In many quarters of the Church, the contemporary understanding is that Christianity is lived in the passive voice. Wikipedia says: “the passive voice denotes the recipient of the action (the patient) rather than the performer (the agent).” The assumption is that the Christ-follower empties herself of all ambition and self-determination and simply waits, patiently, for …
Last time I raised the question: “What are people to you?” We’re talking about the meanings we give to ourselves, to the experiences in our lives, and to others. So, please stop and consider: what meaning have you attached to people? I don’t mean your ex, or your mother-in-law, or your favorite Olympic athlete. I …
Buried in the archaic curiosity of the King James translation is a gem: “…godly sorrow worketh repentance … not to be repented of…”. [2 Cor 7:10] Repentance that sticks. Consider that when God sorrows, it’s not the self-serving, feeling-sorry-for-myself kind of sorrow that leads to death. God sorrows for others. There’s the key to deep …
#7: A Culture of Cowardice (part three) We’re seven segments into a series on Leadership Courage. This is our third pass exposing a Culture of Cowardice that I believe has dominated much of the Church in North America. I’ve confined my comments to North America because I have very little exposure to non-Western churches and …
#5: A Culture of Cowardice (part one) Who are the exemplars of courage in our culture? To whom does America look when seeking heroes to be our role models? Lady Gaga? Bill Moyers? Dennis Kucinich? Robert Downey Jr.? It seems to me that the courageous have become an endangered species…and not just in society– but …
#3: The Price of Love Courage, I’ve suggested, is living with heart. With you heart fully engaged. Fully invested. Fully in play. Some would argue that to live this way is expensive. Costly. Reckless. Even dangerous. I agree. To live with your heart withheld is costly, too. There’s no living without paying prices. Give your …
#1: The Heart to Lead This begins a new blog series. The topic is Leadership Courage. Courage is integral to leadership. The link between the two is inseparable. To attempt to lead anyone, without employing courage, will undermine the possibility of the enterprise you hope to lead others in. Management is another bird entirely. A …