“Because then I would be enough.”
These are the words of Jim Carrey – presenting at the Golden Globes – making fun of himself and the whole spectacle that is celebrity award shows…
He said, “And when I dream, I don’t just dream any old dream. No sir. I dream about being three-time Golden Globe winning actor Jim Carrey. Because then I would be enough. It would finally be true. And I could stop this terrible search… for what I… Read More
Caesar Agustus, a close personal friend of Herod was quoted as saying, “I’d rather be Herod’s pig than his son.”
The truth is, being a pig in Herod’s household would’ve been much safer than being a family member.
He killed his favorite wife, Mariamne (he had 10 wives), because he suspected… Read More
First, let me start with something light and funny.
I received the following e-mail from Andy Jones the other day:
“Working on some Celebrate Recovery stuff and came across these self evaluation questions…
Have you exaggerated yourself to make yourself look better? In what areas of your past have you used false humility?
Hahahahahahahahahaha
All pastors.”
* * * *
Richard Rohr, in his book Falling Upward, talks about the need to do “shadow work.” The following are quotes from chapter 11 – The Shadowlands…
Your shadow self… gradually detaches you from your not-so-bright persona (meaning “stage mask” in Greek) that you so diligently constructed in the first half of life.
Your stage mask is not bad, evil, or necessarily egocentric; it is just not “true.”
It is manufactured and sustained unconsciously by your mind; but it can and will die, as all fictions must die.
Persona and shadow are correlative terms.
Your shadow is what you refuse to see about yourself, and what you do not want others to see.
The more you have cultivated and protected a chosen persona, the more shadow… Read More
Several years ago, I heard a well-known mega-church personality talk about the imperfect blend of motivations behind every Christian leader who has a platform and a microphone. He said,
“I’m a piece of work. All pastors are. Think about it. What makes me believe I should be standing here on this stage with a microphone in my hand telling all of you what to think and do? That’s pretty messed-up.”
I loved hearing him acknowledge the fact that our motivations are not 100% pure all the time. There is a constant mixture of ego, ambition, and holy calling that fuels our leadership endeavors.
This isn’t necessarily an evil thing.
I’m generally thankful for ambition. Ambition gets stuff done. And I appreciate some of what ego brings to the… Read More
There’s a back entrance to the office building at my church – and it leads right to my office, so it’s the primary one I use. I’m pretty sure I use that specific entrance more than anyone else does.
Recently I’ve noticed a growing supply of cigarette butts just outside my door.
It makes sense. It’s probably the best location for smoking on our campus – it’s private, it’s covered, it’s sheltered from the wind, and there are some nice steps for sitting down on. I’m not surprised about the collection of cigarette butts there…
And although I am not surprised, I am bothered by it. Not because I’m concerned about smoking being a sin or bad for your health or whatever.
I’m bothered because every time I walk by them, my first reaction is to wonder if anyone thinks I’M THE ONE SMOKING… Read More
Here are some things I read on the internet this past week – and thought they were worth passing on to you. Check ‘em out…
This post (in response to the Strange Fire Conference) from Sarah Bessey. You don’t have to know a thing about the Strange Fire Conference for her words to make an impact on you. Honestly, when I got to the bottom of her post, I was singing “Roar” by Katy Perry… Read More
