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...
My Precious: Lies or Truth? Power or Integrity?
While attending university the first time, I worked as a customer service representative for one of the country’s best-known package delivery services. My duties included not only working with the public, but with fellow employees who loaded our center’s delivery trucks for the day’s deliveries. Even before dawn, it was a lively workplace. Several of my co-workers (all friends) were members of a well-known cult. They were unapologetic and gracious in their attempts to convert...
Pastor or Leader? – Part II
In our previous article, we began answering the question, “Pastor or Leader?” Should the role of the person who directs a local church be that of a pastor or a leader? Is this person's function best defined by leadership or pastoral principles? We pointed out that this choice of “either-or” is a bit too limiting. There are at least four perspectives on the question at hand. In our previous article we presented the first two of...
Pastor or Leader – Part I
A frequent conversation in the study and practice of pastoral ministry is "Leader or Pastor?" Should the role of the person who directs a local church be that of a leader or a pastor? Is this person's function best defined by leadership or pastoral principles? This article is the first in a two-part series that looks to help pastors answer the question of "Pastor or Leader?" Or is it possible that this either-or choice is...
Timeless Truths for 21st Century Ministers – Part III
The third and final installment in our three-part look at Timeless Truths for 21st Century Ministers. I often tell young ministers that all ministers take their share of 'hits" in ministry: from being disappointed by others to being fired; from not being taken care of by a church board to being abused by a church; from non-responsive church members to church splits. I tell them that by the time they are a "grey hair," IF they have survived in ministry (most...
Timeless Truths for 21st Century Ministers – Part II
This article is the second of a three-part series on essential truths for 21st Century ministers. You can read the first installment here. World events, church issues and the ministry itself tempt the minister to focus first on the ever urgent and always must-be-done now list. For others, attention and energy are spent one breath at a time in payment to the numbing grind of the mundane. Like a pair of scissors, the urgent and the mundane...
Timeless Truths for 21st Century Ministers – Part I
When I entered full-time ministry forty years ago, I wasn’t naïve. But I was idealistic. In our twenties, most ministers are. I believed in the goodness and sovereignty of God, the truth and promises of His Word, the salvation and power of the Gospel, the beauty of the church, the privilege of serving in ministry. I believed in all these things. I believed in them then and I believe in them today even more than...© [2015] — Journey Pastoral Coaching