Category Archives: Discipleship/Formation

Sabbath: Receiving Revelation in Rest

When we miss the gift of rest, especially Sabbath rest, we miss so much of God. First, God comes to us with insights and truths that can only come when we rest. Our minds are not filled with our to do list or goals. The soil of our souls remains fallow and God is able to refresh her with fresh nutrients. Goals we think are important, we find out, are irrelevant. His love becomes our experience. We learn to trust Him with the church, with our problems, with our worries. Secondly, we free the people we serve. They see a prophetic sign and wonder that we are no longer slaves to work. We are not under powers and principalities of evil (Deut. 5:12-17). Our identity is in God’s love and goodness, not what we do. Thirdly, we save our communities and cities. We communicate, in a different way, that God is on the throne.. Read more.

Sabbath: Joining God by Playing

The Greek Fathers in the fourth century chose the word perichoerisis to describe the perfect, mutual indwelling of the Trinity. It literally means “dancing around.” I had a difficult time understanding what this had to do with me when I first studied it. But it was Jurgen Moltmann, the great German theologian, who opened up for me the notion of Sabbath as play in his book, Theology of Play. In Proverbs 8, he argued, we observe God “playing” when he made the world. “I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in humankind” (8:30-31). God informs Job that when he created the world, “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). God is a dancing, playful God. There is a playful wastefulness built into God’s ways in that millions of seeds never germinate, leaves on trees that turn. Read more.

Sabbath: Resisting Powers and Principalities

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy…Remember you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a outstretched hand. Deut. 5 This issue of Sabbath is a global problem – from Africa to North America to Asia to Europe to Latin America to Australia/New Zealand. We as pastors and leaders must come out from the slave driver, the Pharaoh, that lives inside of us and dominates our culture. Imagine the violent anxiety the Israelites must have felt for 430 years in Pharaoh’s workaholic system. They were always busy and frenetic. They constantly had to prove they were worthy of being alive based on producing more bricks. We may be free physically from Pharaoh, but he continues to live inside of most of us. Our families of origin, along with Western culture with its emphasis on “bigger and better,” keep us working faster and faster. We simply. Read more.

You-Did-It-To-Me

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matt. 25:35-36). Mother Teresa lived her life by the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) She wrote:”When Christ said, ‘I was hungry and you fed me,’ he didn’t mean only hunger of bread and for food; he also meant hunger to be loved.” She preached this whenever she could. Holding up her hand with the five fingers extended she would say these five words while closing each finger: “You-did-it-to-me.” As a leader, pastor, father, mother, or coworker, ask God for the grace today to see and treat others with the eyes and heart of Jesus. And see what. Read more.

Power and Dual Relationships

Power, along with dual relationships, is a minefield that has left countless leaders, along with their followers, maimed and disabled. The most painful lessons I have learned in my thirty-five years of Christian leadership have been around power and dual relationships. It has also been one of the greatest means God has used to mature me as a leader. Getting equipped to use our power well in order to free people, especially those closest to us, offers potential to advance Christ’s mission and release joy in ways we have never dreamed. Remaining uninformed, however, exposes us to deadly dangers –both to ourselves and those we aim to serve. I’ve been thinking on this for a number of years and am now writing on it for the book I am working on called: The Emotionally Healthy Leader (Zondervan, 2015). The following is a snippet: The 10 Commandments of Power and Dual Relationships 1. Be prudent, not. Read more.

Doing Less

“It is not how much you give, but how much love you put in the giving.” Mother Teresa Focus on love rather than on the your number of accomplishments today. Focus on how much love you can put into your activities, not how many things you get done. Our “to-do” lists are longer than what God has for us. Jesus wants our love, not our lists. It will change your day.

NEW E-BOOK

LeaderSHIFT: 8 Pivotal Breakthroughs of Emotionally Healthy Leaders

LeaderShift eBook

Personal Assessment

How Emotionally Healthy Are You?
Take a free 15 minute personal assessment now!