Can you believe 2020 is less than three weeks away? Near the end of every calendar year, I take time to reflect and write down the two or three most important things I learned during the year. I want to…
We live near a busy road, one that my son Chad and I jokingly call “the drag strip” The noise pollution from the “drag strip” is substantial, consistent, and—if I can be totally honest—a bit annoying at times. Enter Plains,…
Have you ever wondered, “Do I really have what it takes?” Ever felt a gnawing sense of inadequacy, a creeping fear that you’re ill-equipped, and not up to the challenge your calling presents? Do you occasionally hear the lying whispers…
I want everyone to like me. But I don’t need everyone to like me. I’ve been wrestling with the above thought for weeks. I want everyone to like me. But I don’t need everyone to like me. Wanting everyone to…
No amount of money will ease all of your anxieties if you leave trusting God out of the equation. Jesus said worry chokes the life out of what He’s planted in us. And elsewhere He commanded us: “Do not worry,…
Over the weekend, Laura and I helped some dear friends move into their new house. I was freshly reminded of the stress moving into a new home places on people: the boxes, the planning, the long hours painting and cleaning,…
Several months ago, Laura and I taught at a church in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. For those of you who are not Michiganders, our state’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas are connected by the five-mile long Mackinac Bridge. If you…
I have exciting news to share with you—our newest book—Putting the Good in Goodbye: A Healthy Conversation About the Comings & Goings of Church People—is due out in January 2018! I coauthored the book with my friend and colleague Jim…
Growth often starts with subtraction. Thousands of years ago, when Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites, God raised up a leader named Gideon to deliver His people from their enemy. When Gideon initially rallied the troops, 32,000 men showed…
Hi my name is John. I’m a recovering people-pleasing-aholic. My first twelve years of ministry had a significant undercurrent of people-pleasing attached to it. The subconscious desire for everyone to like me led to bad scheduling decisions, inner conflicts over…
