Our Father is Not Custodial
I was speaking with some friends over a Skype conference last night. It was the last of 4 meetings some great men and I had over Robin’s book “The Healing Path.” I have many thoughts brewing from that extended conversation but for now I just want to mention a word. It was a word a wrote on my notes pages a couple weeks ago in a previous group chat appointment. The word is custodial. The word was mentioned in the context, I believe, of learning to receive the Father’s love and understand his affection for us as something greater and deeper than simply custodial.
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Podcast: Release to Pastor
Brian Fenimore and Ben Pasley work together every month to equip Church leadership in Woodland Park, CO. Here Ben teaches on the practicals of pastoring.
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The Spiritually Far-Sighted
Are You Spiritually Far-Sighted?
It was back in 2005 that I started tapping on my computer screen and yelling at it because it was blurring in and out of focus. I would lean in and sometimes it would appear clearer, I would restart my computer and sometimes it would look better. "Blink^##(#& monitors," I would say in hopes that harsh words would make them wise up. Really, how could two new monitors have gone bad so quickly. So, obviously, I sold them on eBay and went out and bought some nicer ones, bigger ones, and justified it easily when my wife questioned the expense. When I got them home I couldn't believe it. Same problem! What was going on? My wife comes in during one of my fits and makes the statement filled with all wisdom and insight,
"You need to get your eyes checked."
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Introduction to Family Tools
Another podcast excerpted from the very first Churchthink retreat ever. Here David Wilton and Ben Pasley introduce the idea of moving past the ideas of "church planting" or "community" and introduce the idea that what we really need are the practical relational tools to build family between us! Awesome. It's a long one at 45 minutes.
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Concert Conversation on Kingdom Family
A bit unusual for the Churchthink podcast, but we thought this was closely related to the theme of our last article post called Inviting the Apostle which we decided not to record in its present format. Enjoy!
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Pastor: The Verb, Podcast 3
Ben is joined by good friend Karla Adolphe to read and discuss the latest Churchthink article on the beautiful grace of pastoring. Part 3 of 3.
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Pastor: The Verb, Podcast 2
Ben is joined by good friend Karla Adolphe to read and discuss the latest Churchthink article on the beautiful grace of pastoring. Part 2 of 3.
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Pastor: The Verb, Podcast 1
Ben is joined by good friend Karla Adolphe to read and discuss the latest Churchthink article on the beautiful grace of pastoring. Part 1 of 3.
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Pastor: The Verb
The Gift is the Person
There are leadership graces for the Church and none of them are abilities--they are all people.
I am going to make this emphasis on people over ability for a very important reason. Let that sink in just a bit. I am touching on a couple of common ideas and ways of speaking. The question I am already posing to you is, “Do you carry gifts with you, or are you the gift?” Read on, and I will try to bring some deep encouragement to you as a leader.
It might be true that graces and gifts are things given to men just as it says in Ephesians 4:7, “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it,” and in Romans 8, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us...” but to imagine these leadership gifts as externalized feature sets is an awkward proposal. What I mean by this is that gifts and graces do not exist in concept or in concrete form outside of a person, and I believe this truth is simple and instinctive.
Forgiveness: The Way of the Kingdom, Part 3
A conversation between Ben Pasley and Todd Berger on the power and necessity of forgiving others, releasing offense, and being about the work of reconciliation. Part 3 of 3.
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