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I was scared when God called us to start a nonprofit ministry of soul care for pastors and leaders. One day I was hiking and praying about this and I heard a voice in my thoughts, “There are people who want to help you if you’ll let them.” I knew it was the Lord: it…
Without a friend who feels our hurt, stress, and longings with us our souls shrivel up and die. Giving and receiving empathy are key to life in Christ.
It’s only 12 words, but it’s a powerful prayer. It can activate your emotional intelligence so you’re more loving and more effective in your work. The first century followers of Jesus prayed these words everyday in connection with Jesus’ model prayer and the results were amazing. I want to show you a simple yet life…
Sadly, we’ve all seen Christian leaders fail because they lacked emotional wholeness. Our godly intentions can be overrun by our personal shortcomings. Angry reactions, lustful impulses, conflict avoidance, emotional distance, prideful self-reliance, power plays, or the inability to work well with other people sabotage godly purposes and lead to failure. Usually when leaders fail or…
Emotions get a bad rap in many circles today. They’re vulnerable and get broken. They’re messy and don’t look right. We prefer thinking, analysis, and three steps to a better life. “Believe and do what’s right,” is the typical message for how to grow spiritually. “Emotions are the caboose. They can’t be trusted.” Yes, some…
Waves of trauma have battered us in recent weeks. Just as we stand back up we get knocked down again. Without help your soul could drown. Covid-19, quarantine, divisive politics, racist killings, a white policeman murdering African American George Floyd, violent riots. There are so many emotions we might have. Shock. Outrage. Chaos. Fear. Guilt…
To become like Jesus we need to befriend his emotions. It’s important to appreciate that Jesus is a feeler who experiences and expresses deep and vivid emotions about many things in life. Jesus is a feeler? You may disagree with us. Most Christian leaders today seem to. Early in my life and ministry, I discounted…
Years ago I battled depression. This was more than discouraged feelings—it was a dark depression that hung on me for many weeks. The worst time was early in college. I was a Pre-Med major and realized I hated biology and chemistry. My studies bored me and put me to sleep. I really knew I was…
“Pastoring these days feels like throwing with my left hand,” a pastor told me. “I’m a righty. I know how to do church in person, but I’ve had to do it online.” Another pastor chimed in, “After eight weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, deciding when to reopen church is an even bigger challenge.” All the…
“I’m too tired to read my Bible and pray,” a pastor shared with me, “but I need the Spirit’s anointing to preach this weekend.” In the eight weeks since the Covid-19 virus closed churches around the world, he’s had just three days off. He’s been overworking to lead his church into new media ministries and…