Whenever discussions revolve around religion, it is always a heated and charged discussion. The reason behind this is simple: Religion is something personal. Therefore whenever our faith is attacked, a religious person will do everything in order to protect and defend the basic tenets of their faith. In this way, religion has been one […]
Appealing to Our Pride and Ambition
Photo by gbcdecatur.org Recently I received an e-mail that I found very interesting. Here is the content of the e-mail: You were recently chosen as a potential candidate to represent your professional community in the 2010/2011 Edition of The Global Directory of Who’s Who Online. We are please to inform you […]
Words of Wisdom from Steve Jobs
I don’t know how many of you have heard or seen Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford University Commencement speech. Usually graduates, who sit under the hot sun, rarely remember the content of the speech that is normally given by a famous person during their commencement. Honestly, I don’t even remember the graduation commencement speech of […]
If We Only Knew What We Know Now
Photo on about.com As Christina and I are preparing the family, the team and the church for the transition that is coming up in July, we started to talk about what it would be like if we stayed longer in Indonesia – like 5 years or even 10 years longer. This […]
The Revelatory Nature of Trials
Photo from hubpages.com Many of you have probably heard of the axiom, “Trials will make you more like Christ.” But the more I think about it, I realized that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, I have been guilty of preaching this misnomer for years. Even in my counseling […]
The Heart of Child
Photo on pixdaus.com This past week, I had the privilege of speaking at Karissa’s chapel. The best part of it was being introduced by my little girl. Not only did she do an excellent job, but I was so humbled by her joy and excitement when she saw me. Before I […]
Evolution of Things
Before I share some thoughts, check out this video. For those of you born in the late 80’s and 90’s, this will not have much significance to you. But for those of us who lived our younger years in the 80’s this video will make a lot of sense. It might even bring back […]
The Irony of Finding Oneself
Photo on Flickr.com I have been working on my message for the Sunday Celebration sermon series called, “The Price.” This Sunday I will be covering “The Price of Freedom” by preaching on Romans 6. It has been an interesting study for me because it reminded me of a principle that has […]
Good Friday Reflection 4.2.10
Photo by Webpage Development John Stott in his book, What Christ Thinks of the Church writes, “The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us.” This quote by Stott […]
Leadership Laboratory
Photo by Dreamstime Whenever I have some quiet moments to think and just envision about the future, the topic of leadership often comes to my mind. In any organization, a lot of things are dependent on the quality of leaders. This is why leadership gurus have always said, “Everything rises and […]
The Reality of the Relationship
Photo on WordPress Chuck DeGroat wrote an article in Neue Magazine. He wrote, “I’m in this relationship, and it’s been quite difficult for some time. She continually lets me down and disappoints me. There are certain things I want from the relationship, but she seems to ignore my needs. She seduces […]
Some Random Reflections 3.28.10
With the world of micro-blogging (a.k.a Twitter), it has been harder to write some of my thoughts down on my blog. Some people have said it is harder to write your thoughts with only 140 characters, but for some reason I find it easier. Maybe the thoughts are not as deep or profound, but […]
How Do You Help People to Change?
Photo on ctcm.co.za Someone recently asked me, “Pastor Seth, do you enjoy counseling people?” I responded in a very un-pastoral way by saying, “No, I hate it. In fact, it drains me.” I think they were taken a back from my response, so they followed up with another comment (more like […]
Reflections from Singapore 3.22.10
I think adjusting from my time in the States and trying to engage with what was happening in S.E. Asia was not as easy as I thought. The change in time zone and the long trans-Pacific flight made the adjustment hard, but there was no time for rest as I had back to back […]