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03
Feb 2012

The Bad Side of Good Behavior

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The perfect but false version of me...

{Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Sara Anderson. You can read more about Sara at the end of the post.}

I grew up in a glass house.

A preacher’s daughter, I was taught at a young age that our family was on display. We were the model for what a family was to look like. All eyes were on us.

Perfection became not just my standard but my obsession. When I was incapable of attaining perfection, I became really good at hiding my imperfections. So good, in fact, that I had almost fooled myself into thinking I was perfect. [Read more...]

Categories: Spiritual Growth Tags: , , , ,
26
Jan 2012

The Local Church: Please Help Mess It Up

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It seems like Batman is on staff at everyone else's church, but mine.

{Editor’s Note: This post was written by Jake Harvey. You can learn more about Jake at the end of the post.}

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Before you start ranting about the devil, cults and how Halloween is a celebration of evil take a deep breath and relax. It used to be a fun holiday before Fall Celebrations and Harvest Festivals replaced it. It was a night when free candy was given out to children and all you had to do was ring the doorbell. However, you couldn’t show up in street clothes – you had to be in costume. Think back to some of your favorites. Superheroes, ghosts, robots, movie icons and others were an excuse to let the imagination come to life.

There is one costume I never saw, though. It’s one that would have fit into the category of fantasy and impossibility perfectly. That costume is: the perfect local church. To be accurate, you would have needed to start a building campaign a few months before costume construction, but the only place a perfect church exists is in the imagination. I’m sure Superman and Batman are deacons there. [Read more...]

Categories: Church & Ministry Tags: , ,
15
Dec 2011

Instant Mania: Giving Myself Permission to Grow Slowly

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{Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Jeff Pate. You can learn more about Jeff at the end of the post.}

Lately I’ve been thinking about small beginnings, and I’m growing more comfortable with them. See, I have these desires to be complete and perfect. And though I know their shadowy sides, I do not necessarily think they are bad desires. In one respect I think they can even be quite holy: true desires for a true home. It’s just that they take time to develop.

I’m presently training as a chaplain at a local hospital. When I first started work, I wanted to know all that I needed to know. I wanted to have the answers to any and every question. And I put so much pressure on myself to instantly know everything about my job without going through the learning process.

Do you need to slow down and rest?

One of my colleagues reminded me that I was still in this learning process, and essentially said to me, “We [the staff chaplains] don’t expect you to have it all right, Jeff. Remember that you’re still learning–and besides, mistakes are okay.” [Read more...]

Categories: Career & Adventure, Spiritual Growth Tags: , ,