One of my favorite leadership books is Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels. In that book, he references another book by Gary Thomas that helped transform my spiritual journey. The idea is that just like we each have different spiritual gifts, we each have unique spiritual pathways that help us revitalize our walk with God. Here are a few: The Relational Pathway – For these people, solitude feels like solitary confinement. For them to feel refreshed in their walk, they need... Read more
As a follower of Jesus, we’re called to love loudly, serve others, and boldly share our hope in Christ. Sometimes we see the harvest, sometimes we don’t. But we love anyways, trusting that God is using our actions to spread the gospel and bring Himself glory. Now, every once in awhile, it’s great to get an ‘attaboy.’ Here’s an email our church received from a very grateful parent: “My daughter is currently a patient at [the local drug/alcohol recovery center]... Read more
This morning I’m up in Nashville visiting our students at M-Fuge summer camp. Besides brushing up on my ultimate frisbee skills, I look forward to hanging out with them and building some relationships outside of the church building. Growing up, summer camp was absolutely pivotal to my spiritual journey. I went to camp every summer I could as a teenager. Always to the magnificent Jenness Park, the mountain air combined with the beautiful scenery seemed to help me connect with... Read more
Ok history buffs, this one’s for you. Back a few years ago I was able to visit Boston and the Bunker Hill memorial. Touring the city, I was amazed at how Boston has preserved so much of its colonial history. Boston really was the little city that ignited the Revolutionary War. Philbrick writes about an oft discussed period in our nation’s history, the events leading up to the Revolutionary War. What makes his book unique is that he focuses solely... Read more
To all the SCL faithful getting your blog creep on, I hope you enjoyed the Committee on Committee on Committees. Here are the top 10 posts I’ve written in 2013: 7 Things I Wish I Could Tell Every High Schooler 12 Thoughts on Our Response to the Coming Reality of Gay Marriage (Part 1) Why Would a Good God Allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People? The Most Dangerous Thing to Give a Teenage Boy The Biggest Lie Women... Read more
In honor of the recently held Southern Baptist Convention, yesterday I began to share ten practical ways that Southern Baptists can flourish again. Our convention has done a tremendous job fighting for the sanctity of the Bible and for robust evangelistic theology. And yet we’re still losing my generation (Generation X) and the next generation (Millenials). The ten suggestions I share come from working on the front lines of ministry in Baptist churches for the past dozen years. 6. Engage... Read more
As I write this post the Southern Baptist Convention is having its annual meeting in Houston, TX. Unfortunately, as Ed Stetzer (President of Lifeway Research) so eloquently put it in the Pastor’s Conference before the convention, the SBC is in an undeniable statistical decline. Membership is down, baptisms are down. Over the years, many leaders have attempted to rectify and fix the problem. They’ve focused on innerancy, theology, and church-planting. All of those are well and necessary. Let me add... Read more
Carla* is new to Christianity. A young adult now, she didn’t grow up in a churched environment. Coming to Mt Vernon for the past month, she’s experiencing the newness of Christianity with a welcoming fascination. Last week I was able to talk with her and get to know a little more of her back story. She shared with excitement what God is doing in her life, and she showed genuine awe at the generosity of the Christians in her life.... Read more
A few days ago my local newspaper listed the names of those getting married and those getting divorced. Want to guess the score? 18 marriages, 38 divorces. Too many marriages are ending in divorce. The past two posts I talked about why marriages fail and how to improve your marriage. Today I’m giving you eleven reasons why marriage is worth fighting for. 1. A deeper love than you’ll experience anywhere else. There is an intimacy and transparency that I’ve only... Read more
On Monday I started a series of posts on marriage in honor of my eleven year marriage anniversary. Today is part two, on 11 Ways to Make Your Marriage Awesome. In no way do I claim that this list is exhaustive or comprehensive. These are simply eleven things you can do to improve your marriage. Hope it helps! 1. Pray together every day. This simple spiritual act will cover over a multitude of hurts and bring you together in ways... Read more
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