One of the rich practices that I?ve come to appreciate is the ancient tradition of praying the psalms. Communities of faith have been doing this together for centuries. Sometimes, I will simply journal my personal response to a particular psalm. Psalm 63 has been a recent place of encountering God?s grace for me: ?O God, […]
Prayer Is Not Something I Do
If you?ve read this blog long, you know that we believe a strategic spiritual and leadership practice is setting aside a day (or at least part of a day) per month to be alone with God. This is a core value of ours. Recently, one of the leaders in our training raised this question: I […]
Praying Our Felt Forsakenness as Leaders
As leaders, we often put our best foot forward and our brightest smile on when we in our leadership role. But many leaders may find they have very different feelings ?behind the scenes.? This is a look behind the scenes in my life as I prayed feelings of forsakenness surfaced when I read Psalm 38. […]
Deeply Rooted Leadership
One of our core themes in The Leadership Institute is holding the cultivation of the inner life (of prayer and communion with God) and the outer life (of ministry and leadership) in healthy tension. It?s easy to give attention to one and neglect the other. One writer who spoke often on these themes was Elton […]
A Simple Strategy for Dealing with Depression
A book that I?ve found practically helpful on the theme of contemplative prayer is Martin Laird?s A Sunlit Absence. At one point, he mentions a man who wrestled with depression for some time, and finally found help in contemplative prayer. I have found myself struggling at times with seasons of depression. I?ve discovered that […]
Prayer: I Know You
Many years ago, I was having a conversation with a very dear friend. She was telling me some things about myself that I had not directly told her before. No one could have known, because I had not shared with anyone. She was quite observant, but I was still surprised when she shared with me […]
Growing Generosity
What might it look like to grow generosity in my life or to encourage that growth in those I influence or lead? It looks like a prayer Saint Ignatius of Loyola prayed: ?Dearest Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve You as You deserve, to give and not count the cost.? […]
