This month join Rich Villodas and Pete Scazzero as they discuss the new Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Course. Ā Rich shares the impact that the course is having on New Life Fellowship in New York and Pete discusses the global movement that is growing out of this course. Ā In this 12 minute podcast you will learn more about the goals for the EHS Course and the impact that it can make in the life of your church.
Geri and I recently returned from a ten-day trip to Singapore/Malaysia, our fourth in the past five years. Habakkuk 1:5 describes the wonder of our experience there. Look at the nations and watch- and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. The following are a few highlights: 1.Ā Ā Ā Ā The power and the size of the move of God in Asia is difficult to describe for us who live in North America. Every time I sat through worship, whether it was with the Pentecostal Anglicans, the Pentecostal Methodists, or the Assembly of God Pentecostals, I found myself in awe of the experience. (Oh yes, most everyone seems to be into Pentecostal in that part of the world ā regardless of denomination). 2.Ā Ā Ā Ā Pastors and leaders, along with the churches, face the same challenges we face in North America. We. Read more.
How do we develop churches that effectively engage in mission and, at the same time, possess spiritual depth? Basil of Caesarea (330-379) may provide a clue for us. Basil was a creative leader, theologian, monk, community developer, and bishop. Inspired by the devotion of the Egyptian desert monks, he was troubled by their lack of mission. As a result, he moved their monastic houses from the desert to the city so they could go outside their walls to serve the poor and needy. He wanted them to function as role models for people in local churches as well. (See Scott Sunquist’s book Understanding Mission.) He transformed monastic houses into vehicles of mission. Monks and nuns were dedicated to a holy life ā for the sake of the church and her mission. For the next 400 years, this then became the norm in Persia, Ethiopia, Egypt, North Africa (Augustine lived in a type of monastic. Read more.
This excellent video was produced to give perspective to our 26 years at New Life as we transitioned from my role as Senior Pastor to Teaching Pastor/Pastor at Large. It provides a wonderful, inside picture of the birthplace out of which EHS was formed (and continues to be formed to this day). …read more
In HomerāsĀ Iliad, we read of Achilles who had been dipped in the river by his mother to make him invulnerable. The problem was all of him was dipped in the river except his heel by which she held him in the process. This heel was where he suffered his deathly wound during the Greeksā battle with Troy. Our Achillesā heels are our weaknesses, our dark sides, the unconscious parts of us that can be our undoing ā regardless of how strong we are or how well we are doing in every other way. I have become convinced the Achilles heel of the Western church is our rushing. The crowds can be large, the programs effective, our growth impressive. But if we participate in the speed of our culture and do not slow down, it will prove to be our mortal wound. Why? It is violent. As one scholar noted: āThe dominant form violence takes. Read more.
In Homer’s Iliad, we read of Achilles who had been dipped in the river by his mother to make him invulnerable. The problem was all of him was dipped in the river except his heel by which she held him in the process. This heel was where he suffered his deathly wound during the Greeks’ battle with Troy. Our Achilles’ heels are our weaknesses, our dark sides, the unconscious parts of us that can be our undoing – regardless of how strong we are or how well we are doing in every other way. I have become convinced the Achilles heel of the Western church is our rushing. The crowds can be large, the programs effective, our growth impressive. But if we participate in the speed of our culture and do not slow down, it will prove to be our mortal wound. Why? It is violent. As one scholar noted: “The dominant form violence. Read more.
