Blog
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At midlife Augustine (354-430 AD), reflecting upon his own growth and upon the struggles of pastoring his congregation in North Africa, concluded that the central image used by most of his contemporaries for describing the spiritual life—that of “a vertical ascent” or a ladder—was inadequate. Instead, he increasingly characterized the Christian life as “a long […]
As we face the new millennium, we acknowledge that the state of the Church is marked by a paradox of growth without depth. Our zeal to go wider has not been matched by a commitment to go deeper. The Eastbourne Consultation on Discipleship (England, 1999) It was almost 2,000 years ago that the Apostle Paul […]
It was a few months ago now that a friend recommended to me a unique film project entitled Godspeed: The Pace of Being Known. I carved out some leisurely space late one afternoon at the office, sat down and watched the film, and it has been stirring with me ever since. I actually just re-watched […]
I once heard Dr. James Houston comment that in the North American Church: we have spiritual maps and mapmakers, ad nausea, when what we really need is a few mountain guides who have been there before us on the journey. So much of what passes for adult discipleship or leadership development today lacks interpersonal investment, […]
Almost 12 years ago I was seated around a U-shaped table with about a dozen other like-minded strangers curious about something called “The Journey” and sizing up two men in the room who appeared to be in charge.… Randy Reese and Rob Loane. Within the first couple hours of our multiple days together, they did […]
Throughout the past fall and winter I felt nudged by the Lord to start a new Journey group. Amidst the many challenges I was facing personally and we were facing organizationally, I was searching for a way to be more intentional with my own life with the Lord, and with others. How could I cultivate […]
When people have recently asked me this question –“Who is The Journey for?”–I have found myself responding by pointing to this Christian developmental path diagram we have been using around our offices. We’ve found it helpful (without prescribing a rigidity) to show where our VantagePoint3 Pathway fits within a broader understanding of a person’s growth toward maturity in Christ […]
Do you remember the Peanut cartoons? The old TV versions had a scene that played out rather often. Lucy would have a football. She would encourage Charlie Brown to attempt to kick the ball while she held it for him. Lucy assured Charlie she would not move the ball. Charlie would buy in and back […]
Many people are startled and saddened by the degree of aloneness they experience in adulthood. From the outside it seems like family and work and church would provide a vital sense of being known. For many, though, the reality of their hectic and competitive lives keeps them skimming across the surface of their relationships with spouse […]
In the eighth century, Christian theologians began describing the relationship among the persons of the Trinity as a dynamic communion, a dance of three persons. God’s triune and dynamic presence creates space within that presence, a space into which we can be drawn. The Son, who is both God and human, reaches out to us, taking hold of our […]
20 years ago I read an excellent book that I still reread every two or three years – Leap Over a Wall: Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians by Eugene Peterson. At the tail end of a chapter on the friendship between David and Jonathan Peterson writes: It’s not unusual for any of us to […]
When I sit with friends who know me fairly well and we begin to talk about VP3 and what we are up to as an organization, I will often confide to them that we are in “the imagination business.” And then I tell them this story. _____________________ Over 20 years ago a few friends […]