The Trojan War, the Tax Collector, & Propitiation
During the mythical Trojan War, the goddess Artemis punished Agamemnon, the Greek general, for evil deeds his soldiers committed. On their way to the war, Artemis caused the winds to stir and their ships were knocked violently into one another. Agamemnon learned that the only way to appease the wrath of Artemis was to sacrifice […]
3 Pseudo-Communities in a Local Church
We are prone to build community on something other than Jesus, on something weak. Even as Christians, there is a proclivity in our sinfulness to drift from Jesus as the unifying foundation of our community. When we don’t build community on Christ and His work for us, we will build community on something less. In […]
6 Nuggets of Wisdom for Leaders
The following is a guest post by Selma Wilson. Selma is one of the vice presidents of LifeWay, leading our B&H Publishing Group. I am honored to serve alongside Selma and consider her to be an incredible leader. “Plans fail when there is no counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” — Proverbs 15:22 Every leader needs […]
The Most Important Leadership Characteristic
In their landmark leadership book The Leadership Challenge, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner share that the most important leadership characteristic is credibility. Based on extensive research over two decades, they boldly claim that “more than anything, we want leaders who are credible. People must be able to believe in their leaders.” To Kouzes and Posner, […]
Believing the Wrong Story
Earlier this year, a Japanese war hero died. His name was Hiroo Onoda, and he was a Japanese imperial soldier who fought in WWII. When the opposing military landed where Onoda was stationed, most of his colleagues were killed or surrendered. Onoda, however, fled with three other soldiers into hiding in the jungle. That was […]
A New Way to Develop Aligned Group Content: Smallgroup.com
This week, churches across the world will not only meet together to sing songs of the faith and sit under the preaching of God’s Word; they will also meet in homes and classrooms to study, share, confess, and pray for each other in groups. These groups matter greatly as God uses community to mature His […]
Do You Lack Vision?
The following is a guest post by Eric Mason. Dr. Eric Mason is co-founder and lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, Pa. In addition to his role there, he serves as president of Thriving, a ministry dedicated to aiding ethnic minorities to be resourced and trained for ministry to the urban context. Are you one of […]
Steve Jobs on Leadership and the Idol of Approval
Jony Ive is the senior vice president of design at Apple and is known as the great design mind behind the products at Apple. In a rare interview, Jony shares some lessons he learned from working with Steve Jobs. In the interview, he recounts a conversation with Steve where Steve rebukes him for leading to […]
More than “Just as if I have never sinned”
A helpful way to remember the important biblical term “justified” is with the phrase “just as if I’d never sinned.” And that is certainly part of what it means to be justified. All our sins are forgiven, and we stand pure and blameless before God. But “justified” actually means much more than that. Jerry Bridges […]
Does Your Team Trust, Respect, and Like Each Other (and You)?
The healthiest teams share mutual trust and respect and like each other. They trust each other, have respect for one another’s contribution to the whole, and enjoy each other. Because such a team is so healthy, those that the team is designed to serve benefit. If one or more of the three (trust, respect, like) […]