Neighborhood Joy Starters Part 2
Our neighbor’s new boyfriend moved in quietly. Let’s call him, “Brian.” Brian works in construction, and so his schedule and mine are a bit different. I didn’t get a chance to meet him for awhile. Then I finally made his acquaintance. In my prior blog, I didn’t mention that our neighbor has tattoos from neck […]
Neighborhood Joy Starters
One of the foundations of Life Model Works is for Christians to be joy starters. This is a great opportunity to “love your neighbor,” beginning with your closest neighbors, those you live with. Being glad to be with each other is an opportunity for families to act on every day. Then, as you expand out, […]
One Pastor’s Perspective about Starting Joy in Your Neighborhood This Halloween
First, let’s get this one out of the way for parents. Parents, if you grew up in the United States and so did your parents, maybe even your grandparents, then if you celebrate Halloween as the American traditional holiday it was when you or your parents or your grandparents were kids, you’ve got it […]
Changing Our Low-Joy Nation
How is your joy level lately? Your gladness quotient? High? How is your shalom going? Everything alright or going to be alright in your world? Are you in synch with God and others? Well then, stay away from media, social media, and conversations with people around you. At least for the next few weeks. We […]
The Apostle Paul Knew Brain Science?!
As we learn how the brain processes information, it is interesting to see the connections between what the Bible teaches and the reality of the latest brain research. You will recall, we have what is called the “fast track” on the right side of our brain which deals with things like emotions, attitudes, behavior and […]
Living Out Our Spiritual Devotion with Fast-Tracked Brain Processes
Since reading about the fast track brain processes in Rare Leadership, I gained some new insight into the way Christians can vary in how they live out their spiritual devotion. First some basics, then one example. When we think of our brains, we can generalize and speak of two parts, the right brain and left brain. […]
3 Key Guidelines on Hearing from God
Prayer is a conversation between me and God and how things are going in our work together. This is the way Dallas Willard spoke of prayer and it has informed my thinking on the whole topic of “Hearing God.” In fact, “Hearing God” is the newer title of his classic book, originally titled “In Search […]
Getting People onto Peace Island
After spending a fantastic week in Kansas City with joy starters from around the country, it was time to go home. As Jim W. taught us, back to LA, my “dirt.” My friend, Mike, and I are ready to board the plane when I received a text from my wife. A husband and father of […]
Our Capacity for Joy Increases with Age
Let me get this out of the way immediately. This blog post is for those who are older. But if you are younger…it’s a clarion call to a future filled with joy. OK, let’s start with an important fact… We are all going to die. This is going to be joyful? That’s right, no matter what […]
Sociopaths in the Church
“What this church needs is a good sociopath.” No call committee would ever mouth these words. No nominating committee would ever think of using this as a criteria for choosing an elder. Yet, pastors and other church leaders are not immune to sociopathic tendencies, and may, indeed, be prone to some of them. What is […]
Not Another Church Conference?
Hurray! Another conference where I am going to learn to be a great pastor just like all those other great pastors who also went to those conferences and now some of them are leading the conferences… Help! Get me off the conference carousel! Conferenced Out Pastors and other church leaders, does that sound about right? […]
Not Another Church Conference?
Hurray! Another conference where I am going to learn to be a great pastor just like all those other great pastors who also went to those conferences and now some of them are leading the conferences— Help! Get me off the conference carousel! Pastors and other church leaders, does that sound about right? Having been […]
Stressing About Commercialism (The Antidote)
It’s the 50th Anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas. So, now you know we’ve been worrying about the commercialism of Christmas for at least half a century. Except, we know in American history there have always been issues with celebrating Christmas and the less than faith-based aspects of this. The solution is easy. Don’t worry about it. […]
Can We Make Progress on Racial Issues in America?
We have a problem with racism in America today…but it is not what you think. I am not talking about acts of hatred and bigotry, which certainly exist, but in this case, I am talking about language. If we actually want people to change their behavior then we have a tremendous challenge ahead. We are […]
This Attitude Tweak Will Completely Rearrange How You See the World
Have you ever heard of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon? Well, maybe you don’t know this specific label, but you do experience it. Here is an explanation: “This phenomenon occurs when the thing you’ve just noticed, experienced or been told about suddenly crops up constantly. It gives you the feeling that out of nowhere, pretty much everyone […]
The Centrality of Joy: Jesus and Pixar’s Inside Out
Imagine my surprise when I found out Jim Wilder, founder of Life Model Works, and co-author of their book, Joy Starts Here, is also a major Hollywood screenwriter. Well, not really, but it sure seemed like that he had something to do with the script of the recent Pixar blockbuster, Inside Out. Let me explain. […]