There are two kinds of core values. Aspirational core values are the ones you wish you had, those idealized qualities you hope to develop one day. Authentic core values are the ones that you really have, the ones that already drive your decisions. (More on the distinction here.) Aspirational core values are inspiring. But […]
How to Use Your Core Values
Whether we’re talking about the corporate world or your personal life, lists of core values all suffer from the same weakness. They’re just words on a page. You may spend hours reflecting and carefully crafting your core values statement. But what happens once the words are chosen and sentences crafted? Do the words get stuck […]
How To Identify Your Real Core Values
You are who you are. If there’s a better you out there to become, it’s going to be found by traveling from where you are now to where you could be. That means knowing who you are now matters. This is the purpose of identifying your authentic core values. (Authentic core values? Yep. There are […]
Are Your Core Values Real or Aspirational?
You live according to your core values. I’m not saying you should live by your core values or that you need to dream up a list of core values to live by. I’m telling you one of the most painful truths about life: You already live according to your core values. Already. Every day. Show […]
Why The Church Has To Stop Saying Sexual Sin Is The Most Important Thing.
Somewhere back in time someone decided that sexual sin is the worst kind of sin. In many churches sexual sin is the line over which you may not cross. Sex before marriage is the worst thing a Christian teenager can do. Sleeping around is the worst thing a Christian woman can do. Looking at pornography […]
I Quit the Culture War
(I wrote this in 2012, but the situation has only gotten worse. I feel even more strongly than I did then.) It’s an election year, apparently. I’ve noticed the sprouting yard signs and the increasing emotional urgency in political conversations. The internets buzz with people making their case and stomping their virtual feet. As a […]
Want to Be Heard? Get a Platform.
The backyard was loud with the crazy near-chaos of my 6-year-old daughter’s birthday party. Children running and chasing. Balls flying. Little voices chattering, laughing, bossing. A crowd bouncing on the trampoline. Jackson, the 8-month old puppy was adding his own exuberance to the noise, while the adults were chatting and laughing on the patio. It […]
Myth #5: Ignore Your Emotions and They Will Just Go Away
And now onto the last myth in this series: Myth #5. Ignore your emotions and they will just go away. This is the myth that does the most damage. The body count is enormous—marriages ended, relationships broken, churches split and destroyed—all because people with influence were unwilling to stop and look at the uncomfortable emotions […]
Myth #4: Emotional Christians are Shallow.
Here’s Part 4. Try something for me. Wherever you are right now—at your computer, or iPad or iPhone—look away from the screen. If there’s a mirror there, all the better. Take stock of how you feel, and then when you’re ready say this sentence: “You seem really reasonable today.” Now, take stock of how you […]
Myth #3: Emotions Aren’t Spiritual
Now, onto Myth #3: Emotions Aren’t Spiritual. There is one particular story in the life of Jesus that was really uncomfortable for the little church I grew up in. It’s found in every one of the Gospels, so it wasn’t possible to ignore. Something about the story was powerful and important, but something else was a […]
If you feel like God, You will do justice.
I attended The Justice Conference in Portland in 2012. This is part 2 of my reflections. You can catch up on part 1 (Love, Justice & the Problem of Indifferent Christians) here. Part 2: If You Feel Like God, You Will Do Justice. As I sat through speaker after speaker at the conference, one question kept surfacing for […]
Love, Justice & the Problem of Indifferent Christians.
Part 1: Digesting the Justice Conference In 2012 I attended the Justice Conference, here in Portland. It was amazing. Like conferences often are, it was a fire hose of information. When I left the conference late Saturday night, I was over-full. I wanted to reflect, to not open my mouth for weeks. The friend I […]
Get a great speaker
If you’re planning an event, I know what you’re going through. I’ve been in your shoes planning camps, retreats and conferences, and I know that the speaker you choose makes all the difference. You want your people to experience something powerful and impacting. My speaking page offers you everything you need to know about how […]