7 Ways to Breathe Life into Your Bible Reading
With Christmas behind us, our thoughts now turn toward the New Year. You are probably like and me and love the idea of new beginnings. January 1 offers us an opportunity to draw a line and start over. We all desire a way to begin again. Typically, we look at all the ways we want ...
A Leadership Crisis: Losing Your Soul for the Sake of the World
As well intentioned Christians and ministry leaders, many of us have bought into the idea, that if our work produces ‘fruit’ then it must be God’s will, no matter what it costs us and our families. Too often the seduction of public fruit causes us to offer up our body, our health and our souls ...
What’s MOST Important?
When I home schooled my kids the most overwhelming part of teaching them was not the energy it took to add “full-time teacher of four” to my already overly-busy life. It was not the enormous amount of patience needed to confront the daily barrage of stubborn wills, sassy mouths, or bad attitudes. It was not ...
“NET” Talk at on the With-God Life
This week I had the privilege and honor to speak at the Northwest Ministry Annual Conference. It was a "TED Talk" format so I had exactly 5 minutes to speak. The theme was "With Jesus." (Right up my alley!) Here is the transcript from my talk: After 25 years of full-time ministry there came a ...
Recovering From Injury – Rehabilitating the Soul – Part 2
So I hope yesterday you became convinced of that forgiveness is more about our own well-bring than it is about someone else and what they did. For when we release others from the wrong they committed against us; when we give up our desire for revenge, it’s actually ourselves whom we are setting free. We ...
Recovering From Injury – Rehabilitating the Soul
After my workout at the gym one day, while doing a routine stretching exercise, I heard a snap. Immediately I felt a sharp pain in the back of my leg. I knew instantly I’d pulled my hamstring. Serious? I was being careful! I was doing everything right! How did that happen? I wanted to scream. ...
The Unfinished Places of our Soul
Eugene Peterson observed, “You know, if there were one other word that could have been used for most translations of ‘salvation,’ it would have been ‘healing.’ ” Interestingly, most often in the New Testament when the Greek verb “sozo” occurs it is translated “saved.” It not only means being rescued from destruction, but also ...
Why Community Makes A Ton of Sense
I preached a few Sundays ago at Faith on the importance of practicing community. Just like all the other spiritual practices, practicing community, is difficult. Given the messiness (and glory!) of doing life together as broken people, the fears we carry with us, and our hurried lives there must be a more compelling motive other ...
Looking For Something More? A Resource for the New Year!
“We’re aware of Jesus, but we are obsessed with Christianity. We’re stuck on its requirements and we’re defined by its doctrines, caught in an endless struggle to find out where we fit, if we’ve “arrived” yet, and if we’re doing it right. We struggle with sin, and yet, because of the boundaries, we’re forced to ...
The Danger of our Distraction
“The great danger facing all of us-- let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously—is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all-- not ...
Gail Johnsen 