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”
a reminder to take care of you
The older I get, the more the old saying of Jesus "Physician, heal thyself" makes sense. I've spent more than two decades doing a lot of caring. But the more attend to myself, the more sadness I find, the more anxiety I feel, the more trauma I notice. The more I realize that I desperately … Continue reading a reminder to take care of you
Grace (and the abuse of grace) for narcissists and abusers
I live daily with a paradox. On the one hand, grace is audacious, extravagant, immediate, and all-embracing. On the other, grace is painful, reconstructive, surgical, and slow. Grace is the deliverance from Egypt and grace is the long, grueling journey through a blistering wilderness. I live with this paradox because of the work I do. … Continue reading Grace (and the abuse of grace) for narcissists and abusers
Too far to fall: The pastor’s worst fear – Failure
Failure. It's a f-word of pastoral ministry. It's the worst fear, the deepest dread. "I'd rather be diagnosed with a fatal disease than fail," one candidate wrote on his psychological assessment. "Failure - that's just too far to fall," said another. I was fired in 2003. It was my greatest vocational humiliation. After serving a … Continue reading Too far to fall: The pastor’s worst fear – Failure
Moving Beyond Polarization into Mission
I'm moving on. I've spent the last decade-plus in the midst of a sad and frustrating polarization. In other posts, I've talked about it as the Emergent-Resurgence polarization. It's the newest episode in a long series of polarization-episodes. We, Christians, are Academy Award winners in the Polarization Genre. Best debates. Best books. Best blogs. Best … Continue reading Moving Beyond Polarization into Mission
it’s the end of the world as we know it, and i feel fine
It's only hours before Jesus comes back, according to Harold Camping. It's prime time for tweeting crazy stuff about the rapture, and waiting anxiously for that first 6:00 deadline in Tonga. In fact, I was hoping Fuller Seminary would fly Professor Daniel Kirk to Tonga to report from Rapture Ground Zero. It's all a lot … Continue reading it’s the end of the world as we know it, and i feel fine
Love at the Core :: Loving our Enemies
Of the many quotes and Bible verses being tosses around the Internet and Twitter since the announcement of Osama Bin Laden's death, one has risen to the top. It is actually an incorrect quote of Martin Luther King, Jr., but close enough to the real thing to warrant attention (thx to @Merobinaa for this.) The … Continue reading Love at the Core :: Loving our Enemies
Love at the Core:: An Illustration
She lost her mother before she was even able to grieve. You don't need Attachment Theorists to convince you how extraordinarily significant this loss must have been. She was just two...barely able to understand. And this, some might say, is an advantage. At two, you don't know any better. But, everything we know today says … Continue reading Love at the Core:: An Illustration
a heart divided against itself cannot stand – part 1
Appear to be what thou art, tear off thy masks. The church was never meant to be a masquerade. (Charles Spurgeon) If we're truly engaged in a modern-day new exodus out of the many enslavements that burden us, through the refining and clarifying fire of suffering, and into the glorious Promised Land of freedom, then there's … Continue reading a heart divided against itself cannot stand – part 1