Tag Archives: faith

The Massive Problem in the Church Few People Are Talking About

Over the past few years, I have become acutely aware of what may be one of the greatest problems confronting the church today: We have large numbers of people who enjoy attending church and small groups, love great worship, and serve in ministries, but do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. In a very real sense, they live the “Christian” life without Jesus. People need pastors, teachers and leaders like us to equip them. Yet if they connect to us without connecting in loving union (i.e. abiding/remaining) with Jesus, we are simply rearranging chairs on the Titanic. The churches’ effectiveness in bearing lasting fruit to impact our world for Christ will be short-lived. In this podcast I share my reflections on this massive problem and what we can do to equip our people to create space to allow God’s will and presence full access in every area of their lives. LISTEN HERE Join. Read more.

Part 2: Dealing with Elephants in the Room

We often see elephants in the room as interruptions when, in reality, they are gifts and opportunities. Elephants, as I explained in last week’s blog, are those inappropriate or immature behaviors that remain unacknowledged and unaddressed on our teams. Dealing with elephants is a central part of what it means to be a leader. Of course, elephants show up on our teams. The higher up, or deeper in, people progress as leaders, the more their immaturities and gaps reveal themselves. Simply think of Jesus and his team of disciples. These are God’s gifts for us to invest in our team members and shape the culture of the ministry or organization we lead. I have 30 years of wrestling with elephants and have made innumerable mistakes, many of which are recounted in The Emotionally Healthy Leader. Nonetheless, out of these failures, and some successes, 5 elements on how to deal with elephants have emerged for. Read more.

The Great Temptations of Leadership

Christian leadership, like few other vocations, exposes us to levels of temptation that require a depth of spirituality. Why? Jesus’ sheep are at stake. The Evil One knows that. So splitting us from loving union with Jesus, and from our true selves, is his number one aim. Without an interior life that enables us to stand in what we are doing, we will find ourselves obsessing with numbers in our ministry, popularity, or power. In this podcast I speak with Rich Villodas about the great temptations that confront each of us at the different seasons of leadership. Take a few minutes and listen to us talk about the spiritual warfare in which we find ourselves. Warmly, Pete LISTEN HERE Save Save Save

Discerning God’s Gifts in a Crisis

I received a phone call to turn on the news as a story was breaking about a local supermarket burning to the ground. Images of fire trucks, destruction, and towering flames filled my computer screen. A New Life Fellowship Church member had invested 25 years of his life to build that business. His life work was now in ashes. We met over dinner a few weeks after the tragedy, and Geri and I listened to the story. What surprised me most was not his response but mine. His grief and disorientation were so great that my first thought was that he speak with a good Christian counselor. It was only when Geri and I were in the car returning home that I realized how I had failed to ask a far more important question – that of discernment. Where was God in the fire? This is what I failed to remember: Death and resurrection. Read more.

Dying and Rising with Jesus: 3 Stories

Let me invite you to prayerfully watch/listen to an extraordinary sermon given by 3 women this past Sunday at New Life. This was one of those very rare moments when I have realized the inexpressible holy was among us. We were being offered a glimpse of the risen Jesus in brokenness, vulnerability, and suffering. God’s glory was passing by. And He removed His hand, allowing us to see His back (Ex. 33:20-23). Geri delicately and skillfully draws out the stories of these 3 amazing women and their journey with Jesus: Kim – rejected by her parents as “ugly” at birth due to a cleft palate. Fathima – a victim of domestic abuse. Marie – a Mom of two “differently-abled” (or “disabled”) children with myotubular myopathy. Every person in our church has a story, a beautiful story where the Living Jesus wants to intervene and reveal Himself – if they allow Him. My prayer is. Read more.

Success

Success is first and foremost doing what God has asked us to do, doing it his way, and in his timing. Years ago, when I was first wrestling with redefining success, I imagined what it might be like to come before God’s throne at the end of my earthly life and say, “Here, God, is what I have done for you. New Life now has 10,000 people.” Then he would respond, “Pete, I love you, but that was not what I gave you to do. That task was for a pastor in another part of New York.” Have you ever considered that your ministry, organization, or team may be growing and yet actually failing? Think with me for a moment about some of God’s faithful and, hence, most successful leaders: Jesus said of John the Baptist, “Among those born of women none is greater than John” (Luke 7:28). Yet, if we were to create. Read more.

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