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“Zoom”ing In on Community: What the Pandemic Reminds Us About Connection
“The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This week I had my 657th Zoom call. Ok, slight exaggeration, but between work meetings, online church, family gatherings, and weekly bible study, my Apple screen time report has been off the charts. Zoom and other video teleconferencing mechanisms have become my near sole source of “direct” contact with the world outside my neighborhood. Though I’m grateful for the technology that allows me to see the faces of my colleagues, friends, and loved ones, I’ve found this sort of engagement to be helpful, but tiring. A space to connect, but a…
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May I Take Up Your Trash?
During a recent training event, I sat with fellow leaders chatting over lunch. Our meal filled us with necessary sustenance, but what now remained on our plates was unconsumable, gross substance. As lunch came to an end, Douglass, one of the leaders, stood up, glanced around the table, extended his hand, and asked, “may I take up your trash?”
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Authentic Relationships: Praying for One Another
To pray “in Jesus’name”means to pray in His Spirit, in His compassion, in His love, in His outrage, in His concern. In other words, it means to pray a prayer that Jesus Himself might pray. Kenneth L. Wilson Taking it to God: Praying for Others as Jesus Would We must be in tune with the Lord’s purpose for the person receiving our prayers (1 John 5:14,15). This means that you will only pray in line with the requestor’s request when it is in line with God’s will. Remember, we are not to make requests that ask God to violate their free-will. However, we can ask God for mercy and grace…
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Authentic Relationships: Instructing and Admonishing One Another
The person who hears the reproof that leads to life is at home among the wise. (Proverbs 15:31) King Solomon
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Authentic Relationships: Serving, Carrying Burdens and Building Up One Another
I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know; the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found to serve. …
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Authentic Relationships: Being Kind, Compassionate and Sharing with One Another
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. Mother Teresa
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Authentic Relationships: Greeting and Being Hospitable to One Another
You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Dale Carnegie
