Greetings! It’s about 1:00am and I’m sitting in a coffee shop at the Istanbul airport, waiting for my flight to Athens later this morning. It’s been an interesting day. I left Bergama (ancient Pergamum) about 9:30 this morning (technically yesterday morning!). (I got so wet in the rain trying to find my hotel in Bergama [...]
Archive for the ‘Featured Articles’ Category
Pergamum
Friday, April 20th, 2012 | No CommentsHello again! You’re probably just awakening to greet the new day. It’s already been a long, wet one for me. Yes, it’s raining torrentially. I had to drive through this slop for about three hours today (from Selcuk to Bergama). Poor visibility. Great puddles that dragged at my tires and threw water everywhere. Cars around [...]
Turkey, Day 3
Thursday, April 19th, 2012 | No CommentsI spent this morning (about 3.5 hours) at Ephesus. Went through the site twice: once just to recon and photo and then a second time with the audio guide. What an incredible site! Massive, evocative, compelling. The theater (seating 25,000) is the largest ancient stadium in Turkey and one of the largest in the world. [...]
Selcuk (Ephesus)
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012 | No CommentsIt’s been a long day. Started with a long night. Jet lag hit with a vengeance—I was up at 2:00 and read until 5:00, slept a couple hours more, and then started the day. It was chilly this morning—maybe in the 40′s? The temperature warmed quickly, however (into the 60′s), and the drive north was [...]
Turkey, Day 1
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012 | No CommentsI’m sitting at a Starbucks in Bodrum. Beautiful, sunny day. 60′s. Got some good rest last night. Out early after breakfast. Visited St. Peter’s castle where they have the National Underwater Archaeological Museum. Great displays of ships and artifacts raised from the sea-floor in this area. Very interesting. And some beautiful vistas. Walked all over [...]
A Noble Task
Thursday, April 12th, 2012 | No Comments(Re-Valuing the Collective Work of Elders) Once upon a time, the work of elders was considered “a noble task.”[1] Those who did the work well were shown “double honor.” (Does that mean twice the salary?) These are not sentiments normally associated with elders in our authority-cynical age. Even when some measure of “nobility” and “honor” [...]
Healthy Meeting Habits
Friday, March 23rd, 2012 | No CommentsMeetings are like baking. You need to know what you’re cooking (i.e., the reason why you’re meeting). You need a recipe that specifies the required ingredients (the agenda). You need to have all the makings and tools at hand (gathering the information, people, and resources necessary to make good decisions and implement actions). You need [...]
Leading the Leaders (Someone has to Steer)
Sunday, January 29th, 2012 | No CommentsImagine a business where “musical chairs” is used as the management model. The key executive role turns over regularly … a different President each month. Little regard for training, experience, gifts, and skills. Little regard for consistency, stability, and effectiveness. Instead, egalitarianism is the prime leadership value—everyone needs to have their time in the President’s [...]
They Met to Consider this Question
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 | No CommentsThere is elder (the individual) and there is eldership (the collective). There is the role which individuals fill personally—“shepherd”—and the governing role which a group of elders shares together—“shepherds.” Most elders I know get stuck on occasion in the tension between the singular and the plural. So much of the important work of a shepherd [...]
Effective Elder’s Meetings
Sunday, January 15th, 2012 | No CommentsI love elders. I love their charactered ways and pastoral hearts and concern for the Kingdom. I love their commitment to Christ and His church. I love the way they give themselves to the people God has placed under their care. I love elders. It’s elders’ meetings I find difficult. As someone who has attended [...]
