If you’ve been battling “low-grade” depression lately you’ve got lots of company. I read that one in three Americans is dealing with symptoms of stress and anxiety these days resulting from Covid-19. We’re used to crises and disasters having a time-limit. But this crisis has been...
Eugene Peterson’s book, “Run with the Horses”, based on Jeremiah, was the foundation and inspiration for this article. Believe it or not, trouble and hardship don’t have to ruin our lives. We can live well under the most difficult circumstances. It can even bring the best...
One thing all crises have in common is that they trigger self-reflection and examination. Crisis exposes us to what we can’t control and manage on our own. Extreme trouble strips us of pretense. It shatters the illusion of self-sufficiency. It takes our egos down to...
It’s stunning how quickly life can change. We got a taste of this here in New York City during 9-11. Now it’s the coronavirus. Calamities like this are unforeseen. They’re never anticipated. We’re never prepared. So it always fuels high anxiety. As someone commented, “Right...
What’s the likelihood that Jesus would hang out at a bar? Pretty darn good if you ask me. For ten years the North Brooklyn Vineyard (now Vineyard One) hosted a gathering every Sunday evening at the Trash Bar, best known for its PBRs, tator tots,...
Leadership for me is more about the sort of person I am and how I respond to life and opportunity than what I know. Leadership springs from within. It’s about who I am as much as what I do...
When I first signed up to be a pastor it was with a sense of excitement, anticipation and commitment to a call to ministry – recovering the lost, making disciples, caring for souls, partnering with Jesus, making a difference for God’s kingdom. But along the...
As I’ve been preparing a teaching on the subject of power encounters, I’ve had a pastoral concern: How to handle them in light of the inclination of some believers to drift away from genuine, credible gospel living into sensationalism. So I thought I’d write about...
I recently had coffee with a pastor who was bemoaning the fact that his congregation was stuck in the doldrums. He complained to me about their absence passion and lack of motivation which he blamed this on busyness and the lack of margin in their...
Since transitioning away from the pastorate four years ago, I’ve had a lot more time to sit, pray and think. I have conversations with myself. That’s right, I talk to myself a lot. My former self – the younger, inner city, small church Pastor Mike...