What is a Clergy Coach?
First, coaching can help us with a skill gap….
31-Day Goals
One of the things I did this February was take on a 31-day goal. What the goal was isn’t really important….what was important was I met myself in those 31-days. I don’t often set such short-term goals but this goal was part of a bigger goal and I thought, “if I can accomplish this, I …
Does it Ever Get Easier?
I keep waiting for it to get easier. Certainly, some of these things should be easier by now, right? None of what was “hard” was out of the ordinary. For example, I got back to exercising this week. Certainly, it wouldn’t be hard to get back to this? It’s an hour or so, of walking …
What I Love About Advent
I was a grinch in my former life. I had trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. I think it was mostly because I had such unrealistic expectations of it all. This year I have been focusing on the Infinite Hope as I preach during the advent season. What a great theme! This came from a …
Pick Your Hard
Much in life is a challenge. Work, kids, faith – these are just some of a long list of challenges we all face. But here is the thing – too often we think having challenges isn’t how it should be. Shouldn’t life be easier? Here is what I learned – life is hard but you …
Developing Identity
One of the quests of our lifetime is to figure out: Who am I? Our identity tells us how we spend our time, what we buy (or don’t), where we live, what we believe. Identity is fluid – for our identity changes and shifts, sometimes without our even realizing it. As we think about the …
How To Get the Most Out of Worship
Rooted: Unity not Uniformity
I was blessed to grow up in a family that valued disagreements. We didn’t see things the same and my parent’s cultivated our individuality. Our dinner conversations were a mixture of theological, political and baseball debates. I loved it. So I was surprised to learn that not all families did this free-for-all family dinner debate. …
Rooted – Forgiveness
This week will continue our series on Rooted with a focus on forgiveness. Every family (even a church family) needs forgiveness. And forgiveness is often hard. I remember the first time I was really hurt by the church. I asked if I could take part in something at the church. I was 10 years old …
Rooted – In It Together
I have been thinking about the virtue of humility, especially as it relates to being the church… Many years ago, I found myself in a situation where I could not figure out what to do next. But because I was “in charge,” I did my best. Now, I look back on it and wish I …