Personal Development on Context

illustration

Context Matters

Author

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Romans 12:2, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 42:1-2, Isaiah 30:15, Jeremiah 17:5-6

My friend Mike Metzger of the Clapham Institute once used the following example to demonstrate how important frames are if we are to make sense of reality’s puzzle. This may seem like a head scratcher...

illustration

You are who you Surround Yourself with

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:33-34, Proverbs 27:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11, Proverbs 13:20, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Psalm 1:1-2, Hebrews 10:24-25

Context matters. According to the Terman Study, which followed one thousand study participants from childhood until their death, the people we surround ourselves with are who we become. We see those a...

illustration

Virtue as Part of Our Story

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue reconnected thinking about ethics back to virtue by connecting virtue to the story a life is a part of. In order to know how we ought to live, we first need to answ...

Quote

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

The present moment (‘whenever’) somehow holds together the one-off past event (‘the Lord’s death’) and the great future when God’s world will be remade under Jesus’ loving rule (‘until he comes’).

Quote

Author

Alisdair McIntyre

Keywords

I can only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?'”.

Quote

Author

Craig L. Blomberg

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 6:null

In this context (Matthew 6)…storing up treasures focuses particularly on the compassionate use of material resources to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs, in keeping with the priorities of God...

illustration

How We Wait

Author

Jason Farman

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Habakkuk 2:3, James 5:7-8, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Psalm 27:13-14

Part of our experience of waiting is cultural, and how time elapses while we wait can vary from person to person and context to context. We wait differently and we have different expectations that are...

illustration

A Roaring Lion in Context

Author

Kyle Winkler

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 5:8

When you imagine a lion, what comes to your mind? For me, I envision a lion’s strong, giant, catlike torso that is covered with a tan coat and moving with a cocky strut. I see his unflinching facial e...

illustration

Understanding Reframing with Physics and The Titanic (The Movie)

Author

Brad E. Kelle

Keywords

Reframing

While the second example is a bit dated (Titanic is over approaching its third decade in circulation!) the logic holds and can be applied to a variety of films set in a historical context: I think of...

illustration

If I asked you the same question I asked my patient

Author

Curt Thompson

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:18-25, Ruth 1:16-18, 1 Kings 19:9-13 , Psalm 27:4, John 20:24-29, Luke 24:13-35

If I asked you the same question I asked my patient Aaron—“What do you want?”—and you could for a moment put aside the predictable anxiety that comes with it, I’m confident that at some point in your ...

illustration

God's Generosity in the Garden

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:16

Is God stingy? Mark D. Roberts observes that many writers and preachers focus on the prohibition of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil instead of Genesis 2:16: "You may freely eat of each...

series

Psalm 30 | Gratitude for Rescue and Healing

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 30:, 1 Samuel 13:14, Hebrews 12:2

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? Autobiographies Have you ever thought about writing your autobiography? It would be a little like reliving your life, at least in miniscule. As a write...

series

Psalm 51 | Awareness of Sin

Ancient lens What’s the historical context? A Historical Clue The superscript of Psalm 51 gives us a historical clue about the composition of this Psalm, “A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophe...

blog

The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:null

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or. what's a heaven for? " Robert Browning A part of our desire at The Pastor’s Workshop is to help pastors connect the stories in ...

illustration

The DKIW Pyramid

Author

Hayley Morgan

Keywords

Knowledge

According to Martin Doyle, CEO and founder of DQ Global, a data quality software company, “In essence, data is raw. It has not been shaped, processed or interpreted. It is a series of 1s and zeros tha...

Quote

Author

Erin M. Straza

Keywords

Freedom is found when undesirable habits are identified and the cue-routine-reward structure is defined, pulled apart, and reframed. In the context of our discussion, the cue is a desire for comfort, ...

blog

5 Great Worship Resources on the Psalms

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

October 2018 For centuries, the Psalms have been the songbook of the church. From metrical settings of Psalms (think, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” or “The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Wa...

blog

What every leader should know about change in organizations

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

You know the adage “People resist change.” It is not really true. People are not stupid. People love change when they know it is a good thing. No one gives back a winning lottery ticket. What people r...

illustration

The Paradox of Prosperity

Author

Daniel H. Pink

Keywords

Meaning

The paradox of prosperity is that while living standards have risen steadily decade after decade, personal, family, and life satisfaction haven’t budged. That’s why more people—liberated by prosperity...

illustration

The Threat of Mediocrity

Author

Anthony Campolo

Keywords

Mediocrity

While written over 30 years ago, Anthony “Tony” Campolo shares a valid concern related to the Christian pursuit of success. And while most of us would consider “Christendom” dead in the West, the anal...

illustration

The Art of Followship

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:16, Philippians 2:5-7, John 13:34-35, Matthew 11:29, Mark 8:34-35, Luke 9:23

Editor’s Note: The following illustration came from one of my own (Stu’s) sermons, as I was trying to help the congregation make a paradigm shift from the church as a building, to the people of God: ...

illustration

The Prayer of Jabez Revisited

Author

Ben Witherington III

Keywords

Scripture

1 Chronicles 4:9-10, Matthew 6:6, Luke 11:9, Philippians 4:6, James 5:16

First Chronicles 4:9-10 could be forgiven for being called the text that roared, once Bruce Wilkinson got his hands on it and wrote a little book called The Prayer of Jabez. This book, which was relea...

illustration

Following the Good Shepherd’s Voice

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 23:null, Revelation 7:17, 1 Peter 5:2-3, Hebrews 13:20-21, Luke 15:4-5, Ezekiel 34:15-16, Isaiah 40:11

In his excellent study of the famous Biblical passage on shepherds, ( The Good Shepherd: A Thousand Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament) , scholar Ken Bailey provides context to the 23rd...

illustration

The Practice of Indirection

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 119:11, Philippians 4:9, Luke 6:48, 2 Timothy 2:15, Proverbs 6:6-8, Hebrews 12:11

Payton Manning practiced indirection. He was the winning quarterback of Super Bowl XLI. It was a rainy night, and the ball was slippery. Rex Grossman, the quarterback for the losing team, fumbled the ...

illustration

Consider your Habits, They Make up 40% of Your Life

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 5:14, Proverbs 4:23, Galatians 5:16, Colossians 3:16-17, Psalm 119:11, 1 Timothy 4:7-8

A 2014 study by Wendy Wood found that approximately 40% of people’s daily activities are performed out of habit. According to Wood, “an important characteristic of a habit is that it’s automatic…We fi...

Quote

Author

Ronald A. Heifetz, Marty Linsky, Alexander Grashow

Keywords

You stay alive in the practice of leadership by reducing the extent to which you become the target of people’s frustrations. The best way to stay out of range is to think constantly about giving the w...

illustration

Thanksgiving As a Communal Act

Author

Peter J. Leithart

Keywords

Given the Hebrew Bible’s merging of liturgical and social circles into a single infinite circle, it is not surprising that most of the instances of the language of gratitude in the Old Testament are i...

illustration

Becoming a Tiller of Soil

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:7, John 15:5, Matthew 13:23, Isaiah 28:24-26, Proverbs 12:11, Genesis 2:15

One of my favorite sections of Home Depot is the power garden tool department. Even though I have all the tools I need, I still like browsing through Home Depot’s collection of power mowers, chainsaws...

Quote

Author

Matthew McCullough

Keywords

For all our time and attention, no matter how carefully we curate our stuff or how much we might enjoy ourselves along the way, we’re all merely stocking and staging someone else’s opportunity for bar...

illustration

We Wear Time

Author

James K. A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 16:19-20, Ephesians 2:10, Isaiah 61:10

Our selves are fashioned; we are adorned with histories that incline us to saunter, swagger, or shuffle. Given our histories, some of us move through the world with a cape; some of us don baggy sweate...

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

series

series

blog

illustration

blog

blog

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

illustration

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Jonah

Micah