Ezekiel takes us behind the scenes of history, behind the bravado of a nation, the crisis of exile and the hopelessness of their setting. God speaks to the prophet of the coming fall of nations who appear invincible. Assyria may look “all that,” but one day… and that day, declares the Lord through the prophet, is in the hands of God. Hopelessness permeates our lives,… Read more »
Our church had been through a long season of challenge. The leaders had made the shift and the focus was clear. I then said to the Lord, “We need a blessing. Would you send us people?” The response was immediate, “No chance!” It was shocking, but somehow didn’t seem like a rebuke. “If I send you people now you will shift back to your… Read more »
Life without wonder is lived small, lived in the confines of our thinking, our ability, our limitations. Wonder opens our imagination. Wonder calls us to live in majesty, in the amazement of a God to whom nothing is impossible. Wonder opens us to possibilities and future. Leaders need wonder. Leaders need to be captured by the majesty of the Lord who orchestrates future, who calls… Read more »
Jesus will always call out our inner world. He did it for the disciples (Mark 9:14-33). Before we can be used mightily, we must be cleansed deeply. He does this inner work by asking the questions that deeply reveal our hearts. “What were you arguing about along the way?” He asked, knowing that the subject of the argument was revealing their inner world. What… Read more »
You can’t lead them if you need them! You can’t lead people when you need their approval. You can’t lead people when you need their finances. You can’t lead people unless you are free, whole and healthy. The inner work of a leader must go to this depth, to do the work of being “free” to lead, free to encourage and to call up… Read more »
It was a season our church wasn’t doing well. Our income had bottomed out and the bills were mounting. Then, as providence would have it, our giving was even lower. As I drove away I crashed in my spirit. But the Lord began to speak to me tenderly. “Would you like for me to speak to you about this?” He asked. I was hurt… Read more »
Today I was reflecting on my desire to live a life of worship; to be connected to the Lord and live out/ from my times of connection to my savior and Lord. And it struck me. The cross is a picture worth a thousand words! The cross is God’s amazing gift of everything to me, the one who least deserves it. The cross, a… Read more »
The inner work of a leader is often elusive. The inner work includes patterns that will feed and fuel the leader’s soul. Learning to be disciplined in reflective prayer, learning to sit with scripture; not to produce a lesson, but to invite the Lord to shape the heart and soul are essential. Years seeded with hours upon hours of alone prayer and reflective reading catalyzes a… Read more »
The inner work is often elusive. Our tendency is to live “externally,” thinking that our challenges and obstacles are “out there” among others, hence our lack of resources, our setting, etc. Human nature is to look outside of our hearts, as opposed to in our hearts and souls for the key breakthroughs. The inner work, for some leaders, remains elusive their whole life! The only… Read more »
Cultures (and generations) collide, as we know so well. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this in the church is in the arena of music. Music is, at the heart, an expression of culture. That could give us insight into why when the music is changed or rejected, people experience loss and even feel criticized. Cultures collide, but they also connect,… Read more »