Where Leadership Begins
![](https://tdinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/isolated-teen.jpg)
“All things are created twice.” We are often judged by where we’ve come from. Jesus experienced this. To Nathanael, Philip’s announcement that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah (John 1:45f) was met with skepticism: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nazareth was deemed an “utterly insignificant” village. It was not mentioned in the Old Testament or any other writings […]
Faithfulness
![](https://tdinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/7-1024x709.jpg)
“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3 Remember the movie White Squall? It tells the story of the brigantine Albatross, which was capsized by what mariners call a white squall: a violent “perfect” storm that can appear without warning and is almost impossible to survive. Does anyone else feel like the current […]
Advent and the Dawn of Grace
![](https://tdinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_1983-1024x768.jpeg)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us … John 1:14 Advent. The celebration of the coming of the Messiah. The Advent season is meant to take us on a journey of remembrance, anticipation, and joy. What is amazing is that the birth of Christ marks not a culmination but a new beginning. We […]
Finding God in Hard Places
![](https://tdinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-03-02-at-2.18.59-PM-1024x899.png)
(On May 31st a team from Neighborhood Ministries – six younger, seven older – traveled to Nairobi Kenya. As part of the Emerging Leaders Initiative, urban youth experienced life in a culture very different from their own. Can God be found in hard places? What we discovered changed our lives …) One afternoon, while the […]
Insights Double-Edge
![](https://tdinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screen-Shot-2021-03-02-at-1.52.12-PM.png)
Insight transforms ministry. But it comes with a price. Last month, I had the privilege of walking leaders through the principles of transformational discipleship. At the start, I asked: What do you hope to gain from the Transformational Youth Ministry workshop? Responses varied, yet they all seemed to echo a single need: Insight – they sought insights into how to better […]