-
-
Recent Posts
Most Popular Posts
- 2016 Reads List
- A Reader's Question: Responding to Extreme Exhaustion in Others
- Traveler's Bag-o-Tricks
- Five Themes Facilitating Ill Health and Ineffectiveness Amongst Global Workers: Theme #5 Lack of Permission for Self-Development and Self-care
- Simple Faithfulness in Troubling Times
- Theme #5: Lack of Permission for Personal Development and Care
- Jesus-Directed Rather than Need-Driven Life and Ministry
- Recognizing God's Presence in Our Suffering
- Renewal In the Trenches
- What is the Rest that Jesus Offers?
Categories
Tags
- bible
- Book recommendation
- character development
- Christ's example
- Communion with God
- community
- conflict
- Death
- emotional intelligence
- exhaustion
- Faith
- fatigue
- Flock
- followership
- god
- grief
- holistic health
- humility
- identity
- Jesus
- Jesus' example
- Joy
- leadership
- learning
- Life
- life-long learning
- light burden
- Listening
- loss & grief
- Matthew 11
- Maturation
- Maturing
- member care
- Modeling for others
- performance
- Personal Growth
- perspective
- prayer
- Reception
- reflection
- relational maturity
- Relational Ministry
- relationships
- relationship with God
- Renewal
- resilience
- resiliency
- resources
- Rest
- sabbath
- Sabbatical
- self-awareness
- self-care
- shepherd's example
- Shepherd influence
- Shepherding
- shepherding well
- soul care
- spiritual direction
- spiritual formation
- spirituality
- Spiritual Practices
- spiritual thinness
- Spiritual vitality
- Success
- suffering
- theology of suffering
- training
- transition
- Trinitarian Ministry
- Trinity
- values
- Waiting
- wisdom
- Word
Archives
- February 2026
- November 2025
- July 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- June 2024
- January 2024
- September 2023
- August 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- January 2023
- December 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- April 2021
- December 2020
- July 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- October 2019
- September 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- October 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- August 2014
Category Archives: Thinking Well
What is the Rest that Jesus Offers?
Familiar Passage, But Clearly Understood? A few weeks ago I spoke at the annual Mental Health and Missions Conference. I was asked to speak on the integrated life of the care giver. In my preparation I learned that the English word for … Continue reading
Posted in Living Wisely, Personal Vitality, Shepherding Well, Spiritual Vitality, Thinking Well
Tagged Christ's example, exhaustion, fatigue, holistic health, Jesus, Jesus' example, light burden, Matthew 11, Modeling for others, relationship with God, self-care, Spiritual vitality, Trinity
8 Comments
An Annual Season of Renewal
Calm After the Storm As I write this I have just concluded a very full fall season of travel, speaking at conferences, organizational leader team meetings, debriefings – you know the drill. Note I did not say I was busy. … Continue reading
Posted in Living Wisely, Personal Vitality, Spiritual Vitality, The Shepherd's Health, Thinking Well
Tagged Evaluation, fatigue, holistic health, Life Seasons, Modeling for others, reflection, relationship with God, Renewal, sabbath, self-awareness, self-care, shepherd's example, spiritual formation, Spiritual vitality
2 Comments
Jesus-Directed Rather than Need-Driven Life and Ministry
Jesus was Not Need Driven Obvious in the pages of the Gospels are the rampant needs around Jesus. Everywhere he went, there were people with needs. So too for us. Yet it is clear that needs were not the driving … Continue reading
Posted in Living Wisely, Shepherding Well, The Shepherd's Health, Thinking Well
Tagged Christ's example, exhaustion, Fixed gaze, Ministry focus, Modeling for others, Needs, Relational Ministry, relationship with God, self-awareness, self-care, shepherd's example, Shepherding, Union with Christ
5 Comments
What is Success in this Shepherd’s Work We Offer?
Jeremiah was one of those books I loathed to read in my academic days. It was dry and oh so negative. Doom and gloom, over and over again. Rembrandt’s Jeremiah Many years later, Jeremiah has become a hero and even a … Continue reading
Posted in Shepherding Well, Thinking Well
Tagged Faith, humility, identity, Modeling for others, Risk in Ministry, Success
2 Comments
Why You Need a Debriefing. Yes You.
Why, Not How This will be about why debriefings are needed, not how to offer them. There are some great trainings on debriefing out there. Such a skill set requires more than a mere blog entry. Debriefing gets a bit of … Continue reading
The Shepherd’s Pursuant Handiwork
San Antimo, Montalcino, Italy God is our Model Shepherds pursue the sheep. God is our ultimate role model in this simple yet crucial act. He is the pursuer of our souls. It is the nature of God to seek out … Continue reading
Having Influence without Positional Authority
One of the challenges in the act of providing shepherd care is influencing change without wielding great or any organizational, positional line-authority. Many times I am in a situation where there are clearly systemic or personnel dynamics at play that … Continue reading
Five Themes Facilitating Ill Health and Ineffectiveness Amongst Global Workers: Theme #5 Lack of Permission for Self-Development and Self-care
I am writing from GMCN in Antalya, Turkey. I would be most encouraged if you find any of this helpful to pass it along to colleagues. Equally, I’d love feedback, whether a differing viewpoint or another thought or idea that … Continue reading
Posted in Resources, Spiritual Vitality, Thinking Well
2 Comments