Matthew 6:34

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” I can see no way to enter into the blessing our Lord commands in this verse except through acquiring a different imagination. First: I do see the command here as blessing....

Matthew 2:19-23

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to...

Luke 17:20-37

Luke 17:20-37 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Then...

Leadership and the Preferred Future

Leadership is about the future. It’s that simple…and that difficult. Max DePree began his influential and elegant little book, Leadership Is an Art, by saying that “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality” (11). I would suggest that the most important element of the reality to be defined is the future. What future do you imagine? What future are you hoping for, working toward, dreaming of? The future matters so much simply because it defines the present. A friend of mine – who is a remarkably capable pastoral leader – shares the same story each time she meets with a new group of people in her congregation. There...

Mark 13:3-8

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you...