Joyfully Unofficial Elders
By Michael Sullivant Some years back my wife, Terri, and I entered what I like to call our “fourth quarter of life”. In both football and basketball, the fourth quarter is often the decisive quarter for a team’s success. For us, this means being deeply engaged in spreading the love and joys of being Christ-followers […]
Elder Leadership: Priorities for Thriving Communities
By Barbara Moon Elders look after their community. Elders are in the stage of life where strength is lessening while responsibility is increasing. Communities usually contain different age groups and can be of different sizes. It’s a good thing that elders have had lots of practice throughout all the other stages of maturity. Communities can […]
Part 2: What Gen Z Needs from Elders
By Hannah Ploegstra Gen Z is a delightful generation whose collective history has set them up to be hungry for input from elders. They were babies and toddlers when 9/11 happened, formed their group identities with the help of social media and iPhones, and when it was finally time to head out into the world […]
“I have called you friends” – Mutually Satisfying Relationships and Adult Maturity
By Joca & Joel Prudhomme Jesus calls us His friends. This is an incredible thought, not just Him a friend to me but me a friend to Him also, sharing His heart, His joys, and His sorrows and working together with Him to achieve our Father’s purposes. He wants me to have this kind of […]
Is Your Community Doing Discipleship? Pt . 2
In last week’s blog we talked about how community relates to discipleship. This week I want to look more closely at exactly how Jessie Cruickshank explains the process of growth-oriented discipleship in her book Ordinary Discipleship. Jessie uses the process of the hero’s journey as an outline for discipleship. The hero’s journey is a 7-step […]
Is Your Community Doing Discipleship? Pt. 1
Community is such a buzz word right now. Community centers, community groups, online community, gym community, and even Starbucks is advertising the sense of community between their baristas and customers. There is a significant push to take our daily tasks and orient them around the word or feeling of “community”. The question is, if we […]
Hosting Your Best Self
Several years ago in college, I had the privilege of reading Dallas Willard’s Spirit of the Disciplines. That book, among other of his works, impacted me deeply. One of Willard’s explanations that caught me was his view on the spiritual quality of hospitality. The spiritual gift of hospitality is commonly described as hosting someone in your […]
Finding Identity and Transformation by Seeking Things Above
(Part 9 of 10 from the article, “Through the Eyes of Heaven: Does ‘Talking It Through to Find Peace’ bring Shalom?”) By Jim Wilder and Ed Khouri Followers of Jesus are in the process of being transformed into the image of Jesus. We are born into an entirely new identity from the moment we receive […]
Grace as a Foundation for Peace in Your Small Group
(Part 8 of 10 from the article, “Through the Eyes of Heaven: Does ‘Talking It Through to Find Peace’ bring Shalom?”) By Jim Wilder and Ed Khouri The word grace was around for hundreds of years before Paul used it in his epistles. Grace is a relational term that implies an ongoing, mutual connection between […]
Shortcomings of Enveloping Our Identities in Sticky Sin to Build Spiritual Community
(Part 5 of 10 from the article, “Through the Eyes of Heaven: Does ‘Talking It Through to Find Peace’ bring Shalom?”) By Jim Wilder and Ed Khouri Our perception of reality is skewed by all the wounds and hurts we experience — whether they result from our sin or someone else’s. Throughout every life, Satan […]
Living Books While Living From the Heart Jesus Gave
By Chris Caputo My wife, Rebecca Caputo, recently received a text from her dear friend, Pam. Pam was overflowing with joy while getting on a plane flying from Michigan back to Kansas City. She was returning from the “Awaken: A Living Books Conference” event designed for home educators and living books libraries. She was especially motivated […]