-
All In, Running Flat Out
I am certainly not a runner. I tried it a few years back and never made it much beyond the end of the block. But I am a runner in the race of the Christian life, and I want to finish strong. I want to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” when my race is over. The other day a good friend sent me a John Piper post highlighting 88-year-old J.I. Packer’s latest book on aging. I haven’t yet read the book, but Packer is reported to say that the message of our culture to take our last years easy comes from the evil one, not God. Packer says, ”My contention…
-
Give It Away!
PROBLEM: When I first got in children’s ministry as a paid staff member at a church I ran into a challenge that I didn’t anticipate going in regarding how I handle my ministry responsibilities. I held a posture of ownership and thought that if I didn’t do ALL of the work then it would either not get done right and/or my leadership would think I was just trying to pawn it off on others. I needed to have control over everything! I attended every meeting (during and after normal hours), I assigned myself responsibility for all kinds of things whether I had the time or not and I placed expectations…
-
What’s “organic” ministry and why do many next gen leaders embrace it?
Recently, my students, future ministers, gave oral reports on ministries they visited and evaluated. For the first time, I heard several of them use the word "organic" as an adjective to describe healthy ministries, and lacking "organic" as a negative. What is organic ministry anyway and why are so many of my students drawn to it? I remember an older woman who exploded, "Organic!"– I'm beginning to hate that word. If everything is organic, how do we ever get anything done?" Her frustration grew out of several conversations with younger women, and, in her opinion, this organic thing was throwing up roadblocks to effective ministry, specifically mentoring in her case.…
-
Blog for Influence
Got two minutes? Here are my thoughts on blogging for influence:
-
The IF:Gathering, Nail in the Coffin or a Fresh Awakening?
Two years ago Sarah Bessey rocked the women's ministry world with her blog, Why We Don't Need "Women's" Ministry (17 thousand likes). Did the IF:Gathering nail the coffin lid down tight or blow that sucker sky high with fresh resurrection power? What would Sarah say? Well, Sarah, there were no cute cupcake designs and decorating tips, scrapbooking parties or casserole recipes. Instead a parade of diverse nameless leaders opened with unscripted prayers to beseech God to act and empower. They were smart and they were brave and they asked God to use them to change the world. No long introductions full of accolades and sales pitches. Unapologetically…
-
Impact, Calling, Serving…”Do You Know Your Destiny?”
“Thank you for teaching my son why we celebrate Christmas. Our family never knew the reason why we celebrated Christmas. We thought it was all about giving gifts and never knew it was because of the birth of Jesus.” Believe it our not, these words were spoken to me in January 1991 by the mother of a three year old in my preschool class. I was surprised by what she said as she shared from her heart with such sincerity and gratitude. You see, I just assumed when I was teaching the lesson about the birth of Jesus that the ten children in my classroom already knew the story and…
-
Dangerous Liaisons: Ministry, Power, and Sex
I picked up the phone and heard the strain in my friend’s voice: “I messed up with a married fellow-worker, so the church fired us both.” My heart sank. She obviously recognized her wrongdoing and it took guts to admit what she’d done, yet picturing the devastation to a church and two marriages brought a wave of nausea. “You don’t have to say anything,” she said before I found words. “And you should know—it’s not that I don’t love my husband. It’s less about my marriage than it is about my failure to fear God. Can you recommend a good counselor?” Sadly, her story—used with permission—is common. While headline news describes…