I read John 2 recently, about the clearing of the temple. This passage is often cited for the idea of “righteous anger”—it’s okay to get angry if it’s for a good reason. I think that’s true. But take it one step further—what did Jesus get angry about? I think at the...
My wife Janet does quite a bit of coach mentoring—that’s coaching coaches on their coaching. (How’s that for a mouthful?) The basic idea is that you coaches need a coach themselves—someone to help them continue to grow in their coaching skills. She just got a great...
Here is a group study that you can use together with others to process the question, “What does it look like to live incarnationally?” Select one of the gospels. Each time your group meets, follow these steps: Read the following paragraph aloud. Read one chapter (or...
Leave it to Jesus to be forward-looking. He knew there’d be many years to come when he couldn’t be there with his followers, showing them how to do things. He taught them how to figure out how to take the next steps. He shaped their characters and prepared them to...
Jesus didn’t shy away from calling people toward commitment, but he did approach it in a surprisingly wide variety of ways. He was gracious to those who were struggling. He was unrelenting to those whose hearts were hard. With the woman at the well, he was tender and...
I’ve written about this on my blog before, but it really stood out as I read the gospels with an eye toward seeing how Jesus lived. He really focused his ministry on the least of these. I’d challenge you to take some time this week to look through the following...
Jesus not only lived among those he served, he truly interacted with them at a personal level. He treated people as individuals and engaged in conversations with them around issues that mattered to them. Here are some of the observations I made as I read the gospels...
Jesus didn’t teach from afar. He personally and relationally among the people he ministered to. Some he knew well: He cried with them, laughed with them, ate with them, traveled with them. Sometimes we forget that there were others beyond the twelve disciples who...
Jesus wasn’t just wandering around the Holy Land aimlessly. He was walking with a purpose. We too, as we seek to live incarnationally as he did, need to walk with a purpose. That doesn’t mean we’re in a hurry or that we’re not relational. Quite the contrary,...