Craig and I have known the joy of raising four Labradors: Bojangles (though he was a mix, to be explained soon), Wendy, Maddy and Frisco. Each was unique, challenging in his or her own way, and filled our lives with love and laughter. Let me correct that: On reflection, each one also taught us valuable lessons…lessons saturated with memories to …
As a male dog, Bojangles was pretty typical in being territorial about what he considered his domain, and what—or who—was allowed within those parameters. From observation, it appeared that three types of animals populated a special classification in his mind: the “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK” category, which included raccoons, squirrels, and skunks. One night after we’d all gone to …
American Heritage Dictionary: Flourish: 1. To grow well or luxuriantly, 2. To fare well; succeed; prosper Webster’s New World Dictionary: Flourish: 1. To grow vigorously; thrive, 2. To be at the peak of development Flourish. It’s the hot new term for pastors. Following the Greatest Generation’s sacrificial service…to Boomer’s attempts to re-align “outdated” priorities….to Millennials’ motto that “We don’t live to …
Years ago, Craig and I had the privilege of being a presenting couple for Marriage Encounter. We gained so much from that experience, including: What intimacy truly looked like in marriage, and how Craig and I could experience that; improved communication skills; balanced views about emotions and their important place in communication; how to effectively dialogue with each other; and …
It happened again: A long string of high-profile pastors resigning due to moral failure, usually involving inappropriate relationships with members of the opposite sex. Over the fifty years of my service in Christian fulltime vocational ministry as a pastor and president, I lost count how many times this occurred. I wonder if it is time to become more intentional in …
In this second article on pastoral moral failures, I address two systemic problems that contribute to moral failures by our pastors. Confront Systemic Organizational Sin: Recently, I received a phone call informing me that the senior pastor of a mega church I know well had resigned because he used inappropriate sexual language with women in the church. The public statement …
A consistent challenge that leaders face is building consensus when there’s disagreement among board members or other significant leaders in their organizations. I experienced this challenge numerous times, but one remains vivid in my memory. I was leading the board to move the campus to a new location when a mega church in the area offered to give us land—at …
(excerpt from our book, Questions from the God Who Needs No Answers) Looking at Judges 6:1-29 The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” —Judges 6:14 Did you have a nickname when you were growing up? Whether you care to acknowledge …
Vicarious: “shared in by imagined participation in another’s experience” Intimacy: “the state of having a close, personal relationship with someone” Intimate relationship: “an interpersonal relationship involving physical or emotional intimacy” Pain: “what inevitably occurs when you’re in ministry” The first three definitions are paraphrases from Webster. The last? Mine. And it’s 100% accurate. Doesn’t take a genius to predict that …
A few months after our son Robb died, the editor I was working with enquired how I was doing. She asked with sensitive compassion, and since we’d developed enough trust—battling through edits can do that!—I decided to be honest with her. I began my response by saying, “Since it’s you, and I can be real, I can admit that I’m …