Category Archives: Stillness

The 10 Laws of Respect

In our early years of equipping marriages at New Life, Geri and I regularly used a very helpful curriculum called Third Option. We soon discovered, however, that a few of their concepts also were applicable beyond marriages for the reshaping of the culture of our family and teams at church. This included a definition of respect as “how we treat each other” (over against how we think or feel about a certain person at a given moment). Initially, we kept these “Bill of Rights” posted on our refrigerator to serve us in the first steps of our journey into emotionally healthy spirituality. These are the simple “Respect” guidelines: I, and others, have a right to: Space and Privacy Be Different Disagree Be Heard Be Taken Seriously Be Given the Benefit of the Doubt Be Told the Truth Be Consulted Be Imperfect and Make Mistakes Courteous and Honorable Treatment Imagine how our churches, families, and. Read more.

EH Leader Podcast: New Life Fellowship and The EHS Course

In this month’s podcast, Pete interviews Rich Villodas, the Lead Pastor at New Life Fellowship, on how the The EHS Course provides the foundation for discipleship/spiritual formation in our local church. It offers an inside look of Rich’s perspective on how The EHS Course provides a robust theology, shapes New Life Fellowship’s culture, and serves as a means to create long-term, healthy community. Click the video below to watch or the link to listen to the audio file. LISTEN HERE Join Pete on Tuesday, March 8 @ 12 ET for his Emotionally Healthy Leader Webinar “Culture and Team Building”. Click below to REGISTER.

The Challenge of Culture and Team Building

Creating healthy cultures and teams are among the most important tasks for every leader, especially Christian leaders. Why? The kind of cultures God has called us to create and develop is radically different than that of the world. Next week on Tuesday, March 8th, I will be offering a free Webinar on this theme. Click HERE to register. While building culture is more an art than a science, a few characteristics are indispensable to emotionally healthy culture and team building. Work Performance and Personal Spiritual Formation are Inseparable The Elephants in the Room are Acknowledged and Confronted Time and Energy are Invested in the Team’s Personal Spiritual Development The Quality of People’s Marriages and Singleness is Foundational What I love most about these live Webinars is the time dedicated to real life case studies and Q & A. It takes beyond the main points written into the crucible of nuanced. Read more.

The 5 C’s of Emotionally Healthy Hiring

Hiring is, perhaps, the most challenging tasks of leaders. Why? Poor discernment in this area results in stalled momentum, lots of extra meetings, and, often, hurt relationships. I am not an expert on hiring, but I have made plenty of costly mistakes over the years. 5 C’s summarize what I call “emotionally healthy” hiring: Competence. This is on every list of hiring – and should be. Does the person have the skills, knowledge, and ability to do the job? I overlooked asking hard questions in this area for years when I had great “chemistry” with the person, had history or friendship, or had become impatient waiting for God’s provision. I have never made a good hiring decision under pressure. Calling. Does this potential person discern God is in this for the next step of their journey with Jesus? As we pray, do we believe God is in this? What does their spouse hear from. Read more.

Silence: The Oxygen of Christian Leadership

Nothing in Western culture supports the practice of silence – especially for leaders. Our very sense of identity is based on accomplishments and what others think. Silence before God simply appears so unproductive. Silence forces us to face our “inner monsters,” confronting us with our addiction to being in control, and bringing us face to face with demonic powers and principalities. Why? They rage to prevent us from the deep knowing of God that comes out of being still before Him, or relaxing as one OT scholar translates it (Ps. 46:10). Few spiritual practices are more transformative and important. For this reason, it is core to The EHS Course, our discipleship course that’s changing churches around the world. Set your timer each day for 5 to 10 minutes over the next week. And consider the following guidelines that have served me so well over the last 13 years. (And that I continue to use. Read more.

The Good Gift of Our Masculinity and Femininity

One of our most challenging tasks of leaders is to apply the revelation of God in Scripture, both clearly and pastorally, to the burning issues of our day. Gender, sexuality, and marriage are among those issues. From the Supreme Court to the White House, from entertainment to business, from education to communications, a massive shift has taken place in our culture. At New Life Fellowship last week, Geri and I preached on “Becoming a Good Gift in Your Masculinity and Femininity.” We are not same-sex attraction or gender identity experts, and we continue on our own journey of study and reflection. Yet we felt the urgency to begin addressing these themes for both our marrieds and singles more strongly. So, with humility, we offer this sermon to you for your prayerful consideration. Click below to watch the sermon or listen to the audio link. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN P.S. The following is an. Read more.

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