Pastors

Curiosity is the antidote to complacency and the catalyst for personal growth, self-improvement, and discovery.

Here are two ways the Lord is teaching me to deal with the stresses my life brings, big or small.

Beware that you don't fall into the trap of becoming one of the controlling pastors out there. Transposing from advocacy to autocracy will degrade your platform from a bully pulpit to the platform of a pulpit bully.

"All will be well. All will be well. All manner of things will be well." Whenever I read this saying from Julian of Norwich, it puts my heart at peace. I know both theologically and from personal experience, how true these words are.

"Quicker, faster, hurry and now." These are words we are all too familiar with as we attempt to keep up with all our responsibilities as leaders.

Jesus was saying in Matthew 6:7 that we must not regard prayer as some kind of magical incantation, for that is how pagans pray. They recite certain phrases over and over again, with no understanding of what the words mean.

But the further I go into the echo chambers of my own belief systems, the less I like what I find. Even when I agree with the content, the attitudes feel dangerous – and not in a good way.

You cannot develop yourself spiritually to the degree God intends apart from others. This is why finding a community—and committing to it—is one of the most important spiritual steps you can take.