Years ago, Steven Covey wrote a book called Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It has been a runaway best seller ever since and has spanned all kinds of subsidiary products and spinoffs. One of them was called “The Weekly Compass.” The idea was to use a small slip of paper to do six things … More Roles and Goals
Thirty-nine years ago, a long ride with Dennis Rainey through the foothills of Colorado outside Fort Collins helped to change the trajectory of my life. I am eternally grateful for his wisdom, compassion and understanding. This morning I woke up and saw Dennis Rainey’s latest newsletter from The Family Ministry. It was so good and … More “I Couldn’t Shake the Thought”
The other day I was asked if I wanted to be called “reverend”. “No!” was my quick and nearly four decade old answer. I want no part of “honorific” titles. I am, and many of my compatriots in ministry feel totally unworthy of honor. We are servants of a King who is so high above … More Working with Hurting Pastors
Perhaps you have been drawn into the scholarly debate about what Jesus did for the first 30 years of His earthly life. Was He a carpenter or a stone-mason? There are two references/translations that are commonly used to suggest that Jesus was a carpenter, Matthew 13:55, where he is called “the son of a carpenter … More Jesus Was a Painter
Read Psalm 76 Asaph “is the name of three men in the Old Testament, of whom one is the reputed author of Psalms 50 and 73 through 83. He was one of David’s three chief musicians, the other two being Heman, and Ethan or Jeduthun, and we first hear of him when the ark was … More What Asaph Knew
My pastor asked me to be a part of our Good Friday service. I said yes. Approximately 15 minutes before the service was to begin, my phone rang. It was my friend Ben’s number. We were in prayer with all the other participants in the evening’s service so I didn’t pick up. But when prayer … More A Good Friday Meditation for Silent Saturday
A friend of mine decided to increase his uptake of the word of God and started a plan to read the entire New Testament in three months. It got me thinking about Bible reading plans and some of the pro’s and con’s of different plans. Much more pluses than the minuses by the way. Personally, … More Read the New Testament in 28 Days
Abortion is a tragic and horrific picture of the brutality of man. Human society is capable of normalizing stupendous depths of evil. Otherwise compassionate people seem completely unmoved about the murder of defenseless children. Yesterday, I was reading A Hunger for God, a 25 year old book and a passionate plea for prayer and fasting … More Re-reading a Twenty-Five Year Old Book
“Three key Hebrew verbs are used for leading a flock. Nahal means leading with tenderness and can refer to bringing a flock to a place of rest and refreshment. Nakhah is a straightforward guidance verb. Nahag suggests the kind of directive herding accomplished best from the back of the flock, when the will of … More The Lovingkindness of the Shepherd of Israel
“We are, all of us, haunted by loneliness.” mps, Jr We were driving back from a visit to Pennsylvania. I saw the cars. I saw the people in the cars and the classic tune sprang to memory. In my head, I began to sing the lyrics. So memory became thoughts, became this post about a … More The Beatles “Lonely People”–a Lament for All of Us
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