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"I do not cease to give thanks for you."
This has been an unbelievable year. Surreal. Tragic. Bring-us-to-our-knees stressful. Yet you have preached, led, and ministered throughout. So I give thanks for you for a multitude of reasons…
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Practical Wisdom for Trying Times: A Conversation with Clergy Coach Laura Jackson
How do we lead effectively during constant change?
How do we find respite during constant change?
When we feel caught in the middle, how do we move out?
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Four Ways to Preserve Your Humanity When Stressed
When we’re under stress, our body releases hormones that interfere with our executive functioning—our ability to make thoughtful, strategic decisions. As a result, we know we have a ton of work to do, but we don’t know what to do right now to move forward, leaving us stuck in overwhelm. Or worse, we turn on those around us. Read on for suggestions to pause the surge of fight-or-flight hormones, regulate your emotions, re-enter a thinking state, and do the good work.
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The Path to Moving Forward in Disaster
All of us are being called to exercise a part of our Christian belief to a breadth and depth few of us have experienced before. We are being called to shower forgiveness in all directions. Not only because Jesus forgave us, but because our nation and world will require rebuilding when this pandemic and election are over. And we won’t be able to move forward constructively if we believe some are unworthy to receive our forgiveness.
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"How is your prayer?" A simple question with big impact (A Guest Post)
“Over the years I have discovered again and again that prayer, the interior life, is the backstory to my life, marriage, parenting, ministry, teaching, preaching. As my prayer goes, so goes everything else.”
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Using Money for Good: Preaching Tips & Tools to Grow Conscious, Ethical Consumers (A Guest Post)
It’s rather surprising we don’t find ourselves preaching a lot about money since fully 1/3 of the parables are about money and one in ten verses in the Gospels are connected to money. Getting money situated in its right relationship with our lives, and the world around us, is an important spiritual topic. And we need to tackle it.
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"Preaching God's Economy": A Panel Discussion Hosted by Faith+Finance
To help the people in our pews deal with the very real challenges, impacts, and opportunities of their money, we have to find a way to have difficult conversations about finance. Preaching about money is a good start. Listen in on this panel discussion to discover how you might approach these conversations in your own church.
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Preaching on money and finances: the Church's role in shaping our economy (A Guest Post)
Money shapes all of life. We—and our congregants—need to think about how we spend our money, how we invest our money, and how we relate to our money. As uncomfortable as these topics are for preachers, I believe we need to be willing to put our personal anxieties aside and walk into the deep waters where our parishioners live to launch some hard conversations. Our people desperately need that from us, and the Church must become a place where these necessary conversations can find a home.
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“If Anyone Has Ears to Hear, Listen (to the Gospel)”
As preachers, how do we tell when we’re crossing over from gaining essential knowledge for preaching into the world’s sorrow to too much information? How do we help our listeners discern the same? Ask these three questions.
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"Resilience": A Panel Discussion for Preachers
I spoke with three preachers about how they’re maintaining hope on this roller coaster of personal and collective tragedy and joy we’re on. As preachers, how do we handle our own feelings so we can call our congregations to hope in their moments of despair?
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