Dear ______: As Sherlock would say, excellent observation, my dear Watson: My strategies for reading the texts assigned to you in your seminary classes are not always enough to make sure you learn what you need to learn. To learn from your reading you need to do more than let your eyes pass over the words. […]
Read Faster and Better with Book Reviews (Letters to a Young Pastor)
Dear ______: I’m glad to hear that you are seeing the pattern inside my recommended reading strategies. For all those I’ve told you about so far (primary sources, textbooks, and scholarly studies) the pattern is to get a clear big picture, and then moved toward the details. Think of it as the concentric circles that emerge […]
Facing Futility (The Writer’s Inner Life)
One of the struggles a writer faces (or anyone else with creative projects as part of their vocation) is the sense of futility. It is one of those temptations that comes in a kind of inner voice. Why not be old fashioned and just call it one of our demons? The Demon of Futility It can […]
How to Find a Life-Giving Rhythm
Some lessons I have to learn over and over. Or maybe they are things that I just need to practice every day to learn at all. One of those lessons is how to find a life-giving rhythm in this chaotic world. Chaos can come in the form of too many demands from too many directions. Work […]
Director’s Journal: First Rehearsal
I used to do a ton of theatre as a kid. I had good directors. I had not-so-good directors. But when I looked in the mirror, what I always saw was one of the actors. Well, my pastor drafted me to direct my new Christmas Play. Yikes! What am I going to do at my first […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 10
- Next Page »




