Archive for September 2018
Scary Statistics
Are you ready for some scary stuff? If you’re in ministry, these should motivate you to make sure you and/or your pastor are healthy. More than 70% of pastors do not have a close friend with whom they can openly share their struggles. The dominant cause for pastors to leave the pastoral ministry is burnout.…
Read MoreFEARING CONSEQUENCES – Issues of Fear
The Book of Proverbs is filled with pithy sayings that God uses to set the direction of life. For example, Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” There is nothing innately wrong about pleasing others. In fact, I love people and so do you. You…
Read MoreSPEAKING THE TRUTH – Issues of Integrity
Martin Luther said some amazing things…convicting things. This one stands out to me:“Peace if possible, truth at all costs.” Leaders should be called to a higher standard. But the unfortunate reality is we can be found in the camp of fudging…the truth that is. I’m not sure how lying became so easy. OK, for you…
Read MoreDISCOVERY AND ADVENTURE – Issue of Confidence, Parenting
Depending on how you look at it. Teaching is a noble profession. I think you’d have a hard time finding someone who doesn’t believe that. However, if most people are high on teachers, I can’t figure out why they are paid so poorly… but I digress. A good friend of mine was teaching a gathering…
Read MoreJUSTICE AND WHOLENESS – Issues of Integrity
Justice in its deepest meaning involves making people whole, by keeping goodness and impartiality. In the book of James, it’s defined as the center of true religion. He says it’s the kind of “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and…
Read MoreIGNORING THE TRUTH – Issues of Integrity
Ignorance is bliss. Have you ever said that or thought that? I don’t want to know the truth because I’ll be responsible for that knowledge. There is a prevailing thought in this information age. “Knowing something is enough.” Historically, that has not been the definition of “to know.” To know something should compel us to…
Read MoreHUMILITY AND PRIDE – Relationships
I love how the Apostle Paul states the obvious in Galatians 6:3“For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Isn’t that how you and I would talk? “Thinking we’re something when we’re not.” Vincent de Paul cut to the chase when he said, “Humility is nothing but the truth,…
Read MoreBITTERNESS CAN DESTROY – Relationships
There are certain things we all do that we regret. Working so much at the expense of your family. Not standing up to a bully at school. Staying in touch with a good friend. Worry about what others think about me. I don’t know what your list is, but you have one. We all do.…
Read MoreDIRECTION AND GUIDANCE – Issues of Vision
My stepdad was a big game guide and bear expert in Alaska for the greater part of his adult life. Being a guide is a fascinating life. It has many rewards but requires a great deal of responsibility and preparation. It’s not as simple as having the ability to work a compass and read a…
Read MoreTOGETHERNESS – Issues of Community
COMMUNITY Community is not just a “buzz word” of our day, it’s how God designed us to live, “in community.” Now there are different spheres of community. Your family and neighborhood make up two important spheres. There are more. Your workplace and school add two more. God did not design us to go through life…
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