And now for a moment of blatant self-promotion… The cover for my first book (albeit a very small one, only 48 pages, written for a niche market, etc.) has just been posted by Cokesbury and is available for order in their latest catalog. It's a series of meditations on the Scriptures for Advent and Christmas …
Advent Book “Come to the Manger” Soon to be Released Continue Reading »
One of the really wonderful things about taking classes here at Asbury is that there's a very thin line between academics and spirituality. When I was here working on my Master of Divinity degree, our classes always began with prayer and, usually, a hymn or two. There was never any doubt about why we were …
Trappist monk Thomas Merton once wrote that Gethsemani Abbey was a place where the very world was held together because day after day, year after year, prayers for the world are being said by the monks in this quiet corner of rural Kentucky. While that may be overstating things a bit, I can say with …
Yesterday afternoon, my fellow Beeson Pastors and I drove about a half hour away from Wilmore to the beautiful Cliffview Retreat Center, tucked away on a back road near Lancaster, KY. This Catholic retreat center is a warm and inviting place–very quiet and quite conducive to a time of reflection. I'm grateful to have some …
Yesterday we delved a bit deeper into the idea of creating a "Rule of Life" and looked at some of the vows and practice of monastic communities. We've been reading the Rule of St. Benedict and kind of cross-referencing that way of life with some information we've gleaned about our own spiritual typology. The Benedictine …
We began our "Spirituality of Leaders" course for the Beeson program today and are now getting into the classroom routine after a week of orientation and travel. Dr. Randy Jessen is the Dean of the Beeson Center and our professor for the course, which is focused on helping us to develop a spiritual rhythm for …
Sometimes profiling can be a good thing, like when it involves doing some training in self-knowledge and awareness. We spent this morning learning the basics of two different personality instruments that we took as part of this beginning stage of the Beeson Pastor Program. The "DiSC" profile measures your default way of "showing up" in …
Got up early this morning and got ready to attend two different churches in the area. Southland Christian Church is an independent megachurch just up the road in Lexington, KY. It's done in the Willow Creek style–large campus, food court, extensive facilities for children and youth ministries and a large worship space with state of …
We arrived back in Wilmore this afternoon, my head full of different reflections from the Willow Creek experience. There were a number of excellent speakers at this first class event, and a few thought-provoking nuggets of wisdom that captured my imagination. Here are some of the highlights: I noticed a significant shift in theological tenor …
After a 5:30AM flight out of Lexington, we're here at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL – a suburb of Chicago. Driving up to this place is a bit like driving up to a suburban sports arena. The parking lot actually has the same kind of letter/section numbering that you find at the …
I'm supposed to be writing from Chicago this evening, but we're still here in Wilmore. We got to the Bluegrass Airport in Lexington only to find that our flight had been canceled due to mechanical problems. We're now booked to leave out of LEX at 5:30AM tomorrow, which means leaving Wilmore at 4:00AM. Should make …
Today we trained up on our new computers, which come to us to keep as part of the Beeson program. Wanting to make a change and wanting to see what all the hype about Apple is about, I opted for a MacBook Pro. I have to say it…I've drunk the Kool Aid and am now …
I'm writing tonight from my very own study carrel in the Beeson Center at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY, where I'm lodged for the next month working on the beginning phases of my Doctor of Ministry degree. I arrived on Sunday evening and today (Monday) was all about orientation. Some interesting things about the …
Last Monday I woke up my son, Rob, at 5:45AM and told him to get dressed. We had a plane to catch and three Colorado Rockies games to go to in Denver. It was a surprise trip for him and one that I was just as excited about. He shot out of bed, got dressed …
Song of Solomon 2:8-13, 7:10-8:4 I was browsing at Barnes and Noble Book store the other day looking for some material for the last sermon in our series on “Sacred Sex.” There’s actually a whole section of the shelves there dedicated to “sexuality,” which was certainly intriguing though, when you give a closer inspection, most …
Sacred Sex: Part IV – The Keys to a Holy and Wholly Satisfying Sex Life Continue Reading »