Book Review: From Resurrection to New Creation by Michael Pahl
An important part of Discipleship is knowing what we believe and how that shapes our lives. This post is a review of Michael W. Pahl’s book From Resurrection to New Creation: A First Journey in Christian Theology. It offers a clear and concise introduction to the key points of Christian belief through the lens of the resurrection, the event on which all of Christianity hinges.
For the first followers of Jesus the resurrection was the event that shaped the reality of a new world. No longer did death hold dominion over life. The old order of sin was defeated, giving way to new creation in Jesus. This reality is as close at hand for us today as it was for those believers nearly 2000 years ago. Continue Reading…
Thoughts on Jeff Manion’s Summit Talk
This is the last post in a short series of summaries and reflections from the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit 2010. There were plenty of excellent talks, however, the three I have written on were the three that grabbed me the most. I think the content of this summit talk was will be pertinent to many of us who have found ourselves not where we once were and not where we had hoped to be, but in ‘The Land Between’. It’ll hit home on Discipleship, Spiritual Formation, and Leadership.
There was this one time, like 3000 years ago, when, as the story has it, a large group of people left Egypt following this guy named Moses. Continue Reading…
Thoughts on Adam Hamilton’s Summit Talk
This post is the second in a series of reflections from the Willow Global Leadership Summit. It is primarily related to the themes of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation, particularly as it relates to sexual struggles, which has significant implications for our Leadership. Few are able to address this area with the wisdom, grace, and transparency that was reflected in Adam Hamilton’s summit talk.
The title of Adam’s talk was ‘When Leaders Fail’; it was a manifesto acknowledging the human propensity to sin and a call for the church to respond in grace and transparency. In many respects it was a heartfelt talk that poured from years of ministry experience and the hardships of dealing with those things that most are quick to sweep under the rug.
Continue Reading…
Thoughts on Bill Hybels’ Summit Talk with an Excurses
The first couple of articles here, intermixed with some book reviews, will walk through a couple of the key talks from the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, the first of which (this one), will dive into what Bill Hybels had to say in kicking off the 2010 summit. This is a post primarily on the theme of leadership, yet there will be some solid points for both discipleship and spiritual formation.
The content of Bill’s talk came out of a familiar time for most leaders, that is when you have little idea of what you are to do, your capability, and you think it’s the end of all things. Continue Reading…
Book Review: Adam Hamilton’s – When Christians Get it Wrong
I have a binge personality, as in I find something I like and go at it until I either burn out or find something else. I am on the upswing of a reading binge these days and one of the books that I have devoured with speed and benefit was Adam Hamilton’s When Christians Get it Wrong. I think this is an important book for those struggling with Christian discipleship for cultural/intellectual reasons and also for those serving/working in Christian leadership.
Hamilton’s basic premise is that more often than not Christians put up barriers that keep people from getting to Jesus, in other words they get it wrong. Continue Reading…
Here We Go
Greetings! Dan is my name and this is my blog for the exploration of discipleship, spiritual formation, and leadership. I have been a student, teacher, and mentor, yet the areas above continue to prove most elusive and demanding–further demonstrating their importance.
Discipleship requires both Continue Reading…