This past weekend my friends threw a book release party for me. It was fun and full of surprises. I was interviewed about the book, my mom read a selection, and so did I. Everything was perfect – the music, the food, and the decorations. Such a great night!
And the people there were amazing.
I wanted to share just a little bit of the behind the scenes on the… Read More
The following is a quote from Jean Vanier’s book “From Brokenness To Community.”
The broken and oppressed are teaching me what the good news is really about.
One of the most moving moments for me in the gospels is the meeting of Jesus with… Read More
Leadership—specifically Christian leadership—is a messy business. It’s messy because it’s never pure. The motive behind what we do is a mixture of Ego, Ambition, & Holy Calling. And there is this shadowy dark side that goes along with our leadership strengths – what I call the Underbelly of (Christian) Leadership.
Is it possible to do great things without abusing power, inflicting damage on others, becoming a control freak, or leading with a sense of entitlement (breaking rules to satisfy personal desires)?
Is it possible to do great things without becoming Darth Vader?
In my opinion, it’s not.
Let me clarify: If the goal is ME DOING GREAT THINGS, I will inevitably abuse power, inflict damage on others, become a control freak, and lead with a sense of entitlement. If it’s about me doing great things, I will become Darth Vader.
Not too many years ago, my goal was to someday have a church of 10,000 people. And my motive was a mixture of… Read More
Jean Vanier is the 85 year old Canadian philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian who is most known for founding the L’Arche communities. L’Arch (French for “the ark”) began in 1964 when Jean Vanier took two men with disabilities into his home in the town of Trosly-Brevil, France. It is now an international organization operating some 146 communities in 35 countries.
He has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Here are a few quotes from his book, Community and Growth…
“To love someone is to show to them their beauty, their worth and their importance.”
“A Christian community should do as Jesus did: propose and not impose. Its attraction must lie in the… Read More
In today’s Leadership Bites (6 minute leadership podcast), Andy Jones and I talk about the kind of reading that causes growth in our lives.
QUESTION: What are you… Read More
Growing up in Pentecostal church, I picked up on this idea: Catholics aren’t Christians. The typical charges against them were things like praying to Mary, worshiping the Pope, praying to the saints, and elevating the teachings of saints and church leaders to the same level as Scripture. They also had cool necklaces – and I wanted to wear one.
And then there were the wild accusations from the end-times obsessed folks, claiming the current Pope is most definitely, 100% for sure, obviously THE Antichrist (these guys are still doing this too).
I was smart enough to detect the crazy on the doomsday prophets, but the underlying message “Catholics aren’t Christians” stuck with me. When you hear something enough times, you just begin to believe it.
So I believed Catholics aren’t Christians… Read More
When I was in first grade, one of the kids in my class told me how girls get pregnant. Before this, I hadn’t given it much thought. But now I knew the facts of life because Steven explained them to me. Here’s what he said:
If you look at a girl’s belly button, she’ll get pregnant.
I took it as a warning. And for a while, I was pretty concerned that I might accidentally see a girl’s belly button and get her pregnant… Read More
