. Second, family. And third, work…specifically, my work as a...
- Jun 7, 2022
- 2 min
Spiritual Warfare and Ministry
Church ministry is hard because people are complicated. But there’s more to it than just that. Over the years, my wife and I hosted a...
- Jan 10, 2022
- 3 min
Top 5 Things Pastors Should Stop Pretending To Be
I believe that a pastor’s main duty is making sure the mission of the local church is carried out, which is primarily guiding...
- Dec 14, 2021
- 2 min
What Do Leaders Pray?
How do leaders pray? Or more specifically, what do leaders pray? If our ultimate leader in this Kingdom movement is Jesus, how and what...
- Sep 22, 2021
- 2 min
Are You More Important Than You Think?
“No one in my master’s house is more important than I am.” ~Joseph (Genesis 39:9a CEV). It seems the fall of prominent Christian leaders...
- Jun 3, 2021
- 3 min
Are Leaders Born or Made?
Some years back I had lunch with a young man who had immigrated to America at fifteen to escape an abusive father and a broken family...
- May 31, 2021
- 3 min
Leading Through Personal Difficulty
David’s army had just won a military victory over a coup led by his own son Absalom, killed in the battle. David turned what should have...
- May 18, 2021
- 3 min
The Worship Challenge
Here’s a question I’ve wondered about: in heaven, would I feel any of the restrained feelings I have here about expressing worship? Even...
- Dec 10, 2020
- 3 min
And Now For Something Different: Spiritual Conflict
Though I’ve never really spoken about it publicly, the church I pastored had a number of run-ins with disturbed people. When you open...
- Nov 10, 2020
- 3 min
Vulnerability & Leadership
The organizational behavior philosopher Charles Handy made reference to an exercise known as the Johari Window. The Johari exercise...
- Nov 3, 2020
- 2 min
Community in a Time of Covid
About 35 years ago, the Journal of Community Psychology featured a landmark article by David McMillan and David Chavis outlining four...
- Oct 25, 2020
- 2 min
Circumstances and Leadership
This whacked-out 2020 year is a case study in how circumstances can upend organizations and their leaders: how they function, how they...
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