Loving, Learning, and Leading

"Leadership begins with identifying with the pain of the people you trying to lead" John Perkins in "Follow Me to Freedom" "Matt 9:36-37 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (NLT) Movement : Collective, organized, and sustained challenge to the status quo (Predominant culture, beliefs, and practices) Pain is natural.  It is a God-given sensation and awareness that something is wrong.  Without chest pain, we wouldn't know our hearts our sick, and without heart pain, we often do not know our emotions are wounded.  Pain often trumpets the warning that damage has been and is being done.  Its a call to change, rest, restore, or even move. John Perkins, the transformational leader and founder of the Christian Community Development Association , takes the bold step of understanding that leadership and awareness of pain are an essential link.  What he, and many other cult...

" I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married,"  President Barak Obama As Pastor of a wonderful congregation (www.newhopefree.org), I have been asked numerous times "What do you think of Gay marriage?".  I have been lobbied by Godly people who feel strongly for and Godly people who strongly oppose Gay marriage.  I have talked with congregants who feel this is the single most important issue of our era, and with those who feel this is merely a distraction in the church's mission.  I share that to say that church is not monolithic in its approach to this issue and I recognize that Godly people may respectfully disagree with what I am about to say. From a Biblical perspective, I have written extensively that healthy sexual intimacy is always from a perspective of marriage.  Sexual intimacy before marriage or outside of marriage is clearly prohibited in scri...

"What if the purpose of marriage is to make you holy, not to make you happy?" Gary Thomas, Author of Sacred Marriage Sociologist Andrew Cherlin at John Hopkins University eloquently documents the changing role of marriage in his book, Marriage-go-round .  He notes that the purpose of marriage has changed historically and often mirrors the greatest value of the time.  Pre-modern (prior to the 1700's) marriage focused procreation.  Marriage was not necessarily for friendship or personal satisfaction, as it was towards legacy.  Modernity brought the understanding of friendship and camaraderie as the central theme.  Post-modernism (1970's onward) marriages are focused on self-satisfaction and self-fulfillment.  Contemporary suitors for marriage are often concerned chiefly whether a potential partner can meet their needs, desires, and dreams. This is not revolutionary.  Many cultural commentators, such as Yale professor and theologian, Miroslav Volf ,...

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."  Matthew 12:36-37 "But dehumanizing the victim makes things simpler It's like breathing with a respirator It eases the conscience of even the most conscious and calculating violator Words can reduce a person to an object, something more easy to hate An inanimate entity, completely disposable, no problem to obliterate" Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy in "Language of Violence" The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy are a 90's conscientious rap group that almost no one heard of, led by Michael Franti.  They are one of my favorite groups of all time because of their creative ways of challenging injustice.  In their song, Language of Violence , they tell the story of how physical violence is often preceded by dehumanizing words.  They spoke in th...

 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."  Mark 14:34 Good Friday is complex.  It brings up a mixed bag of emotions for most.  The sheer horror of the torture, crucifixion, abandonment and shame are so overwhelming that even when visualized, like in Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ, its almost surreal.  The act of love that was being displayed by Jesus, willingly giving his life is equally overwhelming.  Who can put their arms around a love that suffers for that which is hostile against itself. It is so tempting to frame Good Friday in neat theological terms.  We use words like atonement, appeasement, and propitiation to talk about sacrifice that the Son of God made for humanity.  We do our best to take the rough edges off of the gruesomeness and the horrific violence by making the event spiritual, even otherworldly.  It sanitizes, domesticates if you will, the experience of ...

Imagine, you see a stray dog in your neighborhood.   Since you have been in your neighborhood for sometime, you are familiar with all the dogs in your neighborhood, and this dog is definitely not from your neighborhood.  While it is simply sitting on a sidewalk, your instincts for safety kicks in.  You are well aware of the dangers that  a wild, undisciplined, or even rabid dog can present to your neighborhood.  So, you call the county animal control agency, and you describe that menacing canine to them.  To your surprise, animal control does not share the same degree of alarm, but states that they will send a unit to investigate the dog right away.  They specifically ask you not to approach the dog.  The dog notices you watching it and begins to move into a yard.  You become more alarmed as the villainous vermin is now coming closer and closer to his vicious potential.  You get out of your car and the dog begins to run.  You chase ...

" In regards to the gospels, we have forgotten what the main thing is." N.T. Wright in "How God Became King" I have begun to read N.T. Wright's book: "How God Became King".  Its premise asks a question that I have struggled with for some time.  That is, is the gospel (literally good news) of Jesus, revealed in the four canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that same as what we consider the gospel today? In the classic creeds of the church, there is an emphasis on the atoning work of Jesus' death for our personal salvation and justification.  This formulation relies heavily on Paul's letters to the Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews (although the authorship of the book of Hebrews is contested).  This understanding of the gospel is thoroughly Biblical (I Corinthians 15:1-5).  It is focusing on the death and resurrection of Jesus and its work to establish an eternal link to God. The controversy, is not whether that formulation of ...