Far too often, I've seen pastors of mega churches react negatively to staff members who feel called to step away from their roles into a different season of ministry.

Why do we do that? Could it be because we're insecure about our own leadership abilities? Paul modeled so well for us how we are to treat people that we're leading, so as to create spiritual "sons and daughters" rather than create acrimony.

Join me on the season finale of Open Spaces to join the conversation.

Paul writing to Timothy declares:

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. - 1 Timothy 2: 1-3 (MSG)

So I ask, is there a formula by which we can know how much prayer is sufficient to ensure that these Scripture verses hold true in our lives? Join me in this episode of Open Spaces to find out.

God's provision of Manna in the wilderness was from heaven not from Publix, Walmart, or some little kids packed lunch. At no point did God scratch His head in confusion and then invite Moses' input on how to go about feeding six million people wandering in the desert for forty years. So when He fed the 5000 men plus women and children, the blessing for the disciples was in the fact that Jesus included them in the miracle!

Have you ever felt that successful people simply "lucked" into their success by being at the right place at the right time? If you answered yes to that question, I hate to burst your proverbial bubble, but you're completely wrong. 

Innate in all of us is the seed of success, and "The tree is in the seed."

Out of a tiny seed grows a tree that may ultimately emerge as a room of exquisitely crafted oak furniture...the list of possibilities for the future of that seed are limitless. 

In a world where we often wear "busyness" like a crown jewel (often because we mistake it for productivity or success), do you ever feel like your day is just too hectic to squeeze in time alone with God in prayer?

If you answered yes, you're not alone! Join me as I explore the only answer to that insufferable question this Friday.

What do you say to people who are walking through unimaginable pain, loss, hardship, difficulty... trauma? What are the perfect Bible verses that demonstrate the right amount of sympathy or empathy?

Don't answer that. It's a trick question!!!

Listen in this Friday for an honest, heartfelt conversation about Lament: An Invitation To Tell The Truth.

Many years ago my friend, Alex McManus, opened my eyes to the reality that, as Christ followers preaching the gospel, we're much like foreigners trying to speak a different language. 

For the most part you can tell a foreigner from a native speaker by the distinct accent that sets us apart. Alex opined that this makes us "Experiments in translation." We're interpreting an ancient text in a present context, and interpretation requires a colloquial, cultural, and context understanding. This means that we don't always get it right.

Matt Walsh recently released a video which the mainstream media and streaming services refuse to air. To find out more go here: https://www.documentarymania.com/player.php?title=What+Is+a+Woman 

Matt reveals a strategy to defeat the collective insanity that appears to have taken over our society. On his often comical, yet deeply disturbing journey, he answers the question which generations before us never knew they needed to ask: What is a woman?

This weeks episode dives into the science, religion, and angry vitriol that attends this volatile, yet critically important issue, regardless of what the current cultural zeitgeist is!

For those who position themselves against the idea of Christians deconstructing their faith, I'd ask just one simple question:

How do you grow and learn if you don’t deconstruct?

There are few things that will shake your faith more than the death of a loved one in a preventable plane crash!

The storms and vicissitudes of life bring pain, hardship, failure, betrayal and all the things that attend a life lived, dressed in human skin. And that WILL, to a significant degree, changed the lens through which one views Scriptures (Note that I didn’t say it would change the Scriptures or their meaning). When your sight is failing, you change lenses. That is the nature of deconstruction!

Like the storm that just hit Florida, I promised an explosive Season 7. Here it is!!!

(PS: Listen to episode 1 before you listen to this)

For those who position themselves against the idea of Christians deconstructing, I'd ask just one simple question:

How do you grow and learn if you don’t deconstruct? 

I’ve cringed while listening to some of the sermons I taught 20 or more years ago.

Why?

Because, as I’ve grown, I’ve experienced life, pain, hardship, success, failure, joys, betrayal and all the things that attend a life lived, dressed in human skin. And that has, to a significant degree, changed the lens through which I view Scriptures (Note that I didn’t say it has changed the Scriptures or their meaning). When your sight is failing, you change lenses. That is the nature of deconstruction!