Spiritual Habits for Real People
Easter is literally just around the corner and church leaders are gearing up for one of the most visitor and alumni attendance Sundays of the year. There’s so much to do: neighborhood Easter Egg hunts to organize; the Easter Cantata to publicize; ecumenical (or not) Easter Sunrise Services to coordinate; visitor follow-up programs to massage; […]
Mentoring is Different Than Friendship
Mentoring is all about eliciting the hidden potential in others, and challenging their self-perceptions. Many people think that they must first establish a friendship with another person before they can mentor. In fact, establishing a friendship often blocks your ability to mentor. First, friendship by its very nature accepts a person as they are. It can blind the mentor […]
Growing One Micro-Culture at a Time
The New Testament model of church growth had little to do with converting individuals or assimilating members. It was all about reaching micro-cultures for Christ. A micro-culture is a definable, describable demographic or lifestyle segment. The apostles targeted Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, and other cities … and then different neighborhoods, economic and professional groups, and so on. […]
The Tenth Spiritual Habit
by Bill Tenny-Brittian In my book High-Voltage Spirituality I introduce nine broad categories of Spiritual Habits: Projection/Reflection, Prayer, Study, Worship, Giving-Up, Taking-On, Accountability, Retreating, and Faith Sharing. With spring encroaching upon us, it seemed to me to be a great time to try the Tenth Habit: The Spiritual Habit of Pilgrimage. Pilgrimages were popular spiritual practices up […]
The Fasting Habit
By Bill Tenny-Brittian Of all the spiritual disciplines, undoubtedly the most underused and is fasting. I’ll be honest, fasting isn’t one of my “favorite” spiritual disciplines. On the other hand, it has been one of the most powerful spiritual habits I’ve picked up over the years. There are a couple of traditional reasons for fasting. […]
Getting Past Your Past
By Bill Tenny-Brittian According to Jesus, Paul, James, Peter, and John when we confess, repent, and take reconciliation seriously we become a new creature, all the old things in our lives have passed away, and we are completely renewed. Now, hang on to that promise for a moment. Live with it. What would it mean […]