Have you ever endured a desert season? Can God spread a table in the wilderness? Ps 78:19 Things get dry and unsatisfying, frustrating, or just boring. If you are a leader, maybe people around you start to grumble or even blame you for leading them to this arid place where God seems absent. You get […]
A Modern Song of Lament
Pray with our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters In September I traveled to Jos, Nigeria with fellow TLI Faculty members, Jim Seiler, and Jon and Francie Byron, to support Journey Nigeria. I had the privilege to lead Lectio Divina each morning for the Alumni group, a prayer where we listen to scripture read aloud in community […]
I Surrender All
One of the fun parts of my job when I worked at the YMCA was to lead groups through team building activities. I would have them do interesting things like line up in alphabetical order by middle name without talking, or cross an imaginary chasm using two boards and some “magic shoes”. But a classic […]
Stronger than the Storm
As I donned my rain jacket and stepped out of the car, my eyes anxiously searched the darkening clouds. Pregnant with moisture, they rolled menacingly toward my hilltop, and fear creased my brow. Weathering a severe storm was not in my plan for the 24 hours I was intending to spend isolated in a hidden […]
The Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done
Editor’s Note: This is a wonderful reflection and update from Jon and Francie Byron about their recent trip to Nigeria. Jon is one of the founders of The Leadership Institute and both he and Francie continue to lead us well as treasured friends. What a wonder it has been to travel across the seas to […]
Disordered Attachments, Reordered Hope
I gazed at the beauty and stillness of the lake that stretched into the distance in all directions. The wind rustled the leaves and made ripples in the glassy surface of the water, bright with the colors and fading light of evening. I glanced at a small paper in my hand trying to put to […]
Divide
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV If Watchman Nee* is right, and 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is a key version that reveals the nature of man as a […]
