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After seeing headlines all weekend saying “Bishop Apologizes for touching Ariana Grande,” I watched the video. I am angry. I am frustrated. There are a number of things this brought up for me… 1) The bishop’s behaviour was completely inappropriate. To watch a person treated that way by a someone claiming* to represent God…how does that not make you angry?...
Since we are sharing a series of posts about our move to Ireland, I thought I'd repost some other posts from around that time as it'll give some insight to what was going on. I may make small edits or update information, but generally they'll be shared as originally published #FlashbackFriday
I’ve had this thought bouncing around in my head the past couple days…though I might as well write it down. What does it say about a person who attempts to make themselves look good, by tearing others down? What does it say about a person who does that only behind the other’s back? (And is encouraging face to face?) What...
When our family moved here in 2012, Elizabeth and I felt at home almost immediately. In a way we never did even in Ithaca where we’d lived for 18 years, raised our kids and made many good friends. When we’d share this with people we’d would often be asked why it was. And while there are a number of things that...
I spent too much of my life in churches where a person could use the phrase “Thus says the Lord,” and whatever followed would often carry the weight of scripture. When I was younger and less mature, I would go to conferences hoping that the person on stage would have a “thus says the Lord,” for me. As I got...
I’ve never been much of a book reviewer. If you want to know what the book says, you should read it. However, this morning as I began reading UNLeader by Lance Ford, I decided to try reviewing it on a chapter by chapter basis. Not so much for you, but because from the moment I began reading the forward by Alan Hirsch, I knew there were things I would be wrestling with as I went though it. And I’ll likely learn more if I do that wrestling here.
Over the past several years I have read a lot on the topic of leadership and attended numerous leadership conferences. It seems more than in most fields, leadership gurus love trite, pithy slogans. If it rhymes and fits on a bumper sticker it must be true, right? This came up because I’ve been rereading Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership,...
A little over 15 years ago my colon ruptured. You don’t want any more details than that. Along the way to figuring out what the problem was, which took over 6 months, I had to deal with a number of specialists, all who had a gauntlet of tests that they wanted me to go through. (One even made me go...
When I first began thinking that a move to Ireland could be in our future, I sat down to write a list of why Elizabeth and I were unlikely people to move to Dublin and start churches. I didn’t get to far into that exercise before I began to realise that my basic assumption was wrong. Not that we are...
Before planting a church in Ithaca, NY I spent about a decade starting and leading campus ministries. So I came to church planting with a lot to learn. I read, listened to tapes and cds, went to conferences. I did everything I could to learn as much as possible about this new adventure I was on. Like anything, some of what...
Like all fields or industries, church planting has its own vernacular…words and phrases that communicate in a quick and vivid manner. A couple of weeks ago over coffee with a friend he to referred to a time in the church planting process where a ‘bait and switch’ occurs. Here’s what he was referring to…Often early in the church planting process...
Is it possible to lead a church and care for your soul? While I believe it is, like a lot of church leaders, I’ve learned that it doesn’t come naturally. My experience is that the system church leaders find themselves in, often puts taking care of your soul at odds with all the ‘ministry stuff’ that just needs to get...
