By: Rhonda Davis on September 5, 2019
In recent years, I have had many conversations with American students who needed guidance as they navigated the minefield of vocation and calling. These conversations typically began with the student’s expression of a sense of call to “Kingdom work” or missional endeavor, but they inevitably as this question along the way: “What is a pastor,…
By: Jenn Burnett on September 5, 2019
Authenticity has long been a hallmark of my ministry. One winter Sunday morning in my first year of seminary, I rolled out of bed late. Skipped a shower. Threw on my orange mod robes and a grey (somewhat clean) T-shirt and raced to church. People were still slipping in given the icy conditions. As the…
By: Harry Edwards on September 5, 2019
I had lunch with a department head of a private Christian university a few weeks ago. This was not unlike any other lunches since I try to make it a point to stay in touch and network with former colleagues. However, in the course of our conversation, she said something that struck me as odd…
By: Karen Rouggly on September 4, 2019
Calling is truly one of life’s great mysteries. Given the current cross-cultural milieu around terms like vocation and calling, it’s important to remember that these terms have a historically theological implication. Christianity has carried out the idea that our lives count for something because God created us with intention and had direction in mind for…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on September 4, 2019
“BLAZE!” I hear my children scream in delight as we hike along the Leatherstocking Trail in Southern Westchester County. We are hiking a stretch of the trail that is new to us, so we are keeping an eye out for a blaze – the trail markers that indicate that we are on the right path…
By: Mario Hood on September 4, 2019
Recent figures value the US leadership development industry at nearly $14 billion.[1] The Church Growth Movement, a corollary movement in the arena of church culture, has also seen an explosion in influence over the past six decades.[2] While statistical measurements of monetary output and numerical growth point to signs of success within the leadership space…
By: Shermika Harvey on July 4, 2019
We live in a world where there is an increase revision of Christianity which allows people to create “their own versions of what Christianity means, abandoning the nuances of traditional theology in favor of religions that stroke their egos and indulge or even celebrate their worst impulses.”[1] However, as Christian leaders, we are commissioned to…
By: Shermika Harvey on June 25, 2019
Survival guides are written to prepare people for possible cultural dynamics of a soon to be visited country. Though guides such as “CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette” and CultureShock! Great Britain provides a practical overview for people moving to London primarily; it always gives tourists an insight into the history and customs…
By: John Muhanji on June 24, 2019
As it is written here that Gold has been a treasured by cultures all over the world since the beginning of time. When we were growing up, we remember visiting many gold mining areas in our community in Kenya. I felt connected to this book as if it was being written for me, especially in…
By: Karen Rouggly on June 23, 2019
Learning about the Gold Rush of 1848 and 1849 is a part of most California education. In 4th grade is when I learned all about California history, from the missions to the pioneers who came panning for gold. In my school, our section on the Gold rush culminated in Gold Rush Day, where our parents…
By: Wallace Kamau on June 22, 2019
Multiplication is very a powerful strategy for growth but it’s does not seem so obvious until you exercise closely. Today if I offer you $1 million or the alternative total result of starting $1 today and keep doubling the amount every next day for 30 days, which option would you take. I’m sure many would…
By: Mary Mims on June 21, 2019
The NBA draft is a crap shoot, one commentator said. NBA managers, owners, and coaches all made their selections of the new crop of rookies who left college, or in some extreme cases, high school, to take their chance on a road to riches and fame as a professional basketball player. Although there are…
By: Sean Dean on June 21, 2019
I do not like praying for answers. I find the results quite inconsistent in terms of their accuracy – or at least perceived accuracy. That is not to say that I do not pray about things, but rather than expecting a voice from heaven to direct me, I expect direction to come from the community…
By: Shermika Harvey on June 21, 2019
Last week the book entitled Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders through Coaching by Tom Camacho was introduced as a summer reading in our doctoral program, and this book is a gold mine. For an individual in any leadership or coaching capacity, this book is a must-read. Since this blog is not to provide a…
By: Jenn Burnett on June 20, 2019
I’m tired. It’s the end of the school year for me and my kids, so it is to be expected. But this year it is running deeper and pushing me to examine more closely how I got here. This past Sunday I wrapped up a sermon series on worship and this last one was specifically…
By: Digby Wilkinson on June 20, 2019
I am blessed with the negative ability to get the wrong end of an author’s metaphors. Subsequently, reviewing a book often means climbing past metaphors in order to see what they are getting at. This book was a prime example of how my dysfunctional mind operates. The introduction just about tipped me over the edge.…
By: Rhonda Davis on June 20, 2019
Tom Camacho’s book, Mining for Gold gives thoughtful insight into a framework for coaching leadership. His passion for drawing out the potential in others came through in each chapter. His positive view of people and his love for Scripture must make him a joy to work with. Camacho’s generous nature translates through his language of…
By: Mario Hood on June 20, 2019
I absolutely love reading Tom Camacho, Mining for Gold: Developing Kingdom Leaders Through Coaching. I spoke to me on many different levels, and while it was not the most prolific academic work we have read thus far, it is powerful, practical and I would even add prophetic for where leadership is going. Camacho self…
By: Harry Edwards on June 20, 2019
Reading Tom Camacho’s Mining for Gold was refreshing, encouraging and challenging all at once. Refreshing because it locates leadership within each of our strengths (ironically, this means relying on our weaknesses); encouraging because Camacho reminds us that our identity is in Christ; and challenging because it requires full reliance on the Holy Spirit for results,…
By: Andrea Lathrop on June 20, 2019
Tom Camacho’s book gives a beautiful overview of the gifts of coaching in the Kingdom of God and makes it is difficult to pick a direction to reflect upon. I would like to be coached by someone like Tom Camacho. Who wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of this? Deep Listening Asking Great…
