Tag Archives: Sabbath

10 Reasons Sabbath is Core to Leadership – EH Leader Podcast

Practicing Sabbath, much like prayer or reading the Bible, doesn’t save us. We are saved by Jesus alone. But if we are not routinely reading Scripture or praying, it is unlikely we are growing much spiritually. Keeping Sabbath is a core spiritual practice – an essential means God uses to slow us down and mature us. In this podcast, I expound on ten core reasons Sabbath is so indispensable for us who lead in Jesus’ name: Sabbath is something God did, and being made in his image, we are created to do it as well. Sabbath was built into the DNA of the creation. Sabbath time is set apart as “holy” within God’s creation of a 7-day week. Sabbath helps us embrace our humanity, vulnerability, limits and finiteness. Sabbath protects us from doing violence to ourselves. It doesn’t save our souls, but it saves our lives. Sabbath reminds us God’s world is good, offering. Read more.

Finding God’s Rhythms for Your Life: Part 2 – EH Leader Podcast

I am fragile. When I get out of my rhythms of being with God, I am dangerous. I make unwise decisions; I over-function; I cross boundaries; I fail to be present to those I love; I become anxious; I rush. In fact, the finding of God’s rhythms for my life, and living them, is a matter of life and death – for me and for those I serve. And I am not alone. We are all fragile. This podcast is an invitation to get deeply anchored by deliberately structuring your life in ancient spiritual practices that have stood the test of time. In particular, I focus on the revolutionary practice of Sabbath-keeping and God’s invitation for us to stop and rest for a 24-hour period each week. This inevitably leads to many new insights about God and ourselves. As one person wrote: “Tell me one thing that is productive or efficient about it? The. Read more.

2 Keys to Creative Leadership – EH Leader Podcast

Most leaders I meet with are overworked, tired, and weighed down with too much to do in too little time. Almost all are generous, sacrificial, and compassionate. Yet the pressure of ministry demands smothers their ability to listen deeply to God’s voice that speaks to the essence of the problems facing them. I know this too well. It is easy to rush headlong into quick-fix solutions to problems – hoping they dissipate, only to find out that we have now planted the seed of a new problem! What has happened? We have forgotten Sabbath and silence. These are the places from which we hear the quiet wisdom of God if we are to provide creative leadership for what is before us. Let me invite you to consider 3 biblical texts that I mention in this podcast, allowing them to breathe rest into your soul: The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the. Read more.

Only the Slow Will Reach the World

Instead of highlighting The Fastest Growing Churches, I recommend we highlight The Slowest Churches, i.e. those that help us most to slow down and pay attention to God, ourselves, and others. When our churches continually remind our people that “only one thing is needful,” we strategically position them to be a gift to the world (Luke 10:42). Here are 5 reasons why I believe this is true: Going slow makes possible… The doing of God’s best plans. I love the story, told in Wayne Mueller’s Sabbath, of a USA international agency in the 1990’s and their frenzied plan to address needs of a famine in equatorial Africa. In failing to be quiet, listen to the people, and study the soil, they developed a short-term solution that actually worsened the problem in the long term. We too are dangerous when we move at high speed. The receiving of Scripture in our hearts. According to Jesus,. Read more.

Meeting God in the Wilderness: A Summer Reflection

Geri and I just returned from 7 days in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a 1,090,000-acre (4,400 km2) area on the border of Minnesota and Canada. A motorized boat carried us deep into the wilderness. They picked us up 7 days later at the same location. There would be no emergency number for us or our family, no cell phone contact, and no ability to leave early. This was on Geri’s bucket list. She has been preparing since January and was thrilled. I was reluctant but following her, hoping for the best. Nonetheless, it turned out to be one of the best weeks of my life. God had a few things He wanted to teach me: His love really is found in nature. We canoed from campsite to campsite and portaged, i.e. carried our canoe and gear over land between lakes, as needed. For years Geri had been telling me to get my nose out of a book. Read more.

While Pete is Away…

While Pete is unplugged, we looked back at the most read blogs from the past two years. We thought you would enjoy taking a look back as well: 10 Qualities of an Emotionally Healthy Wedding Characteristics of the Emotionally Unhealthy Leader 4 Steps to a Meaningful Sabbath Quit Living Someone Else’s Life Quit Over-functioning My #1 Mistake as a Leader You Know You’re Not Doing Endings Well When… Four Unhealthy Commandments of Church Leadership Symptoms of the False Self Change Your Brain Through Silence and the Daily Office As you plan your discipleship courses for the fall, the How to Lead the EHS Course Training Pack is an excellent practical resource for maximizing the impact of your course in your church. Click here or on the image below to learn more.

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