In one week, my new book Emotionally Healthy Discipleship will be available wherever you can buy books. In fact, if you pre-order now, you’ll receive several bonus resources to help you and your team dramatically shift your church culture. At the beginning of this book I address a fundamental question: Why have our discipleship efforts failed so significantly? Every pastor I know is working harder than ever, pouring their lives out for the gospel every day. Many are phenomenal in the pulpit and leading influential ministries. So why don’t we see more transformation in the people we lead? While the answer may be complex, I’ve identified four key failures in our traditional model of discipleship that keeps people stuck and unable to mature. Why is this important? Apart from a clear understanding of the depth of our situation, we will not stick with the long-term solution required to fully address the widespread damage these failures are causing in our. Read more.

There is a stunning vignette of Jesus in Mark 11. In a moment of anger, He overturns the tables of money changers in the temple. Out of everything on earth that could have angered Jesus, why would he display such zeal in the temple? Because the church is the most important institution in the world. Sadly, much like the moneychangers in the temple, the church has a tendency to add “barriers to entry” for the rest of the world. When this happens, we must allow Jesus to show what tables need to be turned over in our lives and churches. In today’s podcast, we go deeper into this passage and finish with two poignant questions that are a matter of life and death.

In order for deep change to take place in our lives, our THEOLOGY must be translated into PRACTICES. Our lives are only transformed when our biblical knowledge becomes a lived experience. That’s why for the last 25 years, my wife Geri and I have developed practical SKILLS that help us to better love God and others. Last week, I introduced a powerful skill called “Explore the Iceberg“, which is a tool that helps you explore and process your emotional life. In today’s podcast, I introduce you to another skill called “Climbing the Ladder of Integrity.” It’s easy to feel stuck, not knowing what to pray. This powerful skill will help you clarify complex thoughts, values, and desires and discover what God might be revealing to you.

How would you describe the way you spend time with Jesus? Most Christians consider prayer to be the place in which we present our requests, needs, and current life circumstances to God. But many of us, including pastors and leaders, were never taught how to bring the full range of our emotional life to God. The truth is – human beings are like icebergs. Only 10% of our lives is visible to the eye. The other 90% is under the surface and hidden. It is critical we learn how to become aware of our emotions, with the goal of processing them and discerning God’s will. In today’s podcast, I walk you through a powerful skill, developed over 25 years, called “Explore the Iceberg”. It is both practical and profound. This skill has revolutionized the way I spend time with Jesus, and I know it will do the same for you!

In your life, whether you like it or not, you’ll experience a series of life-altering transitions. Transitions are big and small and come in many forms including death, career, marriage, children, relocation, relationships, and church community. In fact, we are currently in a time of massive, global transition. Decades from now, the world will remember the coronavirus pandemic as one of the most significant events of our lifetime. Transitions are unavoidable. The problem is – most of us don’t do them very well. But every transition is simply a preparation from God – a foretaste of the great transition that will happen at the end of the age. In today’s podcast, I share several keys that will help us pay attention to the work of God in our lives, even in the fog of life transitions.

In 597 B.C., the unimaginable happened. Jerusalem was destroyed and Israel was taken into captivity in Babylon. Not only were they far from home and everything they considered familiar, but they were also left clinging to the promises of God, wondering if there was any hope of return. Five years later, a young man named Ezekiel saw something he didn’t expect. While gathered with other exiles at the river, God met him in a powerful way. Today, many of us feel far from home and the world we used to know. But take heart! The places of great turmoil and disillusionment are where God wants to surprise us with His Presence. In today’s podcast, I share with you a message from Ezekiel that Has several timely applications for our present moment. I pray you will listen along and be deeply encouraged!