?When [the Jewish rulers and elders] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.? (Acts 4:13 NIV) This passage came to mind as I was reading from the journal of Elizabeth Leseur; a late […]
The Dangers of Un-Prayed Theology
Like last Saturday, I?m continuing to share from Eugene Peterson?s Leap Over a Wall. Here he describes how life without God (what the Scriptures call ?sin?) is finite and eventually boring. ?We have a finite number of ways to sin; God has an infinite number of ways to forgive. After observing the human condition for […]
The Center of My Life and Work
In his Manual for Interior Souls, Jean Grou offers a contrast between what he calls ?interior souls? and ?mercenary and self-interested souls.? ?We can understand also why these interior souls are hated and detested by mercenary and self-interested souls, although they may be otherwise virtuous and devout: it is because they are both traveling on […]
Desire Good for Others
We all need to be seen, heard, known and affirmed. Speaking words of blessing, desiring the good for another, is a tangible way to give these gifts. Today, enjoy a?few scriptures I?ve used in the past as a word of blessing for my sons and?for others. How might God be inviting you to speak words […]
Communication that Provokes a Response
Here’s an?excerpt and reflection from Eugene Peterson?s book about David in Leap Over a Wall [San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997]. I think you?ll appreciate it. ??preachers?bring us into focus in the story. The art of preaching is to somehow or other get around our third-person defenses and compel a second-person recognition, which enables a first-person response.? […]
Listening is the Doorway to Love
?One of the Pharisees, an expert in the law, tested Jesus with this question: ?Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?? Jesus replied, ?Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is first and greatest commandment. And the second is like […]
Training Leaders as Player-Coach
I?ve mentioned before how much I?ve benefitted from the writings of Elton Trueblood, a Quaker author and professor of philosophy from the last century. He had much to say on themes of spiritual formation and ministry. I came across this little treasure as I was reviewing some of my excerpts from his book The Incendiary […]
