Why we fail to act (sins of complicity)

In the wake of the Ft. Hood massacre we are now hearing evidence of a very troubled man–trouble that it appears many observed over the last few years of the Maj. General’s life. Some of his former teachers and supervisors took note of his strange behavior, his loner tendencies, his rages. They even mused about [...]

Characteristics of Ego driven leaders

Here’s a link to a blog post on sniffing out ego driven leaders (teachers, pastors, future employees, etc.) you might find helpful. Cavman, a thoughtful pastor, lists a set of characteristics about ego driven individuals that he gleaned from a book by Roger Parrott. He, Cavman, writes,
He [Parrott] offers some of the signs that a [...]

James Orbinski

Today I’ll be attending a couple of seminars by James Orbinski at Abington Hospital. Orbinski is the author of An Imperfect Offering which details his crisis medical work in Rwanda, Somalia, and other countries as a Doctors without Borders doc. He also has a DVD on the same topic called Triage.
What I’m most excited about [...]

Pastors at risk

Today I’m in Virginia Beach at Regent U. to help flesh out the details of a 2 year qualitative study of at-risk pastors and spouses. One question: what (besides free room/meals) would make them interested in coming and revealing their at-risk natures.
The ride down yesterday was a joy. Well, it was long, but the Eastern [...]

Of foxholes and diners

Men in foxholes and diners change.
Old men hobble to the diner this morning tapping their knotty canes along the walk; their faces tired and haggard. No joy.
But at their table they become young boys, teenagers really, but with deeper laughs, knowing looks, wise insights and experience lines on their faces. They eat their toast and [...]

Steve Brown at Tenth Presbyterian tonight

Late notice but those who like KeyLife’s Steve Brown can hear him at Tenth Presbyterian Church tonight. He will be speaking in honor of HarvestUSA’s 25th anniversary. You can see information here. Also, it tells of Diane Langberg’s lecture for them at the end of the month–entitled “Beauty in Garbage City.”

Marriage is like…?

a box of chocolates? a roller coaster?
What analogies might you use to help illustrate the beauty and difficulty found in the marriage relationship? Yes, the Bible gives us several good ones but here I’m interested in ones that come from personal experience. I’m being asked to speak on the topic of “marriage as roller coaster”. [...]

Day 2 AACC Conference

Seen and Heard at AACC

The 2009 conference is underway. Loads of people here. Way too many for my taste. But, then I did run into three former students (Jane, Barb, and Bayo) and I saw some colleagues I haven’t seen for some time. Even better, I ran into Bishop Alex and Leah (my host and compatriot in Rwanda).
After my [...]

Pastoral sexual abuse training

Today, Diane Langberg and I provide a 3 hour presentation entitled: Pastoral Sexual Abuse: Trends, Challenges, Issues & Treatment. Click here (#14 on the list) for presentation slides (ppt format). The presentation covers issues such as “the setup” that leads some pastors to abuse parishioners, the impact on the various parties, victim related interventions, offender [...]