Let Change Begin with Us

Let Change Begin with Us

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,...
Faith and Wisdom

Faith and Wisdom

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...
Relationships are Risky but Needed

Relationships are Risky but Needed

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...
Faith and Wisdom

hiring

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...
An MRI and A Reminder About Ministry

An MRI and A Reminder About Ministry

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....
Different People and Traditions: Together

Different People and Traditions: Together

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...
symptoms

symptoms

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,...
But I Don’t Have Time

But I Don’t Have Time

“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...
Thoughts and Questions for the Summer

Thoughts and Questions for the Summer

What another odd year 2021 has already been. We are moving through spring and toward summer, and each of us could tell stories about adjusting to change. Uncertainty and questions and confusion seem to be traveling with us. As we continue in this adventure of life in...
But I Don’t Have Time

so much so suddenly

from the book embracing now: pain, joy, healing, living. running, running, running,  racing to or from,  rapidly, aggressively,  unaware of now,  a thought, another thought,  a mood, another mood,  so much so suddenly,  rushing from...