by Chris Maxwell | Sep 14, 2021 | Uncategorized
Life hasn’t been very funny lately. Humor hasn’t seemed to fit. I hear the news. Most isn’t good. I read the reports. Most aren’t good. I notice the debates, feel the tension, observe the division, and worry about the next person to become ill. So much is so sad. Too...
by Chris Maxwell | Aug 25, 2021 | Blog
Sad news comes to us. Often. Bad news stays nearby. Always. But amid the difficult days, I pray we remember the good opportunities we have. I hope we live well while alive. What can we do? *Love one another.*Be kind to people no matter how they treat...
by Chris Maxwell | Aug 8, 2021 | Blog
Summer is nearing her end. Schedules change. But how are we changing? What decisions are we making to bring healthy change? We find it easy to complain about others. Are we doing what we should to let change begin with us? Here are a few suggestions from chapters 13,...
by Chris Maxwell | Jul 12, 2021 | Blog, Book Excerpts
From the book Pause for Pastors: Finding Still Waters in the Storm of Ministry. I believe in the balanced diet of faith and reason. I reject selecting one of those components while rejecting the other. Most groups and individuals—most pastors and churches—accentuate...
by Chris Maxwell | Jul 8, 2021 | Blog, Book Excerpts
Yes, relationships are risky. And painful. And reminders of previous pains. But they are crucial to becoming who we should be. Let’s not avoid relational risk. Let’s invest in the lives of those around us. I love reading the stories of Jesus spending time with His...
by Chris Maxwell | Jun 28, 2021 | Blog, Book Excerpts
from the book embracing now: pain, joy, healing, living he defers the privilege, rejecting an expected response of quid pro quo script. choosing instead to cherish honesty, refusing to accept its disappearance. desperation...
by Chris Maxwell | Jun 24, 2021 | Blog, Book Excerpts
From the book Pause for Pastors: Finding Still Waters in the Storm of Ministry. They asked me to change clothes. Actually, to take off most of what I had on and to replace it only with shorts and a gown. Not my normal dress code. But I wasn’t entering a normal place....
by Chris Maxwell | Jun 16, 2021 | Blog, Book Excerpts
Diversity and unity can help us walk out of our own doors to see the outside splendor. And it can help us walk outside those doors with a friend—of a different race or tradition or stream—walking with us. I’ve been thinking of one experience during a Sunday service at...
by Chris Maxwell | Jun 3, 2021 | Blog, Book Excerpts
from the book embracing now: pain, joy, healing, living sudden and harsh responses,or no replies at all. invalid validationin various forms:tone of voice,facial expressions,direction, if any, of the eyes. repetition, reservation, characterization,manipulation,...
by Chris Maxwell | May 26, 2021 | Blog, Conversations
“I would love to. I just don’t have the time.”“If I only had more time.”“There’s no time in my busy schedule for that.”“It’s a good idea, but there’s no way I could make it happen.”Have your heard those comments?Have you stated those comments?I have. And I have.We are...
