Sometimes in churches somebody will discover a particular vein of spirituality and seek to recruit others into it, or assume a superior position because they have found certain techniques - but no one actually wants to become like them.
We all want to feel spiritually vigorous, and we hurt when we don't. This pain is intensified for people who lead church ministries.
Tithing is like training wheels when it comes to giving. It's intended to help you get started, but not recommended for the Tour de France.
The church is in the hope business. We, of all people, ought to be known most for our hope because our hope is founded on something deeper than human ability or wishful thinking.
The question isn't if someone will sign up for spiritual formation; it's just who and what our spirits will be formed by.
When people feel they're getting to speak into what's being preached, there is high built-in motivation to participate.
The soul is both the most fragile and most resilient thing about you; a healthy soul is what holds you together when your world falls apart. Since you will carry your soul into eternity, it's worth checking up on it at least as often as your teeth.
There are usually multiple messages that could be preached from the same text.
We do not need answers or formulas to minister in crisis.
I am a political junkie. During a presidential campaign, I will often buy a couple of newspapers a day just to keep up.
As a preacher who is fully human, and clearly not divine, I can't speak as Jesus did. But I do seek to speak truth that carries weight and authority. All of us who preach the gospel aspire to speak under the authority of Jesus.
Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.
What influences our behavior, and what our level of responsibility is, are very complex issues. And anytime we try to make this simplistic, we don't serve people well.
Learning something new is a fabulous way to be refreshed. When work can grind you down, something about learning a new activity thrills the soul. It reminds you that the world is bigger than your desk and your to-do list.
Skill at helping people grow spiritually, like skill at playing chess, depends on understanding and valuing differences.
Sloth is the failure to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done - like the kamikaze pilot who flew seventeen missions.
Jesus' life as a foot-washing servant would eventually lead to the adoption of humility as a widely admired virtue.
Jesus had a universal concern for those who suffered that transcended the rules of the ancient world.
When the soul is understood and attended to, we can be liberated from hurry, preoccupation, unsatisfied desires, and chronic discontent.
In my love-challenged condition, seeing a difficulty for someone else can leave me feeling a little more smug or superior-by-comparison.
Jesus is why women have traveled continents, spent decades learning a strange language so they could translate the Gospel, planting churches, caring for the sick, educating the illiterate, and marching for the oppressed.
The toppling of idols - even respectable, admired, best-practice, fastest-growing idols - is always the road to liberation.
