The Importance of Living and Leading with Two Emotions Simultaneously
How are you doing today? You could get two different answers depending on when you ask me. I can look at a difficult situation and, in some moments, aggressively quote Scripture at the situation – “If God is for me, who can be against me?” Bring it on. And then in other moments, I can […]
The Gift of a Decline in the Stock Market
Money is not the root of all kinds of evil, but the longing and lusting for it is (I Timothy 6:10). Greed is the corruption of the good and God-given desire to manage resources well, to provide for your family, and to be fruitful in this life. Greed is the corruption of that desire to […]
Pressure Exposes and Develops Character and Competence
When a ministry or organization experiences growth there is simultaneously an exposing and developing of character and competence. The pressure of caring well for more people, the stress of new problems, and the weight of new decisions both exposes and develops. In the same way, when a ministry or organization experiences a challenging season there […]
Loneliness in the US, the UK, the Garden of Eden, and the Church
Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General of the United States, believes it is not good for you to be alone. In fact, the former Surgeon General is on a crusade against loneliness because of the damage that loneliness produces in people’s lives. According to Murthy loneliness is the biggest health problem facing our country. About his […]
3 Ways Busyness Hurts People and Churches
There was a famous research experiment conducted by two Princeton psychology professors that shows the harm busyness does to our priorities and our focus. Because the experiment was conducted on seminary students, it is very applicable to ministry leaders and churches. The year was 1973. John Darely and Daniel Batson were the professors. Three groupings […]
Grieving, but With Hope
The church I serve as pastor gathers together in the same community where Kobe Bryant and his family live. Many have “their Kobe story,” such as the time they ran into him at Starbucks and he was kind and approachable or how they enjoyed seeing him just be a “Dad” at a local kid’s event. […]
Diagnosed with Disconnection and the Beauty of Community
The phrase “diagnosed with disconnection” comes from a compelling story in Johann Hari’s book Lost Connections. He tells the story of a psychiatrist, Dr. Derek Summerfield, who traveled to Cambodia to learn about the mental health of the Cambodians. The Cambodians realized there were people who struggled with deep sadness and pointed to this one […]
Popeyes, Our Fascination With “New,” and the Exhaustion of Climbing
Because I grew up in the New Orleans area I grew up eating and loving Popeye’s Chicken (Popeyes started in New Orleans). As a kid, my parents would drive us by Al Copeland’s house at Christmas, the founder of Popeyes, because of the incredible Christmas lights he put up each year. My childhood nostalgia had […]
5 Ways You (and the People in your Church) Will Grow This Year
When God wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 32), God won Jacob to Himself by making Himself weak. In His love for Jacob, He withheld His power as even a slight touch to Jacob’s hip dislocated it. God has won us to Himself through weakness too. He emptied Himself, took on human flesh, and submitted Himself to […]
4 Ways to Set Effective Goals for 2020
It is a new year and many people will take time to set new goals or make new resolutions. Goals can be helpful as they cause us to evaluate our lives, consider what is important to us, and decide what changes we need to make. Setting goals has also proven to be fruitful, as research […]