One of my favorite stories from the Gospels is found in Luke 24:13–35. Two disciples were walking the seven-mile road from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the first Easter Sunday. As they talked to one another about Jesus’ death and about … Continue reading Will We See Jesus? | Influence Magazine
“While God can (and does) interact with individuals in a vacuum,” writes Don Everts, “he often uses the household as a reliable laboratory for discipleship.” In this episode of the Influence Podcast, I’m talking to Everts about three characteristics of … Continue reading Messy Prayers, Loud Tables, and Open Doors | Influence Podcast
People don’t tend to link hospitality and leadership. Hospitality is for the home, leadership for the organization. Terry A. Smith thinks decoupling hospitality and leadership is a mistake. “A hospitable leader creates environments of welcome where moral leadership can more effectively influence an ever-expanding diversity of people.” Smith roots hospitable leadership in Jesus’ teaching and example, but he shows how it has wide application in the church as well as other contexts. “Our world needs leaders who, like Jesus, sit in the middle of a great celebration and invite people in.” The Hospitable Leader shows readers how to do just that. … Continue reading The Hospitable Leader | Book Review
Hospitality is a Christian virtue. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,” Hebrews 13:2 tells us, “for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” According to the apostle Paul, one of the requirements for holding church office is being “hospitable” (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:8). At minimum, hospitality means providing food and shelter for those in need. But what if that’s only the start? What if hospitality is a mindset that has multiple expressions affecting every aspect of leadership? That’s the question I’m exploring with Terry A. Smith in Episode 154 of the Influence Podcast. Terry A. … Continue reading The Hospitable Leader | Influence Podcast
There are many believers enduring tribulation all around the world right now. Enduring tribulation raises the question, how shall we then live? The answer to this question depends on “then.” It depends, in other words, on the environment we are called by God to inhabit. As we read Revelation 6.1–8, it becomes clear that God calls some of us to live in an environment of conquest, war, scarcity, famine, pestilence, and death—or at least to be prepared to do so. Consider three facts: First, conquest, war, scarcity, and the like describe the actual conditions of many Christians around the world … Continue reading The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (6.1–8)
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