Tag Archives: discipleship

Limits, Loaves and the Power of God

To embed emotionally healthy spirituality into your church (i.e. a serious discipleship model that involves The EHS Course and The EH Relationships Course)is slow…very slow. As I shared at my final talk at the EHL Conference 2016 last week, if we are not to be derailed, we must grasp two core biblical truths – limits and loaves. My greatest sins over the last 30 years of leadership have revolved around embracing God’s limits. It remains my greatest temptation to this day – enticing me into rebellion, anxiety, and impatience. Like you I am limited, for example, by my time, my age, my physical energy, my gifts and talents, and the ministry context/people God has entrusted to me. As a result, it is easy to grow frustrated and look for a quick fix, especially when it comes to discipleship. If we define a disciple as a follower of Jesus who surrenders to His will and. Read more.

Jesus’ Upside Down Strategy

Jesus focused a disproportionate amount of time discipling the Twelve – and one of them didn’t even work out! This was His upside down strategy to reach the world with the love of the Father. Yet we have programs to run, meetings to lead, people to pray for, money concerns, attendance to monitor, administration to be done, messages to prepare, strategies to execute, visions to cast, and crises that won’t wait till tomorrow. We live in the great tension of the big and the small – a tension I carry with me each week as I set priorities. How do I focus on the few, my Twelve, when modern culture demands the big… and now? It helps me to remember that so much in and around me resists focusing on the few. Why? Discipling the few is slow. The kingdom of God is a mustard seed and always will be. Discipling the few is. Read more.

A Life Changed through EHS

The following story is an example of the kind of impact EHS is having in people’s lives: We believe Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (EHS) offers an answer to the crisis of discipleship in the church today. So we are committed to offering the best training opportunities possible for pastors to immerse themselves in bringing EHS to their churches.

My Top 10 Books: Spring/Summer 2015

Geri complained this past week that I had books all around the house – from the living room to the bedroom to the car – reading three to four books at a time. That has been my rhythm for years. If you are like me, you look for a variety of material to peruse during the summer. The following are a few recommendations: 1. The Gospel of John by Frederick Dale Bruner I have been studying and reading John’s gospel for the last 9 months as part of my morning time with God. As part of that process, I prayerfully read this wonderful commentary. Bruner is one of the best commentators I know, combining both great scholarship and devotional passion that leads me to Jesus. I also recommend his 2 volume commentary on Matthew as a must resource in every pastor’s library before preaching on any passage from the synoptic gospels. 2. The Art. Read more.

Leadership that Remembers “The Loaves”

The only miracle, except for the resurrection, that is recorded in the 4 gospels is Jesus’ multiplying of the loaves and fishes. Why? The truths contained there are so vast and far-reaching. In Jesus’ mentoring of the Twelve, he returns to it multiple times to teach them about mature leadership. “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?”(Mark 8:17 MATURE LEADERSHIP… IMMATURE LEADERSHIP…. 1. Redefines abundance as the presence of Jesus Himself 1. Defines abundance by considering only visible resources. 2. Sees beneath other’s anxiety and fear to the deeper work God is doing in and around them. 2. Gets entangled in other’s anxiety, fear or negativity. 3. Responds to the situation according to his values and beliefs (integrity). 3. Responds to the pressure of others and accommodates them. 4. Courageously does what is best for everyone despite other’s lack of support and validation.. Read more.

Just Relax

Anxious. Frustrated. Annoyed. Angry. Resentful. These are emotional states that describe our leadership more often than we care to admit. Relaxed is not an adjective I hear often to describe us as Christian leaders. Consider this important case study of Moses. Moses worked and waited for almost forty years to enter the Promised Land. Having started with 603,550 men to manage — not to mention all the women and children — Moses’ and Aaron’s patience was repeatedly tested to the limit by a seemingly endless barrage of complaints. When the people cry about their lack of food and water and accuse Moses of bringing them out into the desert to die, Moses is livid. At this point, he is also exhausted and has little capacity to manage his anger and resentment. Imagine the scene as he loses his cool: The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather. Read more.

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