NT Wright on Hell

I’ve been teaching a class on spiritual formation out of Dallas Willard’s, “Renovation of the Heart.” Last night we were in chapter three which talks about soul ruin, idolatry, and hell among other things. It was fascinating to think of lostness in terms in addition to a potential destination, namely hell. But to consider lostness [...]

Hirsch on Post-Christian Church

Here is a short (20min) video of Alan Hirsch giving this explanation of the challenge for the church in a post-Christian world. Even if you cut your teeth on his book ten years ago, this message is still quite true and accurate. Hirsch is speaking at Mariners Church in Irvine.

Lumen 1.31 – Alan Hirsch from [...]

Growing Hope

In Renovation of the Heart this morning, I was reminded of how the Lord seems to be working among his people, at least in the West (really the only context I can speak intelligently about since I’m at least a part of the Western world.) He has just opened his book by demonstrating the [...]

Switch: How to Change When Things are Hard

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In my random reading, I ran across this article from Fast Company magazine by the Heath brothers. The excerpt recounts a fascinating account of Jerry and Monique Sternin and their work to battle malnutrition among Vietnamese children, with no budget. Their work is often highlighted as a great example of Appreciative Inquiry, positive [...]

Paths of Self-Righteousness?

I enjoy a Friday morning bible study called Crosstalk. We meet in the Lower Fireside Room at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church at 6:30a pretty much each week.  Lately we’ve been going through the 23rd Psalm slowly and after 5 or 6 weeks we just finished verse 3.
1- The Lord is my shepherd, I shall [...]

Fill the Church with Spewage?

Picked up Bill Hull’s book “Choose the Life” this morning.  Several quotes stood up and grabbed my attention this morning. The following is from George Barna and opens chapter 3.
Christianity has no cost in America. We’ve made it way too easy to be “born again”–perhaps much easier than Jesus intended. When do we get to [...]

The Methodist Covenant Prayer

Today in the daily office I use, the reflection was a beautiful prayer that stands out to me each month when it comes up.
THE METHODIST COVENANT PRAYER
I am no longer my own, but Thine.
Put me to what Thou wilt,
rank me with whom Thou wilt;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for [...]

The Gaze of the Soul

I’ve been enjoying reading from A.W. Tozer’s classic: The Pursuit of God. The following comments come from chapter seven entitled, The Gaze of the Soul. The chapter is about faith and believing.
Believing, then, is directing the heart’s attention to Jesus. It is lifting the mind to “behold the Lamb of God,” and never ceasing that [...]

Appreciative Inquiry Training – San Diego

CRM is hosting a training event which will help leaders of the church apply Appreciative Inquiry (AI) principles toward congregational change.  AI properly understood (something I’m still waiting to understand properly) actually has much broader applications with wild success across many fields both for profit and non-profit.
Dates: Feb 26-27, 2010
Place: Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church, [...]

Human Centered Design

I’ve been paying attention to organizational change lately. And to be more specific, change using the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) lens. I’m studying this because my colleagues within CRM are interested in being conversant with the approach as a core competency.  The more I read about AI, the more I think it can be useful.
Tonight I [...]