One of the common reactions when a church or ministry finds itself embroiled in a scandal is what I call the Double Down Response. You see it all the time, a scandal breaks out and there is a rush to affirm the mission statement, the core doctrines, and the gospel. The scenario plays out in text book-like patterns, a Christian
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James 1:20 (NIV) …because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Road rage – it can easily get the best of you. Like foam rising up out of a soda glass it wells up and spills out before we can stop it. It’s amazing how quickly anger can escalate inside of us. For many of us it
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Summer is almost upon us and for many church leaders this means more “Bring your Kids to Work” days. I always loved these more relaxed summer days at the office. Unfortunately not everyone has the same feeling about the presence of children at the church office during business hours. Some may see this as a distraction from a leader’s more
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The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18 (NIV) Last Saturday I was working on the brakes on my car. I dropped off the rotors at a local mechanic’s shop, and the man at the counter told me it would take about an hour to turn them. Perfect, I thought.
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It seems just about everyone I know has had one of those dreams where you find yourself out in a public place with no clothes on. I suppose at the root of it is the human fear of being exposed and feeling shame that is common to all people. None of us likes to feel shame. We generally run and
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Most of us who lived through the post 911 years are at least somewhat familiar with the capture, trial and execution of Saddam Hussein. What many people aren’t as familiar with is how this tyrant came to power in the first place. His entire tenure of leadership was marked by terror, abuse, and domination, and not surprisingly it began in
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Genesis 1:27 (NIV) So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. The other day my wife and daughter came home with a puppy. Of course, everyone loves a puppy and we’re being reminded of this daily. We spent a good part of the afternoon in the
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Joe, a leader at First church, was charged with finding a company to repave the church parking lot. His college buddy had recently started a paving company and Joe secretly wanted to help his friend build up his business. Though Joe knew about previous less-than-honest dealings that his friend was involved in, he presented the company in a positive light,
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1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (NIV) This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. What happened in Texas this past Sunday was horrific, unimaginable. Another mass shooting; this time at a little
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Love must be sincere. Romans 12:9 (NIV) I was in a desperate situation. I was out of work, and I had to find a way to meet my family’s needs. One evening I ran into an old friend. I knew he was well connected in my field, so I put my best foot forward and began a conversation with him.
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