Category Archives: Rule of Life

Looking for God in Our Limits

Going beyond our limits is one of the most significant challenges and temptations we face as leaders. Why? It touches the core of our tendency to want to play God and run the world. Adam and Eve’s original temptation of rebellion against God was all about limits. God gave them enormous freedom in the Garden of Eden. Then, without explanation, God sets a boundary before them. They were to bow humbly, to surrender, before his incomprehensible ways. Ask yourself: Why don’t I take appropriate care of myself? Why do I feel like am never “finished”? Why don’t I spend enough time reflecting on my interior world? Why do I always feel as if there is too little time and too much to do? Why do I feel chronically restless? Why do I have so little margin or flexibility? Why don’t I invest the time I need in my marriage, my children, or a healthy. Read more.

The EHS Course: Stories of Transformation

The EHS Course is now being used by hundreds of churches as their core way to introduce people to a deep, beneath the surface spirituality with Jesus so they in turn can transform the world. At New Life Fellowship, I recently led the course with about 125 people meeting in 14 small groups. Click below to watch a video of some of the stories we captured during the course: Consider preparing now to launch The EHS Course in your church this January. Go to https://www.emotionallyhealthy.org/the-ehs-course/ and lead your people into a deep formation in Jesus so they can impact the world for Him! The EHS Course: An introduction to a deep beneath the surface spirituality that transforms people who transform the world.

Second Hand Spirituality Churches

Most people in our churches are living off other people’s spirituality. In fact, many are imitating a spirituality with Jesus for which they have little first–hand experience. It is easy to live off the life of God in someone else (e.g. the Apostle Paul’s handkerchief, Peter’s shadow, or Elisha’s bones) than to have our own direct experience. Anointed sermons and worship can keep people excited about Jesus and in the pews, but that may still be second-hand. The question is: Are our people developing and growing in their own personal, immediate relationship with Jesus during the week? How can we know? That is much more challenging to measure than numbers and budgets. In our overloaded culture where people are so distracted and busy, this may be our greatest challenge to effectively impact our communities. How can our people give away something (i.e. Jesus) if they do not possess Him? We invest enormous time, energy,. Read more.

The Hardest Task of a Leader

In this famous story from Luke 10:38-42, we find Martha working to provide the meal for Jesus to eat and Mary sitting at His feet listening to what He has to say. Like us, Martha complains about her workload. Nonetheless, Jesus defends Mary’s act of preference. Every generation of leaders since the first century has written about this passage. Consider Johannes Vermeer’s (1632-1675) painting: I recently reread Thomas Merton’s comments on the Mary/Martha tensions in his address to monks in his book Contemplation in a World of Action (pp.244-250). Allow me to summarize a few of his insights here: The conflict of Mary and Martha is in ourselves. Having sufficient time with Jesus to sustain our doing for Him is, perhaps, the primary tension of every leader. You are not alone. The Holy Spirit invites us to prefer “the apparent uselessness, unproductivity, and inactivity of simply sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening. Read more.

My #1 Mistake as a Leader

For the first 17 years of my Christian life I grew in knowledge and leadership experience. I worked with university students full-time, graduated from seminary, and started a church. My leadership gifts blossomed. The size and impact of the ministry expanded. The problem was that growing in love was not my number one aim. I focused on bigger, better, and faster – like most of the leaders around me. I wasn’t asking myself: Am I meeker, patient, soft, safe, approachable, courageous, kind, and honest this year than I was last year? Am I less easily triggered under stress? Am I breaking my bad habits from my family of origin (e.g. stuffing resentments, lying when hurt, resolving conflicts poorly, not being attentive)? Are people close to me experiencing me as loving? A revolution took place in my life when I read Jonathan Edward’s sermons on 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. His exegesis and insights launched a Copernican. Read more.

Measuring “Success”

Measuring ministry impact with numbers is biblical. The book of Acts uses numbers to describe the impact of the gospel — about 3,000 baptized (Acts 2:41), about 5,000 believers (Acts 4:4), crowds coming to faith (Acts 5:14). We have a whole book in the Bible called Numbers. So, in the context of the church, it is good to measure things like attendance, baptisms, membership, number of small groups, and financial giving. The problem comes when that is all we measure. Measuring deep, beneath the surface transformation in people’s lives is also critically important – if not more important. (Consider Paul, Gal. 4:19, Jesus mentoring the 12). The specifics of these internal markers will differ from ministry to ministry and from context to context. The following are several examples we set to measure at New Life Fellowship Church: Each leader at New Life will develop his or her relationship with God by spending ten to. Read more.

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