The other night at an event I attended, I found myself staring at some of the folks attending who I knew made substantial salaries, well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.  I watched them for a while and then suddenly realized that if I wanted to busy myself looking at the tallContinue reading "The lie of comparison will get you nowhere"

No man can say his eyes have had enough of seeing, his ears their fill of hearing.   — Ecclesiastes 1:8 We see things with our eyes, but there is so much more to seeing...Father Richard Rohr says there is third-eye seeing...  -----"Third-eye seeing is the way the mystics see. They do not reject the first eye (thoughtContinue reading "There is so much more to seeing than what meets the eye…"

Soren Kierkegaard (Danish Philosopher 1813-1855) said:Christ willed to be the socially insignificant one. The fact that he descended from heaven to take upon himself the form of a servant is not an accidental something which now is to be thrust into the background and forgotten. No, every true follower of Christ must express existentially theContinue reading "Insignificance and offense are part of being a Christ follower"

Have you ever practiced these two, shall we say, lesser-practiced spiritual disciplines?* The discipline of being last...  (as in "Do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility honor others above yourself." Philippians 2:3) and * The discipline of not getting what you normally get  ... (as in "And when you fast, don't make itContinue reading "Want to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord, or take your fate upon yourself?"

As I talk with pastors and leaders I repeatedly discover that they need three things, almost more than anything else:  EnduranceEncouragementHope Pray this over your family, your friends, your pastor, the leaders in your church...  Pray it often; pray it fervently; And then tell them this is what you are praying:5 May the God who gives endurance andContinue reading "This is not the hour for giving up but for holding on!"

One of our most thoughtful writers is Father Richard Rohr.  I love his explanation of the longest soliloquy attributed to God, especially how God "defends" himself with almost no reference to humans but plenty of reference to animals and nature. 

I like how coach & mentor Bob Logan challenges us to think about what it really takes to be the church.  He asks, "What’s the fewest number of things you need to be a church? Logan suggests 6 "How" questions to flesh out that question: How will we develop authentic relationships?How will we engage inContinue reading "What does it take to BE the church?"

My good friend and terrific blogger, John Piippo, says we all need to pray for the fruit and power of gentleness. I could not agree more!