NEW E-BOOK

LeaderSHIFT: 8 Pivotal Breakthroughs of Emotionally Healthy Leaders

LeaderShift eBook

Personal Assessment

How Emotionally Healthy Are You?
Take a free 15 minute personal assessment now!

*We respect your privacy by not sharing or selling your email address.

Personal Assessment

Close

Tag Archives: truth

Silence

Today we will launch our first “Silent” sermon at New Life. I will introduce the theme of how God met Elijah in “the sound of sheer silence” (1 Kings 19:10-18) for 5 minutes. This will be followed by a 25 minute power point slide show of images, quotes, and guided silence. We then will close it out with a few words and be dismissed in silence. (www.newlifefellowship.org). What better way to teach a biblical truth than actual experiencing it? I have been preparing for this by reading and gathering insights about silence for the past few months. I am convinced, more than ever, that silence remains one of the most powerful ways God transforms us.  As Kathleen Norris once said, “The ordinary, daily practice of silence is a prophetic stance in our world of noise. It is one of the greatest gifts we can offer the world.” The following are a few rich quotes around silence for you to ponder that. Read more.

Is the Term "Evangelical" Obsolete?

A friend of mine from Singapore was visiting NYC recently. He is well-respected Christian leader in that part of the world. Over lunch I asked him his view of the American church and evangelicals in particular. He was reluctant to answer, but after some prodding on my part used the following words to describe us- reductionistic, black and white (resistant to nuances and mystery), and more of a civil religion tied closely to culture, than biblical.  I wanted to explore more but our lunch table with family had other more fun topics to talk about.     David Wells was one of my professors I had at Gordon-Conwell in the mid1980’s. In his book, The Courage to Be Protestant, he recommends we abandon the term evangelical because it has outlived its usefulness, arguing that it is now sagging and disintegrating.  He writes: “There have been just too many instances of obnoxious empire-building going on, too much in evangelicalism that is partisan and small,. Read more.

Contemplative Strategic Planning

Over my 22 years of pastoring NLF, we have contracted with an outside coach to lead our pastoral staff in a strategic planning process at least 5 different times. I was reluctant to do a strategic plan again. The church was doing well. Yes, we were at a transition in a number of areas. We were growing. But I carried bad mem0ries of striving, about internal my own motivation (e.g. Was this really for God, or was this really about me and the need to prove something?), and of  tensions between staff that I had been unwilling to address. This is my first time since my journey into the contemplative almost six years ago. It has been a wonderfully relaxing, enjoyable process. Why? I think the answer is the addition of contemplative spirituality and deeper integration of emotional health into our leadership. What has been different? The following is my short list. 1. God’s will is really what matters. Something. Read more.

Rest and the Double Life

Last Sunday I preached on “Rest: Learning from Jesus” (John 12:1-8). I loved preparing, praying, thinking, and delivering it. I felt exhilarated when it was over. My schedule was relaxed after church. I met with a single mom and a couple of others congregants and visitors. I then realized I could make my 14 year old daughter’s soccer game. Geri and I generally take turns and I had been at Saturday’s game, but I thought it would be great to surprise them both. So I got into my car and began driving like a maniac – cutting though lanes, squeezing between cars in NYC traffic, pressing just a little harder on that accelerator. In the process, I cut off one of our associate pastors who was watching all this and laughing hysterically with his 17 year old in the car! They had just heard me preach my magnificent message on “Rest: Learning from Jesus.” When. Read more.

Rule of Life NLF Part 3 (with commentary)

     I am in the process of re-reading John Cassian’s Conferences (c.365-c.435) and am so deeply affected by the depth and care with which his accounting of the desert father’s concern for purity of heart and for a life of unceasing prayer. What a contrast to the books and writings coming out of the church of today! I am both chagrined for I love the church and challenged to live free from the idols of power, money, approval, earthly security, etc.   Cassian encourages me to call both myself and the larger church to a level of “apartness” difficult to understand living in the wealthiest country in the world. But I am challenged to go forward to pressing in here at NLF to go outside the box of contemporary church life and be a community that learns from the riches of the monastic tradition. So here is the third (of four) sections of the NLF Rule of Life we have only. Read more.

Resurrection Without Crucifixion

I believe the central message of Christianity remains Good Friday, Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost.  Death is God’s way to transformation and new life. I know it intellectually and dislike very much how it lives! My journey with Christ into what we now call “emotionally healthy spirituality” has three distinct, but overlapping, phases to it: 1994-96 – Emotional health and Spiritual maturity inseparable 2003-04  Contemplative spirituality integration 2007-08  Personal integrity/Differentiation.  I don’t really understand this one very well since I am only now in its beginning, but I do know that it has involved, for me thus far, really grasping the crucifixion and death.  As Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernal of truth falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (Jn. 12:24).  Jesus is telling it like it is. If the seed does not die, there will be no fruit or grain.. Read more.