I am not talking about baseball. I am talking about life. I am talking about what matters and what doesn’t matter. Or what matters a great deal and what doesn’t matter as much. Not all things in life are equal. Some things in life are supremely important, most things are not. You’ve heard before, “Don’t […]
Could you use a little help in language learning, especially in actually understanding teens? James Emery White had a delightful post on his blog site Church and Culture. Understanding the Gen Z Language. Enjoy, and good luck with language learning. Pastor Brian P.S. Of course as soon as your teen realizes you actually understand them, […]
Especially when that Word is God’s Word. For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) Humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:21) ******** I […]
A Short Theological-Spiritual Reflection When I was a sophomore in college, a little book was revolutionary for me. The book was Fully Human, Fully Alive by John Powell. Later, I discovered that phrase had its origins in one of the ancient church theologians (Irenaeus) who said, “For the glory of God is the one fully […]
The other week, Brian Newman and I had a wide ranging conversation on leadership. One of our conversation points was on the crisis of leadership. In this short video, Brian and I talk about the four elements that, together, make up the current Leadership Crisis. We’ll be publishing more conversations on leadership in the coming […]
Pastor Brian Newman has written a thoughtful and personal note about being Christian and Jewish. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Thank you for taking the time (and possibly courage) to ask about how I speak regarding being a Christian and Jewish. Words and language matter, and I do not want […]
Mother Teresa is one of my favorite leaders. She was a remarkable woman in many ways. Her way of quiet, strong, persevering leadership for the sake of the least resourced people in India (and around the world) reminds me of Jesus’ manifesto in Luke 4:18-19. Here is a prayer of Mother Teresa. I think it […]
Leadership is like an elephant. It’s big. You can look at it from many vantage points. As you look at it, you see many different aspects of leadership. This is why there are so many definitions of leadership. While the essence of all leadership is the use of power and authority, there are additional ways […]
How the Mighty Fall. That is the name of a book by Jim Collins on what pride does to leaders and their organizations. It is a tagline for what is going on with Willow Creek and Bill Hybels, the founding and former senior pastor. This is a longer post. It is not one I wanted […]
Moises Naim, former editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy, scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the executive director of the World Bank, tells us how power is changing. A number of people asked me about the ideas from The End of Power by Moises Naim. At the first and third services, I read a few […]