Friends, I'm so happy to introduce a new video course - Being Known: Exploring Shame, Story, and Renewed Desire. A course designed for pastors and ministry leaders, but hospitable to everyone, BEING KNOWN is a four-video series that invites you to experience God's curious and generous invitation in the three questions of Genesis 3. Where … Continue reading Being Known (A New Video Course)
Weariness and Hope
One of the privileges of therapeutic work is being welcomed into the inner life and sacred story of another human being. Yet, when you engage the story-work with someone who is diagnosably narcissistic, (in much the same way as it works with an addict) you enter through armored walls of certainty protecting cherished securities built … Continue reading Weariness and Hope
a short look back at the birth of a book in a pandemic and…what’s next
Friends, what a year. I was in Pasadena from March 9-13, 2020 teaching a doctor of ministry course for Fuller Seminary on conflict, anxiety, and transforming cultures. In that course sat a physicist-turned-pastor who'd worked in Wuhan, China and who shared stories of the lab thought to be the epicenter of a growing concern. Throughout … Continue reading a short look back at the birth of a book in a pandemic and…what’s next
Further Reflections on Narcissism: My Calvin U Lecture
Manuscript: When Narcissism Comes to Church: Further Reflections Calvin University Noon Lecture Series Sept. 3, 2020, 3:00pm Glad to be with you today, even virtually. My daughter is now a sophomore at Calvin, and when I first got invited to speak I imagined a day on campus, maybe working at Peets with Emma, visiting Jack … Continue reading Further Reflections on Narcissism: My Calvin U Lecture
I See You
Something felt different as I emerged from the waves a week ago. My feet were back in familiar sand that held a thousand memories, from boogie-boarding with Dad to seminary study sessions to my daughters first introduction to the mighty force of the Atlantic. Within 30 seconds of dropping my bags I was body-surfing, carried … Continue reading I See You
Podcasts Podcasts Podcasts
In the last months, I've done dozens of podcasts and webinars. You can find them all with a Google search. Below are a few. Enjoy! BOUNDARIES AND NARCISSISM with Dr. Alison Cook THE NINE (Enneagram) FACES OF NARCISSISM with Ian Morgan Cron CRAFT AND CHARACTER podcast with Steve Carter https://www.cdfcapital.org/chuck-degroat/ NARCISSISM IN THE CHURCH with … Continue reading Podcasts Podcasts Podcasts
Guest Post: Seeking to Understand the Rise, Fall, and Loss of Young Pastors by Robert Stewart
Bob was born to medical missionary parents in Burundi, Africa. The father of six, he and his pastoral counselor wife, Shari, share a psychiatric practice in Louisville, KY and have long worked in the support and care of missionaries and pastors both here and abroad. A hundred years from now I’m sure that our descendants … Continue reading Guest Post: Seeking to Understand the Rise, Fall, and Loss of Young Pastors by Robert Stewart
When Our Heroes Fail Us
Years ago, I heard Henri Nouwen on an old recording tell the story of his path from teaching in the Ivy League to living in a community of people with disabilities in Toronto. He tells the story of a female associate of Jean Vanier who surprised him with a visit on a busy day for … Continue reading When Our Heroes Fail Us
Narcissism is not a “leadership style”
I had a sick, here-we-go-again feeling while reading Kate Shellnutt's Feb 7 piece on the removal of Steve Timmis as leader of Acts 29. But what stopped me in my tracks was this paragraph late in the piece: According to a copy of a 2015 letter sent to Acts 29 president Chandler and obtained by … Continue reading Narcissism is not a “leadership style”
When Advent Groaning Doesn’t Let Up In Time For Christmas
Jesus waits and longs with you. I shared this thought recently with a woman whose Advent waiting has lasted a few years. The trauma of abuse, the ongoing pain of a divorce, and the seasonal expectation of all things joyful and triumphant were conspiring against her, manifesting in some desperation, even despair. In the prior … Continue reading When Advent Groaning Doesn’t Let Up In Time For Christmas