Of all the psychology therapies the one that has most often made sense to me is “behavioral therapy”. What appeals to me about behavior therapy or counseling is the belief that “we often live, or act, our way into new ways of thinking”. So, if I am turned inward in my thoughts to the point of overwhelming anxiety or depression; taking the action of doing something for someone else (a different behavior) has potential to change my mindset. I begin thinking more about others than my own situation.
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Where Behavior Change Might Lead
Filed under #change, Christian Faith, COVID-19, Leadership, Ministry, Pastors
Minding Your Mind
I took some time over my lunch hour today to mind my mind. That is, I engaged in some mental health behavior. For me that equated to going for a bicycle ride. I didn’t go far, but it was good to be outdoors, take part in one of my favorite forms of physical exercise, and improve my mental outlook as well. There’s nothing quite like the solitude of a wind in your face bike ride to provide time for prayer and unwinding of the mental pretzels you’ve created in your thinking. Perhaps you have a different means of minding your mind. Whatever it is, now is an important time to practice it.
Continue readingFiled under Christian Faith, COVID-19, Cycling, Leadership, Ministry, Pastors, Spiritual Formation
Staying Connected While Social Distancing
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to cause major disruptions to normal life, I have been thinking about the importance of community. Community and connection are vital aspects to our Christ following faith. I cannot recall how often in my ministry career a person who has missed public worship due to illness or recovery for a few weeks, upon return has said, “I really missed being with the church family” or “my week was just ‘off’ because I wasn’t able to be there on Sunday”.
Well, none of us are able to “be there” on Sunday in the ways we have been used to now. So, how do we stay connected to Christ and to the body of Christ (the church) during this time of social distancing? Here are some thoughts that have come to me:
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It’s all about Dust!
As a Protestant, and Baptist at that, I have only participated in an Ash Wednesday service where I received the imposition of ashes one time. It was a sobering event. The minister shared the words of Genesis 3:19 as she put the ashes on my flesh, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return”.
Could any verse more fully capture the morbidity of our condition? And that’s the point, isn’t it? To be reminded, as we begin the Lenten journey, of our humanity and it’s limited length of days. We are to be reminded of our complete and total dependence upon a Savior who provides us with both a newness and wholeness of life, even as he prepared to lay down his life for we dusty disciples.
Continue readingFiled under Christian Faith, Holy Days, Ministry, Pastors, Spiritual Formation, Uncategorized
Keeping Jesus’ Commandment: “Love God”
Often the clearest messages from God come to me while I’m doing something mundane or routine. Such was the case at the close of last year as I was helping paint our newest grandson’s room. I was simultaneously listening to the Christianity Today podcast, Quick To Listen and moving my hands and arms in rhythmic motion from paint bucket to wall. I cannot tell you what the topic of the podcast was because I tuned out of the interview early on to focus on one comment made early on by the interviewee. Mark Galli, recently retired editor for CT, commenting on his forth coming book , shared the following:
After years of working in this world, (I) believe that evangelical Christians’ strong suit today is the love of neighbor, be it prayer gatherings to evangelism to social justice to acts of mercy. We talk about God a lot and worship him and pray to him regularly. But on the other hand, relatively few Christians take with equal seriousness the command to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. If we do talk about the love of God, it is said that we love God by loving our neighbor. (From the introduction to the Jan 2, 2020 Quick to Listen podcast)
Continue readingFiled under Christian Faith, Ministry, Pastors, Spiritual Formation, Uncategorized
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