Have you ever felt your life was out of balance?  Have you ever had a season when you were simply to busy to rest and reflect upon your life but later came to realize that by resting and reflecting, your life actually got easier and made more sense?  I have just recently come through a...

Does the church encourage creativity and innovation? Are we helping people discover their talents and gifts and encouraging their creativity?   These are the questions asked by Dan Kimball in his recent blog post titled “May the church (and seminaries) be part of helping change how...

My daughter needs just 10 nighttime hours of supervised driving to get her driver’s license.  So we planned an evening trip from Richmond to Northern Virginia to visit family this past Friday.  All day Friday I was at a board retreat, sharing with the board my desire to move out of...

Servant Leaders, Servant Structures Elizabeth O’Connor http://wp.theoblogical.org/?page_id=3782 Insights from Chapter 1 I have been seeking to discern how to build organizational structures that foster creativity and unleash the missional imagination of people seeking to follow Christ in...

One of my all time favorite passages of scripture is Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This past week I resigned my position as the Director of CARITAS Works.  I have been...

I am entering into one of the most exciting seasons of my life.  God has allowed me to see and do so much over the past six years but I feel certain that it has all been preparation for what is yet to come. In September, Embrace Richmond transferred the Furniture Bank element of our...

There is something wonderfully exciting happening across the globe.  This past weekend I attended the Emerging Church Conference hosted by the Center for Action and Contemplation.  While the conference did not answer all my questions about the Emerging Church, I realized why I still have...

A friend Howard Parrish sent me a very kind note in which he wrote from his own personal experience with ministry burn out, “As you may be experiencing now, I have experiences and still-painful memories of taking on more than my human self could handle, and believing that God would...

  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3 In the past three years I have been lied to, my name slandered, and robbed by more people than I can count. The most destructive crimes were committed by those I...

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. “ This passage from Luke 5:16 is one of many that tell of Jesus habit of seeking solitude in the wilderness.  Throughout the ages, Christians have heard and responded to the call to withdraw.  The dessert mothers and fathers, lived...

A month ago, I was walking my 150 pound Bernese Mountain Dog, Max.  Generally speaking Max is a mild mannered, gentle giant.   That is except when he sees other dogs.  Max and I have been working on proper edict while walking past other dogs and he was getting much better.  Usually when I...