Gleaning and Gathering

If you get lost, is there anyone who will come looking for you? Does anyone "claim" you? Are you a part? Do you "belong?"

These are some questions that I've been chewing on this past week, and it is the topic of this episode of Gleaning and Gathering.

Sitting down with the leadership trainees of this year's NDP summer training program was a lot of fun! We discussed some of the lessons that they are learning through the program and how it is helping them to develop their individual strengths. See what you think!

Learning the discipline of celebrating well is something that I'm still working on, but this past week our NDP team took a day to celebrate.

While most Christians would agree that spiritual friendship is important, many see it as a beautiful luxury for which they don't have time or energy. Seeing spiritual friendship as a spiritual discipline necessary for the development of our spiritual life is not the view that everyone shares.

In this episode I explore the concept ,along with excerpts from Spiritual Friendship, the spiritual classic by Aelred of Rievaulx and ideas from A Resilient Life by Gordon MacDonald. My hope is that it will be an encouragement to you on your journey.

June 19, 2023 Rachelle and I celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. In this episode, we reflect on questions like, "What would you want to tell your 20/21 year old self after 24 years of marriage?" It's a fun, free flowing conversation, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording it.

This past week we hosted the Nehemiah Discipleship Program Experience at Victory Acres Farm. 40 young people from 6 different states completed the time of training and discipleship. Our word for the week was "UNITE," and our Scripture engagement passage was Ephesians 4. In a day of division, how are we as Christians to truly unite? That's the topic that I explore in this episode.

There are times as a leader when you're not ok... and that's ok. How do you keep perspective in those moments? God has used Scripture and days of prayer like this past week to help me regain His perspective.

It was fun to set up a "mobile studio" at this year's IHC in Gatlinburg, TN and talk to various friends and family members. My daughter Rebecca Himelick, a student at God's Bible College, and Ethan Hoard, a student at my alma mater, Union Bible College, are featured in this episode.

As leaders, we are surrounded by opportunity, but many of us are struggling to execute the necessary endings to provide the focus needed to get that opportunity to the finish line.

I hope that a piece from my story might help you as you are processing yours.

Seventy-eight years ago on April 9, 1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis at the age of 44, but his life and writings continue to challenge Christians everywhere.

His "experiment" in training church leaders for the German Confessing Church at Finkenwalde intrigues me, and his book The Cost of Discipleship challenges me. Running a farm dedicated to discipleship, hospitality and healing, I personally have much to glean from him, but I think you will find that we all do!