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
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
The Deeper Acceptance We Long For
“We ache for self-acceptance, and it is often a friend accepting us as we are which enables us to begin to accept ourselves. But the acceptance has to be genuine. I want the deepest part of me to be accepted, not my sanitized, plastic, cosmetic self. Only in companionship with fellow pilgrims can I begin … Continue reading The Deeper Acceptance We Long For
Hello Depression My Old Friend
May is Mental Health Awareness month. May began by saying goodbye to my dear mother-in-law, whose mental health story is not mine to tell, but whose heartache was evident to all of us who had the privilege of knowing her. Both on the long drive to Iowa and during our time there, I felt a … Continue reading Hello Depression My Old Friend
You Can Have It All vs. It’s All Already Yours
First Sunday in Lent Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it … Continue reading You Can Have It All vs. It’s All Already Yours
God is Always Home :: A Sermon Series
I had the great privilege of preaching a 3-part series in November 2018 called "God Is Always Home." It's my own unique riff on Luke 15. I channel Augustine's lovely line: God is more near to me than I am to myself. I hope it's an encouragement for you during this season. http://westminstergr.org/blog/entry/sermon-god-is-always-home http://westminstergr.org/blog/entry/sermon-god-is-always-home-part-2 http://westminstergr.org/blog/entry/sermon-god-is-always-home-part-3
The Beautiful Mystery of You
“There is a desire in many people in the modern world to see themselves clearly. But if you listen to them, between the psychological cliches and the chatter of false intimacy, what they’re seeing is a certain limited image that they have partly projected and partly excavated, but which is terribly limited in proportion to … Continue reading The Beautiful Mystery of You