By: Chris Pollock on April 21, 2021
The world could be a better place to be. We have heard the cries of people passing through this place of time, journeying between the gardens, desperate for consolation. Some are gifted to endear their lives to pursuing it while so many others are consumed, wandering in dark places or numb, empty spaces within empty…
By: Darcy Hansen on April 20, 2021
Death is an inevitable reality. It comes to individuals, ecosystems, and entire civilizations, as all things have a beginning and end. Sometimes death comes quickly; other times it comes slowly. Our current cultural reality finds us in an extended season of death. We are situated in a global pandemic that has disrupted political, economic, social,…
By: Greg Reich on April 20, 2021
Every church needs an EGR family. A family where extra grace is required. When I was a young unpaid pastor, I had one in my church. Gene and Rita were odd; they were kind and gentle, but awkward. They had custody of their grandchild who were young terrors in the church, constantly in trouble, bullying…
By: Greg Reich on April 20, 2021
Leadership is influence. Real long lasting influence takes time, it’s a plant of slow growth. It often comes through pain and discomforts as we walk through life serving others. Here is the link to my leadership presentation. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1z9aMNOgtKwha3V4jI4l7nSVlBJY7gYyO/edit#slide=id.p1
By: Jer Swigart on April 19, 2021
Simon Walker, in his Undefended Leader Trilogy, argues that being an undefended leader is about leading out of the freedom of having nothing to lose. Ed Friedman, in A Failure of Nerve, defines the well-differentiated leader as the one who is so clear on her sense of self and goals as well as on her…
By: Dylan Branson on April 19, 2021
Within Christian theology, the concept of kenosis refers to Jesus’s self-emptying of His divine nature and His own will to be fully receptive to the will of God. It is a choice; it is not that His nature or will was forcibly stripped away, but rather He willingly gave of Himself so that the will…
By: John McLarty on April 19, 2021
I am what you might call a recovering “controlaholic.” I have spent my career in ministry either in church planting or “strategic turnaround” settings (churches with high potential that have either underperformed or have become stuck.) These assignments have been exciting for me personally, as I like to diagnose problems, explore solutions, and work toward…
By: Shawn Cramer on April 19, 2021
Here it is y’all.
By: Shawn Cramer on April 19, 2021
As I interact with ministries and faith leaders, I often hear the word “stuck” or a synonym. As these leaders tease out their discontent for the status quo and dream aloud a bit about their hopes for the future, they inevitably express a desire for something “new” or “fresh.” In his leadership reflections, Simon Walker…
By: Chris Pollock on April 16, 2021
A leader who has surrendered their dependence to God is one who is released (untethered), lives undefended and free. Affliction can change and break this enlightened orientation. God, help those who love You and have set their hearts on You. Of this kind of leadership, that is one that has ‘let-go’ and fallen for higher…
By: John McLarty on April 13, 2021
The eighth and final strategy of leadership Simon Walker examines in “The Undefended Leader” is called “Self-Emptying.” He lifts up Jesus Christ as the model example of this style. A self-emptying strategy is back stage and attentive, one in which a person is willing to give up power as a deliberate act, trusting that the…
By: Greg Reich on April 12, 2021
Simon Walker, in his section on the self-emptying strategy, explores power in weakness. For many people in history, Jesus – from a social perspective – was a victim of injustice by the false charges of envious leaders. Christianity would argue that Christ’s death was no accident, it was done willingly. Jesus would show his followers…
By: Jer Swigart on April 12, 2021
In Luke 3:1-3, we learn of a time when the word of God came to a nobody…a locust-eating, camel-hair-wearing hermit in the middle of nowhere. The word was “Repent.” But repent from what? …from idolatrous religion that centered performance and piety over love? …from ethnocentrism that elevated some at the expense of others? And why…
By: Darcy Hansen on April 12, 2021
There she sat on a bar stool next to a small café table lights bright room quiet except for her breath shared through words I don’t remember what she preached The passage slips my mind But the room was full The eyes of the women in attendance were fixed Mesmerized I think…
By: Dylan Branson on April 12, 2021
https://prezi.com/p/w17ikpimplq-/?present=1
By: Jer Swigart on April 12, 2021
Check it out HERE.
By: John McLarty on April 12, 2021
Here’s my Prezi
By: Dylan Branson on April 11, 2021
At the end of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers gives up his role as Captain America and officially goes into retirement. In a symbolic passing of the torch, he gives Sam Wilson – Falcon – his trademark shield. Since his creation as Captain America, Steve Rogers has served as the symbol of American values within…
By: Shawn Cramer on April 11, 2021
I had walked by, in, and through nearly every building on campus, but finally one day I noticed a carved pineapple built into the architecture of one of the buildings. After inquiries, I finally found out its meaning. “That’s the international symbol for hospitality,” one student told me with a smile. Hospitality… now there’s a…
By: Chris Pollock on April 11, 2021
The leader carries a lot of responsibility. Most of the time, more than enough for just one person. Simon Walker refers to different kinds of leadership, based on personality, and their various approaches to public involvement and behind-the-scenes integrity. He writes that the ‘good leader is in command of the overall theatre of his organization,…
