I’m excited. I’ve just worked my way through ChurchNext’s MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) of my Making Sense of the Cross and, well, I’m excited. The folks at ChurchNext have done a wonderful job in taking some of the essential elements of the course and turning it into an accessible – and free! – online learning opportunity that is ideal for individuals or congregations as we approach Lent. The class starts a week from today, and you can find out more about the course here. Again, it’s free. While you don’t need to purchase the book to participate in the class, if you’re interested you can find copies of Making Sense of...
Matthew 7:13-23
posted by DJL
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s...
Breakfast
posted by DJL
There are several things I like about Joyce Sutphen’s poem. I like, for instance, the shared memory of her father, as it calls to mind similar memories of my own. Like how my dad would set us up at a table in the lodge, when we were taking a lunch break from skiing, make sure we were all...
Matthew 7:6-12
posted by DJL
“Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who...
Creating a Larger Reality for Our Children
posted by DJL
Parents do a lot of things. We try to teach our children values. We provide them with home, clothing, education, and more. We protect them whenever necessary and possible and – often much harder – try to let them to struggle when that seems more important. And, of course and most importantly, we love them…deeply, truly, more than they will ever know until they have children of their own. But I wonder if another thing we do – whether we know it or not – is also frame the world for them, provide them with a sense of what is possible and real, and prepare them to accept — or reject — the terms of the world in which they...
Matthew 7:1-5
posted by DJL
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let...
1000 Posts
posted by DJL
This took me, quite frankly, by surprise. Whenever you go to the “Dashboard” of the WordPress template I use to operate this blog, it displays the number of posts, comments, and all the rest. I rarely look at the numbers, as I’m usually in a hurry to set up a new post, find...
Matthew 6:34
posted by DJL
“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....
Everyday Leadership, Everyday Miracles
posted by DJL
Over the last two days, I’ve written posts about leadership and change – in particular, about transformative change and the kind of leadership necessary to engage in the disruption that is part and parcel of transformation. I think all of this is true and important and valuable and that this kind of leadership is, frankly, quite rare. But I also think there’s a danger in focusing on the rare leader who can inspire transformative change. Or, indeed, focusing on any element of leadership that seems rare and unique. Because the thing is, each of us is called to lead every day. More than that, each of us can and does lead already,...
Matthew 6:25-33
posted by DJL
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your...
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