You shall be called… the restorer of paths to live in. – Isaiah 58:12
In 1955, psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham devised a technique called the Johari Window. It’s purpose is to help people better understand themselves and their relationship with others. It has been tweaked a lot over the years by Psychologists and Life Coaches, but the principles are still the same. The diagram helps explain the model.
From the Board Rooms of New York advertising agencies to school locker rooms, it is clear that we are all searching for true and lasting love. Billions of dollars, yen, sterling and other currencies trade hands every year in hopes that a product or service will somehow be the key to this elusive and priceless heart-cry.
In the process of this search, we have all been sold a bill of goods. The actors who portray perfect couples on television and movies, are often some of the worst at achieving lasting love. All too often, their home lives are a train wreck, plagued with unfaithfulness, abuse, divorce and brokenness. Their children often grow up confused and unloved – repeating the same mistakes in another generation.
I have been astonished and saddened by the level of unadulterated vitriol and hate that is being spewed group against group in our country. As I have watched the decline of civil society over the past several decades, I have been increasingly concerned about a coming civil war.
No, I’m not referring to another North against South, nor do I believe it will necessarily end up as a conventional conflict. I am more concerned with clashes between races, religious groups and political ideologies. I am concerned that warfare might be gang and gorilla style, with riots, murders, rapes, theft and the like. More than physical bombs, I have been concerned about the destruction of personal economies, freedom of speech and the inviolability of our personal thoughts and moral convictions.
I’ve been thinking a great deal lately about the “debates” going in our world. Unfortunately, it increasingly appears less about enlightened and reasoned conversations that make us all better, and more about personal pride and unyielding rants. While there should be encouragement from leadership to keep the discussion civil, it seems that more-often-than-not, leaders appear to be fueling the rage. I believe some do this for personal advantage while others are simply too immature to play well with others.
Continue reading “10 Ways to Express Yourself Without Being a Jerk”
1. Be a Hypocrite
This classic approach is one of the best ways to make sure that your non-Christian friends never take you serious about Jesus. It also provides them with an excellent example they can use when they advance the argument that all Christians are Hypocrites.
Continue reading “10 Surefire Ways to Destroy Your Christian Witness”
With churches springing up in nearly every old shopping center and High School, it would appear that the Church is alive and well and growing like never before. The truth is, looks are deceiving.
Indicators that reveal the true healthiness of the Church and its members are at record lows. Take a look at Christian divorce rates, church attendance, immorality, greed, discipleship, worldliness and spiritual complacency just to name a few. It doesn’t take a statistician to see that we have a lot of work to do.
Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) is probably best known as the Mother of John the great Preacher and Charles, the great Songwriter. She is one of the most powerful women in history. Though she never preached an official sermon, she is known as the Mother of Methodism.
Her daily routine would wear out many of the strongest among us. Her tenacity and discipline were the foundational building blocks of what would eventually become one of the largest church movements in history.
Continue reading “Inspiring Facts about the Mother of the Methodists”
At some time or another, we have probably all had the feeling that we are going nowhere fast. As we get older and/or have health problems, we may even begin to feel that we are going to leave this world without ever having truly released the music that is inside of us.
Through my studies of great men and women, I have come to believe that everyone feels at least a little disappointed with their life at one time or another. I remember hearing the great Bible teacher Chuck Swindoll once say that no one has ever been truly used by God without first being processed deeply. Swindoll has also written, “…no one deserves the right to lead without first persevering through pain and heartache and failure…”
Continue reading “10 People that Illustrate why small is Big”