(Each Thursday during May/June, I am posting especially for those people who are ministers. I suspect, however, if you are a regular reader of this blog, that you will find something here that interests you as well.)
You might enjoy an article that I wrote entitled, “Moving Beyond Self-Consciousness.” You can find it at MentorNetwork.org. The post deals with a struggle that I had regarding my own self-consciousness as a minister. Perhaps you will find this helpful.
Do you take advantage of Twitter? You may wonder, “How could this possibly help me?” I am active on Twitter and find it very useful because people who I “follow” will post short messages which include links to books or articles they are reading. I really don’t spend very much time with this and yet it is so useful. In fact, it is very easy to post three or four “tweets” within minutes. This is a very good way to keep up with people who interest me such as Len Sweet, Scot McKnight, Ed Stetzer, Michael Hyatt, etc. I am also able to keep up with friends such as Jimmy Adcox, Grady King, Rick Atchley, John Dobbs, Tim Spivey, Josh Patrick, Josh Graves, and many others.
Just got back from the Pepperdine Lectures. Excellent! You can get recordings (DVD’s, CD’s, MP3′s) here. On of the best messages that I heard was Scot McKnight’s Wednesday, 8:30am presentation regarding “What is the Gospel?” You can order an MP3 of the presentation here. (10-108 “The Blue Parakeet) This is an outstanding presentation that really made me think!
In two weeks, I will be a presenter at the annual Sermon Seminar at Austin Graduate School of Theology. My subject is “Preaching from 2 Corinthians.” These presentations will be recorded. I also hope to make my notes available to readers of this blog. (By the way, it really is humbling to make a presentation like this before other ministers. Yet, I have really enjoyed the discipline of preparing for this event.)
I am doing a lot of thinking right now regarding ministry as “calling” seen next to ministry as “career.” At some point, I will reflect on this in a blog post. The people I know who are finishing strong are those who have a sense of call. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
William S. Banowsky has written a fine book, The Malibu Miracle, which tells the story of Pepperdine University and it’s move to Malibu. Banowsky, a former President of Pepperdine tells the story of being a college president during some turbulent years. I had the opportunity to read an early draft of this book and found it very difficult to put down.
Lynn Anderson’s book Talking Back to God (Speaking Your Heart to God Through the Psalms) has just been released. This book is about how the Psalms can shape a person’s prayer life. Lynn writes with much authenticity about this as the Psalms have really shaped his own prayer life. Those whom he has mentored and encouraged for years (such as myself) have been blessed by his work with the Psalms.
The mentoring group that I facilitate met a few days ago. I am so impressed with these people. Bright. Energetic. God-centered. I learn so much from being with them each month. There is something to be gained by meeting regularly with a group of people who are serious about their own growth and development.
