Paul’s style of leadership was neither aloof nor secretive. He lived among them. They knew his address. He talked to them. He didn’t preach a sermon and then conveniently slip out the back door during the benediction.
Read MoreTag Archives: First Thessalonians
Modeling Grace Through Disagreeable Times
Let me offer several comments that may help you handle future disagreeable times in a gracious manner. First, always leave room for an opposing viewpoint. If you don’t have room for an opposing viewpoint, you’re not going to do well when you get teenagers. Teens can be among our best teachers. I know ours have been.
Read MoreDoing vs. Being
My high school graduating class had its thirtieth anniversary reunion a number of summers ago. I’m sure they had a ball. A blast would better describe it, knowing that crowd. You gotta understand the east side of Houston back in the 1950s to have some idea of that explosive student body . . . a couple of thousand strong and a lot of ’em mean as a junkyard dog with a nail in his paw.
Read MoreA Mentor
There we sat, a cluster of six. A stubby orange candle burned at the center of our table flickering eerie shadows across our faces. One spoke; five listened. Every question was handled with such grace, such effortless ease. Each answer was drawn from deep wells of wisdom, shaped by tough decisions and nurtured by time. And pain.
Read MoreChrist’s Return
Are you living every day (as if it’s your last) for His glory? Do you work diligently at your job and in your home (as if He isn’t coming for another ten years) for His name’s sake? Do you shake salt and shine the light every chance you get? Do you remain balanced, cheerful, winsome, and stable, anticipating His return?
Read MoreThe Physical Body
Volumes are written about the mind, our emotional makeup, our “inner man,” the soul, the spirit and the spiritual dimension. But by comparison, very little is being said by evangelicals today about the physical body.
Read MoreThe Need for Integrity
Leaders with power and brains are common. So are leaders with riches and popularity. But a competent leader full of integrity and skill, coupled with sincerity, is rare indeed.
Read MoreA Survival Secret
One winter day while a Chilean peasant was tending his cattle along a long, deep gorge in a remote area of the Andes, he saw two gaunt, bearded figures across the chasm. Thinking they were terrorists, he ran and hid. The next day he returned and saw they were still there. He quickly gathered a pencil, some paper, and a stone, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and heaved them across to the strangers.
Read MoreAbsolute Honesty
As honesty and real integrity characterize our lives, there will be no need to manipulate others. We’ll come to the place where all the substitutes will turn us off once we cultivate a taste for the genuine, the real.
Read MoreCrowns God Sets Aside for His Servants, Part 1
There are at least five crowns promised in the Bible. For our purpose here, I will simply list the eternal crowns mentioned in the New Testament and offer a brief explanation of each. We’ll cover three today and two tomorrow.
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