Monthly theme: Intentionality Reading time: two minutes Most failure is “sneaky failure.” No football player sets his sights on the all-time record for fumbles. It just happens. Bad habits. Not paying attention. Out of position. Laziness. You look around after the last game: all-time record. It sneaks up on you. Read More
Monthly theme: Vocation Reading time: two minutes There is more autobiographical information about the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians than in any other letter. It’s worthy of our attention. I’ve often considered that Romans chapter 1 held Paul’s personal statement of mission: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel…”… Read More
Monthly theme: Vocation Reading time: two minutes The world needs Jesus. God gave them you. Hmmm. This business of vocation, especially for those called into the Office of the Ministry, is puzzling at times, and always humbling. Do you ever look in the mirror and wonder what God was thinking?… Read More
Monthly theme: Vocation Reading time: two minutes “He has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:53). Brokenness keeps us hungry. I’ve been reading Glenn Packiam’s “Blessed Broken Given” and thinking about how it relates to our understanding of vocation. It seems to me that “broken” is closely connected to… Read More
Monthly theme: Vocation Reading time: two minutes Jesus often took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the hungry (see the 5000 and the 4000, the Last Supper, Easter at Emmaus, etc.). He once told the disciples that He is the Light of the world, (John 8:12) and… Read More
Monthly theme: Humility. Reading time: two minutes. I think the Apostle Paul would love the way we teach The Lutheran Wellness Wheel. Our one word definition of Vocational Wellness is “Humility.” There’s joy to be found in the wondrous call of God to use frail, imperfect people like us in… Read More
Monthly theme: Humility. Reading time: two minutes. A guy I know wrote, “Ministry is great, but hard, because it’s the way of the cross.” Jesus told us that the way of following Him into kingdom service would be the way of the cross. See for example, “Blessed are you when… Read More
Monthly theme: Humility. Reading time: two minutes. God designed your brain to be forgetful. There’s a regular process of the brain that takes memories from the past and purges them. It’s why we forget things. Your brain has limits. I read about it in the AARP magazine. I don’t… Read More
Monthly theme: Humility. Reading time: two minutes. Adam was created a weakling. God declared it “very good.” Maybe “weakling” is a bit severe, but he was created with distinct limitations. He couldn’t do it all. We don’t know Adam’s capacity for bench press, but his strength was not unlimited. Read More
Monthly Theme: Curiosity Reading time: two minutes Satan’s not that clever. We know his strategy. He wants to pit pastors against other pastors. He loves it when pastors don’t get along. Jesus has a different strategy: unity in Christian leadership. He never sent the disciples out alone, but bound them… Read More
Monthly theme: Curiosity Reading time: two minutes. God speaks. I was going to write an encouraging word about being curious, not just about what the people around you might have to say, as we’ve discussed the last few weeks. But curious about what God has to say. Today. I decided… Read More
Monthly Theme: Curiosity Reading time: two minutes Intellectual Wellness goes beyond book learning. It’s curiosity about people. Even Adam and Eve didn’t know everything. It’s for our own sake that the Lord created us with limitations. It makes us dependent upon Him, and it gives us confidence in the assurance… Read More
