Archive for 2007
Joseph and the Walk of Faith
“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Matthew 1:1825 “Sooner or later, if we follow Christ we have to risk everything in order to gain everything. We have to gamble on the invisible and risk all that we see and taste and feel. But we know the…
Read MoreAdvent: Training in Waiting
“Waiting is the hidden preparation through which God puts his ministers. We neglect it to our own peril.” –Richard Foster The seasons of the church year are meant to teach us something about the spiritual life that we need to learn. Beyond mere information about the spiritual life, they offer us the opportunity to “live…
Read MoreSpiritual Leadership And the Practice of Paying Attention
“Spiritual leadership springs forth in grace from our very desire for God’s presence. This does not take effort or striving. It takes courage, a kind of showing up, attentiveness.” –Gerald May It was a very humbling moment in my life as a person in ministry. I was on staff in a church where, like most…
Read MoreA Leader’s Lifeline in the Crucible of Ministry
“I didn’t want to be the leader because the leader always gets voted off the island.” Gary Hogeboom Survivor Guatemala A couple of years ago, our family watched a season of the reality T.V. show Survivor because we were acquainted with one of the participants—former NFL quarterback, Gary Hogeboom. He emerged early on as a…
Read MoreA Heart of Stone to a Heart of Flesh: Experiencing Transformation in Community
“I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh …then they shall be my people, I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:19 When I was first invited to join in the Transforming Community experience,…
Read MoreAn Invitation to Prayer during Holy Week
Then Jesus came to his disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray…” Matthew 26:40, 41 It is a custom of the Christian church to keep vigil with Christ at different times and in different ways throughout Holy Week.…
Read MoreCrossing the Threshold into Lent
Oh God, let something essential happen to me, something more than interesting or entertaining or thoughtful. Oh God, let something essential happen to me, something awesome, something real. Speak to my condition, Lord and change me somewhere inside where it matters. Let something happen which is my real self, Oh God. —Ted Loder Growing up…
Read More“Pull Me Out of the Game, Coach!”
Editor’s Note: The heart of the Transforming Center’s mission and ministry is the two- year Transforming Community experience in which pastors and ministry leaders enter into a rhythm of eight quarterly retreats designed for the care of their own souls. In this article, Jonathan Taylor Haley, Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church LaCrosse, WI shares…
Read MoreEpiphany: Finding Christ Where We Least Expect Him
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’” Matthew 2:1 Arise! Shine! for your light has come, and the glory of…
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