You want to be the real you?  Me, too.  Here are two thoughts to etch into your head and heart... 1.  "Be real. Try to do what you say, say what you mean, and be what you seem."-- Marian Wright Edelman (1939 – )American activistfounder of the Children’s Defense Fund  2.  "Do not think ofContinue reading "Be who you are"

Two examples from Jesus...1.  As he approached Jerusalem near the end of his ministry and saw the city, Jesus wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace -- but now it is hidden from your eyes."  Luke 19:41.  The word used to describeContinue reading "Real, gut-wrenching emotion"

I am coaching 8 Vineyard pastors.  I love to hear the heart of these guys, listening to their dreams, goals and desires.  Most of them are doing fairly well.  As I spend more and more time with them, in person and on the phone, here's what I realize it takes to make it for the long haulContinue reading "Here’s what it takes to pastor"

  About 20 years ago I came across the prayer that John Stott prayers every morning at 5am.[Stott is one of the great evangelical voices of of the 20th century and a fine Anglican scholar.  In my 20s and 30s, I was more influenced by many of his books than any other evangelical author.]  IContinue reading "My favorite morning prayer"

For years I have been praying the Serenity Prayer, made famous for its use in Alcoholics Anonymous.  Most people think it originated with American pastor and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.  It is certainly possible but even Niebuhr admitted that the prayer had probably been lurking around for years prior to his penning it.  Here's AA's takeContinue reading "The Serenity Prayer … another all-time favorite"

I've heard people say their most common prayer is short:  "Help."I get that, but I am wondering if there are prayers with perhaps a bit more substance that you pray, say, every day and find helpful?I pray the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer almost every day, for example.  Here's another prayer that I findContinue reading "What prayers do you pray?"

The Scottish minister and missionary Oswald Chambers is most famous for his devotional called My Utmost For His Highest...In one entry he says that as long as we are in this physical body there will be disturbing, confusing, unsettling questions that we do not understand.  But if we humble ourselves before God, and we are receptiveContinue reading "Listening and accepting the inner voice of God’s Spirit"

Dominican priest Father Vincent McNabb said that one sign of real intelligence is the ability to recognise holiness. Sanctity tends to hide itself.  It often takes a discerning eye to see the working of God's spirit in a person's life. More than once in the Gospels Jesus asks the leaders of the people to look beyond hisContinue reading "How do you recognize holiness in someone else?"