“And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” Matt.3:17-4:1 I?ve been musing about the difficulty of change. I would offer that change is the fruit of learning. We […]
Insights on Unity and Misguided Knowledge
I recently tweeted a line inspired by a sermon I was listening to at church: ?Unity without robust diversity is just uniformity.? Elton Trueblood, a philosopher and spiritual writer from the last century, had this to say on the subject: ?There is a conceivable kind of unity which is based on the meager uniformity of […]
Ministry through the Lens of Spiritual Direction
??it is to be expected that spiritual direction will give primary attention to such things as the directee?s inclinations in relation to personal prayer life and other ascetical practices like fasting and simplification in life; to senses of God?s presence, absence, or callings; to experience of fundamental meaning; to personal longings for God; and to […]
The Leadership Practice of Embracing Weakness
Recently, the Lord led me to journal my life in the spirit of how Paul was describing his life in chapters 11 and 12 of 2 Corinthians. What follows is my journal entry humbly shared to encourage you in your journey. A suggested spiritual exercise is given at the end. Lord, I feel led to […]
Practicing God?s Presence at Work
I?ve often shared insights from Baron Friedrich von H?gel, a spiritual director from last century. I’ve so appreciated his writings. (Eugene Peterson calls him one of his key literary spiritual directors, so I feel in very good company). In the collection of spiritual letters to his niece, von H?gel answers her complaint about being overwhelmed […]
More of God, Less of Me
Eugene Peterson is one of my favorite authors on spirituality and ministry. The quotation below will give you a sense of why I appreciate his wise simplicity: ?I want to simplify your lives. When others are telling you to read more, I want to tell you to read less. The world does not need more […]
Spiritual Practices: Cooperating with the True Gardener
?Contemplative practice is a skill, a discipline that facilitates a process that is out of one?s direct control, but it does not have the capacity to determine an outcome. A gardener for example, does not actually grow plants. The gardener practices finely honed skills, such as cultivating soil, watering, feeding, weeding, pruning. But there is […]
