Trust & Obey, Week 2: Matthew 16 & 18, Part 2 As a pastor of twenty-three years, I’ve had some surprising experiences during worship services. For example, one time a wasp landed right on my Bible as I was preaching! People seated close to the front saw it all. I swatted at it, and itContinue reading “Jesus’ two surprising teachings about church”
Tag Archives: leadership
Have superabundant respect for church leaders – 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, Part 2
Editor’s Note: This week we welcome guest blogger, Emily Marks. Emily is an adult & community educator. She and her husband Sean live in Lancaster, PA, with their dog Corvus. Emily grew up as a pastor’s kid, and therefore she brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to this week’s passage. I hadContinue reading “Have superabundant respect for church leaders – 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, Part 2”
Who are the leaders in your church family? (And more importantly, how do you treat them?) – 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, Part 1
Editor’s Note: This week we welcome guest blogger, Emily Marks. Emily is an adult & community educator. She and her husband Sean live in Lancaster, PA, with their dog Corvus. Emily grew up as a pastor’s kid, and therefore she brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to this week’s passage. My fatherContinue reading “Who are the leaders in your church family? (And more importantly, how do you treat them?) – 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, Part 1”
Church leaders – 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, Preview
Throughout the history of the Christian church, there has at times been a testy relationship between the church’s congregation and its leadership. In some eras of church history, there has been more of a general respect for leaders, and for some eras, there has been less general respect. Some of that difference is cultural, someContinue reading “Church leaders – 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13, Preview”
The importance of submission to God…and people? – 1st Thessalonians 2—3:5, Part 1
Submission is not a welcome concept. I think of an MMA fighter who is dominated by their opponent, and they tap out, they submit. We humans generally do not like to submit. It makes us feel weak, inadequate, unworthy, flawed. We would much rather others submit to us. In this week’s study through 1st ThessaloniansContinue reading “The importance of submission to God…and people? – 1st Thessalonians 2—3:5, Part 1”
When do you draw the line with a difficult employee, friend or family member? – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 4
Have you ever faced the difficult, emotional experience of firing an employee? Or perhaps you’ve had to place boundaries on a relationship? In the business world, a boss might want to avoid the pain of firing an employee who needs to be fired. In Christian communities, the theology of love and grace is deeply rootedContinue reading “When do you draw the line with a difficult employee, friend or family member? – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 4”
The messiness of vague succession – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 3
Succession is often messy. The transfer of power from one leader to the next is fraught with emotions of uncertainty and fear, particularly when the outgoing leader has been in charge for a longtime and is beloved. Succession is also difficult when there is only a vague plan for succession. I am writing this postContinue reading “The messiness of vague succession – 1 Kings 1—2, Part 3”
With God, success is not about numbers – 2 Samuel 24, Part 2
Have you ever been punished with a “pick your poison” method? You misbehaved and your parents give you a choice about which punishment you will receive. It feels awful, doesn’t it? You must not only wrestle with your guilt and any hurt your disobedience caused others, you now have to choose the consequences. You areContinue reading “With God, success is not about numbers – 2 Samuel 24, Part 2”
Handing leadership over to the next generation can be emotional – Advent Love, Part 1
John is getting old. He sees the end of his life coming, and it’s close. He’s lived a long time, and all his old friends have passed away. There is actually no one left from the original group except him. Some of them, including his brother, passed away long before. Gradually, one by one, theyContinue reading “Handing leadership over to the next generation can be emotional – Advent Love, Part 1”
Hope is to the soul what oxygen is to the body – Advent Hope, Part 2
This week I once again welcome guest blogger, Kirk Marks. Kirk is a retired pastor of 30 years who now works in international fair trade. While I was serving in the coal regions (as I mentioned in the previous post), I graduated from seminary, and after seminary I sought opportunities to continue my education. IContinue reading “Hope is to the soul what oxygen is to the body – Advent Hope, Part 2”
Engaging Scripture 