DLGP

Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives: Crafting Ministry in an Interconnected World

Is the Nordic model any better?

By: on October 21, 2024

I am not an economist and this week’s readings were some of the hardest for me so far.  However, as Simone Weil said “students who love God should never say: ‘For my part I like mathematics’; ‘I like French’; ‘I like Greek.’ They should learn to like all these subjects, because all of them develop…

12 responses

Micah 6:8 – Played Backwards

By: on October 21, 2024

Last week a friend invited me to her house to watch a simulcast hosted by Whitworth University with David French, a New York Times columnist.[1] The conversation intended to “help the campus and local community engage in critical thinking and civil discourse in anticipation of the 2024 elections.”[2] I enjoy David French, with his unique…

5 responses

The Next Big Thing

By: on October 21, 2024

Several years ago, while living and pastoring in Oregon (which I still do), I was invited to speak at a leadership conference hosted at a large church in Washington State. O.K. Now, let me tell you the expanded and more truthful version of that last sentence because I just glossed over the truth to make…

7 responses

Situational Awareness

By: on October 21, 2024

In the book Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, And Trust by Edgar and Peter Schein the authors repeatedly return to a particular concept: Situational Humility. When I first saw this term, it threw me. It reminded me of the phrase situational ethics, which “takes into account only the particular context of an act…

9 responses

The Post In Which I Quote Scott Dickie

By: on October 21, 2024

In the first page of their introduction of their book, Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust, Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein ask, “Would it help to think of leadership not as the “7 Steps” you must take to lead, but as the energy that is shared among members of a…

12 responses

Humble Leadership Takes Practice!

By: on October 21, 2024

Humility seems rare in our current US political environment, western culture, and sadly, at times, among our more public religious leaders. Maybe humble leaders don’t make the news, but they exist. Genuine humility is essential whether one is leading or following. Defining and practicing humility is a challenge. I wonder how false humility has become…

10 responses

A Changing Culture Warrants New Leadership Paradigms

By: on October 21, 2024

I recently asked my daughters and sons-in-law (all millennials and Gen Z’s) what they would look for in a church and a pastor. Our family message thread was immediately flooded. These were their responses: In a congregation: a small congregation where we could get involved quickly opportunities to grow and be mentored to know the…

13 responses

History Teaches

By: on October 20, 2024

“The Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730’s to the 1980’s,” by D.W. Bebbington and a chapter 2 from Dr. Jason Clark Thesis, titled “Evangelical Anxiety: From Assurance to Providence” are the assigned readings from this blogpost. For me, Bebbington’s is so comprehensive to grasp in and fully understand within the time frame.…

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Effectively Evangelistic

By: on October 18, 2024

About 15 years ago I attended a church welcome class that opened with a session designed to place that particular church within the stream of historical Christianity. The leader differentiated between Roman Catholic/Protestant, Calvinist/Wesleyan-Arminian, and conservative/liberal, this last being less about church history and more about the politics of social issues. Then, the leader shared…

12 responses

A Bubble off Plumb…Raising a Hikikomori.

By: on October 17, 2024

This book was hard to read. It was a dagger in my heart as a mom of 3 teenage boys.  What Jonathan Haidt wrote in his book The Anxious Generation was not surprising or new information for me.  I believe my husband and I have been struggling with this addiction to screen time since our…

10 responses

WWBD: What Would Billy Do?

By: on October 17, 2024

I recently met with 20 key leaders in our church, discussing our doctrinal statement and those beliefs that distinguish our church. I indicated that, most simply, we are a Christian, Evangelical, Baptist, and Congregational church.  Immediately, a hand shot up, and one of our leaders asked, “What does it mean that we’re ‘Evangelical,’ and how…

9 responses

Bebbington, Evangelicalism, and Climate Change

By: on October 17, 2024

Journeying through ministry I am mindful of some of my ministerial mentors and those who taught me polity and liturgy. One such professor was Dr. Odinga Maddox. Dr. Maddox was a respected pastor, leader, and critical thinker. During one of his lectures, he reminded this novice group of emerging leaders to form ecumenical bonds. When…

16 responses

I Can’t See the Forest for the Trees

By: on October 17, 2024

Consumerism has taken the west by storm. In 2020, Relevant Magazine published that “Nearly half the world’s toys are in America. Despite making up just over 3 percent of the global population of children, American kids consume 40 percent of the world’s toys.”[1]  Consumerist culture runs deep in the west with the temptation to shop…

9 responses

5 Hours and 6 Stitches Later

By: on October 17, 2024

About a month ago, my family, which includes my wife and two boys, ages 8 and 14, were having a barbeque with two other families from our church who also have boys. That means seven boys in all. You can imagine the noise levels, chaos, and energy when they were all together.  Ironically, my friend…

14 responses

Anxious Living!

By: on October 17, 2024

Anxiety I had a conversation this week with a client that shared that they suffer from anxiety. They shared it in a conversation that the topic was not their mental health but as an explanation of how they responded or didn’t respond in a situation. The interesting thing about this situation is that I did…

8 responses

What’s in a name?

By: on October 17, 2024

Titles. Labels. Boxes. These categories help us organize thoughts, ideas, things, and even people. “Evangelical” is a name by which one can classify a type of Christianity. I have always considered myself an evangelical, but I have rarely used that word to label myself—that is, until I moved to France to study French. I enjoyed…

14 responses

Evangelical activism and the neglect of meaningful relationships?

By: on October 17, 2024

Evangelicalism has experienced many changes since its emergence in the 1730s, making it often hard to define.[1] D.W. Bebbington’s Evangelism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s outlines the basis of Evangelicalism and further analyzes and explains the movement’s changes. Bebbington writes concerning Evangelicalism’s quadrilateral of priorities, “There are four qualities…

18 responses