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I am regularly coaching pastors and leaders from all over.  One of the keys is asking great questions.  Here are some really deep questions that I keep in my bag of questions.   And I don’t always ask them exactly in this form, but I like all four of them a lot.  They can really make you think…* WhoContinueContinue reading “More Great Questions…”

From one of my favorite writers, Thomas Merton…“We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have – for their usefulness”A question:  Do you focus on what peopleContinueContinue reading “Who are you, anyway?”

Try this litany during your quiet time with the Lord … you are both the reader and the responder.  Read silently to yourself the request and then say the response out loud, but quietly.  Try it…—–For the peace from above, for the loving kindness of God, and for the salvation of my soul, I prayContinueContinue reading “A morning reading and prayer”

*  “The distresses of choice are our chance to be blessed.”  — from For the Time Being by W.H. Auden*  “Trusting that He will make all things new if I surrender to his will…” — from the Serenity Prayer*  “We must learn to obey him in everything, and so we must begin somewhere.  Let itContinueContinue reading “The distress of choice”

So I heard the average yearly income of a Haitian family is maybe $1,000.  That was before the earthquake struck.  I further heard that in Port-au-Prince the unemployment rate prior to the earthquake was about 80 percent.  Eighty percent?  Unbelievable.  Every part of me wants that figure to be wrong.I watched the amazing scenes of the search-and-rescue teams fromContinueContinue reading “The value of the human life”

At least twice yesterday I was angry — once when I talked with one of my siblings and once at life when I was driving and telling God how I really felt.  Each time I got agitated and raised my voice.  This morning when I awaken I thought about what happened yesterday.  Here’s what I think:*ContinueContinue reading “Angry … again”

When blind Bartimaeous heard that Jesus was nearby he began to shout, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” (Mark 10:46-52)One of the most common and most practiced ancient prayers in the Eastern Orthodox Church is “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”Last week at the jail service I askedContinueContinue reading “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”

Have you ever considered the spiritual disciplines that marked Jesus’ life?1.  Obedience.  “Not my will be done.”2.  Simplicity.  “Foxes have holes and bird of the air have nests, but the Son Man has no where to lay his head.”3.  Humility.  “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am humble and gentleContinueContinue reading “Spiritual disciplines — Jesus style”