Where Have You Gone, Martin Niemöller? A Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes to You.
“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out,Because I was not a Communist.Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out,Because I was not a Trade Unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out,Because I was not a Jew.Then they came for me, And there was no one left to speak for me.” THE POET & THE PARTY Martin Niemöller lived in Germany...
JPC SURVEY: PASTORS REFLECT ON 2020, PROJECT INTO 2021 – PART TWO
During December, Journey asked pastors, their spouses, and ministers who work directly with pastors to reflect and project: reflect on the health and strength of the church and pastors in 2020; project the health and strength of each in 2021. We asked respondents to consider the American Evangelical church as a whole rather than their own local churches or international denominations. In today’s article, we present the results of part two of our survey in...
JPC SURVEY: PASTORS REFLECT ON 2020, PROJECT INTO 2021
INTRODUCTION During December, Journey asked pastors, their spouses, and ministers who work with pastors to reflect and project: reflect on the health and strength of the church and pastors in 2020; project the health and strength of each in 2021. We asked respondents to consider the American Evangelical church as a whole rather than their own local churches or international denominations. In today’s article, we present the results of part one of our survey in...
Journey’s Best Reads of 2020
As 2020 comes to a close, we offer this list of favorite reads for the year. As always, this is not a list of favorite books published in 2020, but books read in 2020, whatever the publishing year. If a book is on the best of list, I recommend you give it a read in 2021. In 2020, as is usually the case, I read a number of good books, a few great books, some why-the-big-deal books, and a couple...
A Christmas Wish List for Pastors
I am a pastoral coach. I have the joy of pastoring young pastors every day, all day, pastors of all kinds: lead pastors, church planters, staff pastors, missionary pastors, and even pastors-of-pastors. I love what I am called to do with my life because I love pastors and I love and greatly respect every one whose journey I am privileged to share. Many years of pastoring churches and other pastors has taught me much about...
Living & Leading In A Dark Winter
For such a time as this? Even in a dark winter? Recently, a national politician spoke of America living in a "dark winter." He promised Americans that he was born for such a time as this and is able to lead the nation in this dark time. With the seeming death of virtue in America and the continuing decline of Christian orthodoxy, two questions must be asked: WHO can lead the church at this time;...
The Death of Virtue Part II
INTRODUCTION In part one of this two-part series, The Death of Virtue, we saw that hypocrisy has become impossible in America today, meaningless. By and large, American society has ceased to be virtuous, no longer knows what virtue, and no longer cares. In the absence of virtue, a great void has filled the American soul, and with the void has come meaninglessness. Unable to see a great, overarching meaning or purpose to life in general, millions...
Value Beyond Choice: How Abortion Maims Us All
EDITOR’S NOTE: The article below is a difficult one to publish. Even painful. For it is written by my daughter, Allison Luna, and it tells the story of the most devastating experience of her life, an experience that devastated us as a family, those who love her. Allison does not tell her story to draw attention to herself, but to draw attention to a similar story of devastation that has been written tens of millions of...
OBITUARY: THE DEATH OF VIRTUE
NOTICE: Sometime in the early 21st Century, virtue was laid to rest in America. After a long and labored illness, and unable to sustain its fight for life, virtue succumbed to the cancer of evil. For decades, doctors had prescribed healthy diet and exercise, but its guardians, the American people, refused treatment, preferring instead that virtue die slowly. And painfully. No family or friends were at its bedside when it died. There will be no memorial...© [2015] — Journey Pastoral Coaching