Category Archives: Faith

Discipleship and Laughter at Auschwitz

On March 17, 2008, The New Yorker, published a photograph never before shown – Nazis at leisure at Auschwitz. It was part of a larger collection of 116 photos released in 2007 showing officers and guards relaxing and enjoying themselves — as countless people were being murdered and cremated at the nearby death camp. In some of the photos, SS officers can be seen singing. In others they are hunting and laughing, and in another a man can be seen decorating a Christmas tree. “These unique photographs vividly illustrate the contented world they enjoyed while overseeing a world of unimaginable suffering,” museum director Sara Bloomfield said. Among the people in the photos are Josef Mengele, the medical “doctor of death”, Rudolf Hoss, who had supervised the building of Auschwitz and been its commandant, and Otto Moll, the head of the gas chambers. I ask myself as I look at these pictures: “How many of. Read more.

The 10 Laws of Respect

In our early years of equipping marriages at New Life, Geri and I regularly used a very helpful curriculum called Third Option. We soon discovered, however, that a few of their concepts also were applicable beyond marriages for the reshaping of the culture of our family and teams at church. This included a definition of respect as “how we treat each other” (over against how we think or feel about a certain person at a given moment). Initially, we kept these “Bill of Rights” posted on our refrigerator to serve us in the first steps of our journey into emotionally healthy spirituality. These are the simple “Respect” guidelines: I, and others, have a right to: Space and Privacy Be Different Disagree Be Heard Be Taken Seriously Be Given the Benefit of the Doubt Be Told the Truth Be Consulted Be Imperfect and Make Mistakes Courteous and Honorable Treatment Imagine how our churches, families, and. Read more.

EH Leader Podcast: New Life Fellowship and The EHS Course

In this month’s podcast, Pete interviews Rich Villodas, the Lead Pastor at New Life Fellowship, on how the The EHS Course provides the foundation for discipleship/spiritual formation in our local church. It offers an inside look of Rich’s perspective on how The EHS Course provides a robust theology, shapes New Life Fellowship’s culture, and serves as a means to create long-term, healthy community. Click the video below to watch or the link to listen to the audio file. LISTEN HERE Join Pete on Tuesday, March 8 @ 12 ET for his Emotionally Healthy Leader Webinar “Culture and Team Building”. Click below to REGISTER.

The Challenge of Culture and Team Building

Creating healthy cultures and teams are among the most important tasks for every leader, especially Christian leaders. Why? The kind of cultures God has called us to create and develop is radically different than that of the world. Next week on Tuesday, March 8th, I will be offering a free Webinar on this theme. Click HERE to register. While building culture is more an art than a science, a few characteristics are indispensable to emotionally healthy culture and team building. Work Performance and Personal Spiritual Formation are Inseparable The Elephants in the Room are Acknowledged and Confronted Time and Energy are Invested in the Team’s Personal Spiritual Development The Quality of People’s Marriages and Singleness is Foundational What I love most about these live Webinars is the time dedicated to real life case studies and Q & A. It takes beyond the main points written into the crucible of nuanced. Read more.

The Good Gift of Our Masculinity and Femininity

One of our most challenging tasks of leaders is to apply the revelation of God in Scripture, both clearly and pastorally, to the burning issues of our day. Gender, sexuality, and marriage are among those issues. From the Supreme Court to the White House, from entertainment to business, from education to communications, a massive shift has taken place in our culture. At New Life Fellowship last week, Geri and I preached on “Becoming a Good Gift in Your Masculinity and Femininity.” We are not same-sex attraction or gender identity experts, and we continue on our own journey of study and reflection. Yet we felt the urgency to begin addressing these themes for both our marrieds and singles more strongly. So, with humility, we offer this sermon to you for your prayerful consideration. Click below to watch the sermon or listen to the audio link. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN P.S. The following is an. Read more.

Making Plans Without God

God’s leaders have been making plans without him since the beginning of recorded history. Abraham and Sarah grew impatient and decided Abraham would sleep with Hagar. Moses impulsively killed an Egyptian in a misguided effort. The ancient Israelites demanded a king like other nations. Jonah preferred to go in the opposite direction from God’s assignment. Judas Iscariot quit following Jesus’ slow plan to the cross and took matters in his own hands. As leaders we cast vision. The problem is that we can easily cast visions from our own minds, not the mouth of the Lord (Jer. 23:16). As leaders we “get things done.” The problem is we may be getting them done apart from the unpredictable movements of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:8). As leaders we are told to grow our following. The problem is we are to be followers first (John 21:19). These are only a few of the challenges around this. Read more.

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