Ministry in Motion

For Jesus there are no countries to be conquered, no politics to be placed, no people to be dominated. There are only people to be loved.   His politics are exemplified in the Gospels, specifically in the Sermon on the Mount — his radical teachings were and are about loving … I think that Christ's coming didn’t just inaugurate an earthly kingdom merely to save people, but also to offer a stark contrast and stunning example of how to love. Saint  Teresa of Avila  considered perfect love to be: "an imitation of the love of Christ" . Jesus’ government is a real, nothing like the governments of the ages, it’s a ministry of peace and good will. _  _  _  _  _  _  _ Humankind faces great challenges today, including economic woes, weird politics, technology overload, shaky marriages, stress, and health problems. But the fundamental issue Christians face, according to one popular professor of biblical & theological studies is, “…the poverty of love"

I am connected to you, and you to me, in a way that’s bigger and more intrinsic than our our similarities or our differences. How? We won’t know the answer to this question until we share our stories. Intuitive Listening. Listening well, in either storytelling or in really tough conversations, can be difficult. The overwhelming impulse when listening is to react and to speak. Just listening – that's much more difficult. “…Half-eared listening, says Bonhoeffer, despises the brother and is only waiting for a chance to speak and thus get rid of the other person…”   What is intentional listening? Maybe an overly simple definition is a good listener starts by getting out of their own head and away from personal perceptions, biases, and ideas.  Next a good listener focuses completely on the speaker,   noticing the words, phrasing, and body language. Intentional listeners also note emotions, energy, and depth of thinking.    As I listen with purpose, getting m

Where do you belong and to whom do you belong to? A sense of belonging is something that many people crave, especially in a world where the feeling of disconnection from others is seemingly on the increase and more commonplace. Swipe Right. For all our great advances in technology, modern Americans are more disconnected than ever before. Despite constant, always-on connectivity, we appear to be lonelier than any other human group in history. I’m not sure all is well with us - there’s a growing tendency of self focus and to forget others. Long to belong. Belonging is our primary human need. Whatever else it means to be human, we know beyond doubt that it means to be  relational . Beyond food and shelter, nothing promotes human flourishing like an authentic association to a group of people and having a place of belonging. Where did this come from? But you belong to God, my dear children.  You have already won a victory over those people,  because the Spirit who lives in

Have you ever wondered if your faith is authentic. If so, take a look at your life. Are you doing good for others? ALL the major religions place great importance on compassion. Whether it’s the parable of the good Samaritan in Christianity, Judaism’s “13 attributes of compassion” or the Buddha’s statement that “loving kindness and compassion is all of our practice,” empathy with others in need is seen as a special virtue that has the power to change the world. Research at the University of Chicago, showed that even rats are driven to empathize with another suffering rat and to go out of their way to help it out of its quandary. Studies with chimpanzees and human infants too young to have learned the rules of politeness, also back up these claims. The data continues with studies at Harvard University showing that adults’ and children’s first impulse is to help others. It is not surprising that compassion is a natural tendency - it’s essential for human survival. If yo