discipleship

Willing to Fall: Leadership, Creativity, and Play

2018-01-17T22:16:11+00:00By Joel|Create, discipleship|

This may be the most important collection of things that I hear this week. A creative effort that I've been following since my wife turned me onto it, is something called The Work of the People. It is an independent ecumenical platform that produces and publishes multimedia to stir imagination, spark discussion and move people toward discovery and transformation. Recently, I was turned on to a video of Brené Brown speaking on leadership, creativity, and the importance of play. Here are some quotes that are sticking with me. "You can't lead people if you don't understand your emotion in yourself, or in other people." "There is no one more dangerous than a person who is [...]

The slow death of hurry

2018-01-16T15:20:41+00:00By Joel|Breathe, discipleship, memories, Minimalism, prayer, Rhythms, Simplicity|

I remember the morning, and mornings just like it. Early morning sunlight streamed in the window of the cabin, as the end of my bed started to warm from the first rays of sunlight. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, I hung my feet off the side, letting my feet feel the cool wood floor of the cabin. Shuffling my feet on the ground I made my way to the kitchen of the small cabin, where I put some coffee on, and I stared anxiously as the pot dripped enough for me to pour into a mug. I took my cup outside to the picnic bench in the front yard where I sat, prayed, [...]

Musings on living simply and wandering tendencies

2018-01-17T22:36:03+00:00By Joel|Abandonment, discipleship, Minimalism, Simplicity|

Sometimes when you pray for something to develop within your character, God allows things in your life to form that specific quality in you. You know what I mean, right? You pray for patience and many opportunities to practice patience arise. Whether it's just a renewed and heightened awareness of it, or new situations actually coming up, opportunities seem more available - or maybe you're more ready to receive them. Regardless, I've been praying for more grace and opportunity to simplify life even more, and opportunities are arising. Some people are nesters, and some are nomads, embracing the J.R.R. Tolkien sentiment of "Not all who wander are lost." Truly, some are not lost, but rather they [...]

Ordinary Heroes: the glory of hiddenness

2015-01-12T00:59:08+00:00By Joel|discipleship, Jesus Christ, Jesus Shaped Community, The Dangerous Kind|

“I am a Christian, not because someone explained the nuts and bolts of Christianity, but because there were people willing to be nuts and bolts.” ― Rich Mullins This is the paradox [of discipleship]: accompanying the unveiling of Jesus there is a veiling of us in the same moment, and therein lays the real glory of transformation: the glory of hiddenness. - Graeme Sellers I've been thinking a lot about how the Christians who have shaped me the most significantly are not the ones who are outwardly polished, living an ideal 'untainted by the world.' Actually, in numerous accounts, I've found those to be the ones with great potential for damage, because they tend to project [...]