You never are together [simply] to be together, you’re together because you have something you want to do, work that [needs to be done]. — Stanley Hauerwas In my prior post, I shared Robert Lupton’s challenge to the church to move away from charity that breeds dependency and toward...

Robert Lupton’s book, “Toxic Charity”, issues us all with a strong challenge – to move away from “an entrenched giveaway mentality” that destroys human dignity and damages communities in the long run. For this mentality to shift we have to “restructure our established one-way...

As I shared earlier this week, I believe one of the primary roles of a minister is helping people cultivate the practice of listening to the sound of the genuine in themselves. However, ministers cannot do so authentically unless we cultivate the practice of listening to the sound of the...

At a recent conference offered by The Fund for Theological Education, we were asked to reflect on the works of Howard Thurman’s, “The Sound of the Genuine.”  Of all the materials and exercises that we did during that three day event, this particular reading impacted me the most. I pray...

This week, we will launch our first suburban “Dream Team” in Chesterfield County.  A Dream Team is a small group of individuals with a shared passion around a shared mission.  In this case the mission is to help strengthen families in Hillside Court. We have been operating mission...

I love people who are bold enough to tell the truth especially when the truth will mean rocking the boat.  Robert Lupton is a bold truth teller in his book “Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (And How to Reverse It.”  Below are just a few excerpts from...

In 2009 I wrote a post titled, “Empowering a Movement – A Search for Missional Structures”, about the oldest and in my opinion best expression of a truly misisonal church.  In the original post I shared insights from the writings of Elizabeth O’Connor, who was a long-time leader at...

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”  Howard Thurman This week I spent three days in New Orleans with the wonderful folks from The Fund for Theological Education (FTE) at their...

Yes, my 13-year-old daughter has political aspirations.  She is a total drama queen, highly photogenic and that red hair is sure to catch the attention of voters.  But she has more than her looks and dramatic personality.  She has a clear platform that will save lives and lead America into...

In a comment to my post, “Is the Church Relevant?”  Karen Muntzing asks a great question: “Serving in a seeker sensitive church provides challenges to my understanding of the gospel, which tends to look more like the island of misfit toys. How do we form communities of authenticity and...

This past Friday, I had the privilege of sitting under the teachings of John W. Kinney, the Dean of the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. What an amazingly gifted preacher and teacher! Dr. Kinney shared with us that he has been meditating on how to raise...

If you had asked me when I was 25 why I did not go to church, I would likely have answered, “Why should I?”  I had grown up totally un-churched and for me church was irrelevant. At the age of 26, after three miscarriages, God became relevant.  I discovered the one thing this type A...