One of big issues facing churches today is what they are doing about helping their members develop and grow into followers of Jesus. Call it spiritual growth or spiritual formation; it’s about growing up as a Christian. In 2007 Willow Creek Community Church concluded a multi-year, multi-church study to determine which ministries were actually helping... Read More

Recently I watched Jane McGonigal’s latest TED video (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/jane_mcgonigal_the_game_that_can_give_you_10_extra_years_of_life.html). In her talk she referred to something that I’ve seen but never heard defined before—“post-traumautic growth.” We have become increasingly aware of those suffering from PTSD—“post traumatic stress disorder. Experienced most commonly by our returning soldiers, PTSD can be debilitating and paralyzing. But there is another... Read More

A few months ago, at the recommendation of a young co-worker, I read Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island. Here’s how the book begins: Five Union prisoners daringly escape their Richmond, Virginia prison in a balloon and land 7,000 miles away in the South Pacific on an uncharted desert island (NOTE: DO NOT THINK OF GILLIGAN). In... Read More

Between 7th and 8th grade, on the recommendation of my mother, I took a summer school class on typing class at Mango Junior High…probably the single most useful class I had and probably the only thing I continue do on a daily basis that I learned back when I was 13 years old. Mr. Shultz... Read More

TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading." TED’s mission statement begins: “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers,... Read More

Leadership Network is pleased to announce the formation the first Marriage Ministry Innovation that will launch in late October of 2012. Director: Eric Swanson Dates: October 29-30, 2012—Dallas, TX March 20, 2013—4-Hour online virtual gathering October 1-2, 2013—Dallas, TX Over the past 50 years the landscape of marriage in the U.S has changed dramatically. In... Read More

Several weeks ago I posted my thoughts on Jim Clifton’s The Coming Jobs War. Yesterday a friend sent the post by Peter K. Greer of Hope Int’l.  (http://www.peterkgreer.com/2012/02/23/what-christianity-today-missed/). Greer does a great job making the case of the need for jobs. This conversation is taking flight. It brings energy to the room and gets people... Read More

  This morning I’m working on an assignment from Leadership Network…which is actually quite challenging. Dave Travis, taking a cue from Chris Brogan, author of Trust Agents (: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-3-words-for-2011/) asked each of us to come up with three focus words for 2012. Rather than resolutions these three words sum up what I want to focus... Read More

This morning I ran into a friend whose son joined the Marines and was assigned to duty for the next several months in Rota, on the west coast of Spain. Having been to Spain several times I was thinking, “Man! Peter really lucked out—paella, sangria, flamenco, great beaches, sun…what a lucky guy….” Peter didn’t feel... Read More