Real Listening

Real Listening

If there’s one thing about ministry I would shout from the rooftops to anyone and everyone who would listen, it would be to “be you.” Not doing so costs too much.  The only person you really need to listen to is yourself. Listening to others matters, but not when it...
Recapturing the Lost Art of Civil Discourse

Recapturing the Lost Art of Civil Discourse

It seems as if everyone is mourning the death of civil discourse these days. Last spring, distressed by a cultural inability to have productive and meaningful conversations, four friends and I pitched an idea for a new student organization at Baylor University, which...
Your Story Could Light the Way for Others

Your Story Could Light the Way for Others

Is there light, hidden deep in the story of you, that could illuminate the pathway for another person? My friend Bob received a terminal diagnosis a few years ago, accepting the news with the same gentle spirit that characterized his life. Before his death two years...
Beware of Your Inner Circles

Beware of Your Inner Circles

“No man is an island.” John Donne wrote those words four centuries ago, and they are as true now as they were then, except we don’t believe them anymore. Today, more and more of us are beginning to define our nuclear families and our carefully chosen circle of friends...
Hearing Both Sides Now

Hearing Both Sides Now

Stop for a minute to count your blessings, and you’ll run out of time long before you get to the end. Focus on the physical, and sooner or later you’ll be thankful for the sense of hearing. As much as we may enjoy occasional quiet times, people with good hearing are...