I have a very simple proposition: rejoicing and weeping, great joy and great sorrow, leave us in places of great temptation to idolatry.
Closing Thoughts
Depression does not define you. You are a person, not a condition. You are more than your darkest feelings, your worst mistake, or your lowest moment. There is good news. You matter. You are loved.
Blue Skies, No Rainbows (Part 2)
A conversation alone will not solve every issue; it merely preserves the relationship so we can work out everything else.
Healthy Responses for Church Leaders: What “Getting Turned Around” in Atlanta Taught Me about Church Leadership
Focus on direction can be difficult for leaders because we so often get swept up into the tyranny of the urgent.
Uninvited Guests in Worship
If Jesus calls the church to be its own culture and society, why is it that some people feel unwelcomed by the church when the church is in fact its own way of life?
Depression and Addiction
People battling depression often turn to a wide array of coping mechanisms, many of which are addictive and ultimately destructive.
Children and Heirs of God (Galatians 4:4-7)
God adopted us because our reception as sinners into a familial relationship with God, by the work of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, well—all of this is God’s gift, God’s work, God’s initiative.
Holy Ordinary
I am convinced that our spiritual lives aren’t defined by the mountaintop experiences but, instead, by the ways in which we utilize and redeem the wholly ordinary moments of our daily lives.
Shell-Shocked Preacher
If you are wounded and shell-shocked, I want to encourage you to find some healing. Do something that is life-giving, and please listen for the prompting and the timing of the Spirit.
Nuremberg Funnel: Reenvisioning the Work of Leadership
A look at three metaphors that help teachers re-envision the work of education: pilgrimage (journey), gardening, and building.
Depression and Doubt
While I never stopped believing in God during my struggle with depression; I questioned God’s involvement in my life deeply. Was God there? Did God care? Why was God so unresponsive?
The Crossroads of Art and Faith: A Contemporary Christian Conversation
Dan McGregor discusses the value of art to faith in an image-based culture, highlighting how art has the potential of conveying the divine in a way that words alone cannot.
Shocking Judgment
When you are a preacher or teacher, every experience becomes a raw material for teaching. I hope the implications of this analogy are obvious and you might come up with your own in your messages.
The Best Offense: Defending Orphans for the Sake of the Kingdom
Psalm 10:12-18 lays out God’s plan for defeating evil, and it’s pretty simple: “defending the fatherless [orphan] and the oppressed” (10:18).
The War on Advent
Advent is a reminder that we still wait for the Messiah. As a people who live in the “now and not yet” of the kingdom of God, we await the return of Christ.
Engaging Depression
People battling depression need loving words, emotional support, encouragement, and presence. While medicine and counseling are often vital in winning the battle against depression.
Pick a Side
It is in these times when it is most imperative that I remember my true calling as a Christian – to love each and every person as Jesus does.
A Lesson to Learn Before the Next Election
When the next election comes, it may be bitter and divisive. The candidates and their policies will not reflect Jesus. That is how the world works. Remind your people it will be okay. Set the example.
Holiday Sufferers
We would prefer is a simple greeting, a heartfelt smile, and freedom from having to relate a “spun” or flat out untruthful rendition of what we got for Christmas or what wonderful family gathering we had.
Treating Depression
Is there a cure for this pain? Is there a way out of this darkness? Is there light that will break through these clouds? Is there hope for a better future? Yes.