We live in a day and age where there is not much time to acknowledge grief and loss in our lives. After something devastating happens to us, we feel the need to move on; get over it; and press forward.
Whether it is a hurricane, death of a loved one or major crisis in a church or business, we neglect our inner world to put “this” behind us and to keep on keeping on.
I am living in a “in-between time.” I have not fully arrived to the next place in my journey. It is a place of ‘betwixt and between.’ It is a hard place. It is a nominal space—a space that native American Indians called, “crazy time.” I understand that. When you live in an “in-between time”-- it feels crazy. Nothing seems to make sense—even God. Such places--such seasons of life can leave us torn, tired and weary. We can feel like something is going to happen--but not yet.
“At once, this same Spirit pushed Jesus out into the wild. For forty wilderness days and nights he was tested by Satan. Wild animals were his companions, and angels took care of him.”—Mark 1:12
How is it that in one single verse, Mark explains the journey of the spiritual life? It’s fascinating to simply sit with this solitary verse recorded in Mark’s Gospel and to sense the movement, undertaking and activity that Jesus experienced. Friends, in this one, single verse, there is a great movement that needs to be understood. I say “movement” because the spiritual life is a journey from one movement or place in life to the next. We never stay static. We are invited to always be learning; always be growing and always being transformed.
Out there, just over the horizon, a storm is brewing. This storm is not a political storm. It is not a cultural war. It is a storm brewing deep within the soul of many leaders who serve in the marketplace or ministry arenas. We cannot see the storm now—at least our own storm—but it is brewing.
Due to the Internet and social media, we hear of storms taking down leaders and leaving carnage and havoc in their spheres of influence. It is a hidden, present danger that confronts leaders in the marketplace and ministry. It is what I call the perfect storm of leadership.
The world we are living in is one that is physical; driven by thoughts and ideas; divisive politics and powerful personalities. This is a world that is empirically validated: What we “see” is what there is; What we “touch” and what or who touches us is what matters. What we have judged to be true is what we believe is actually true. Some of us believe doctrine more than we believe in God. We may go to church and speak of church more than we speak of encounters or experiences with Jesus. In our time hurried and fast culture, we want facts and we want them now-- short, succinct and bullet point if possible.
By Stephen W. Smith
The discovery that the sun was the center of the universe changed everything! Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer who discovered, in the 16th century, that the sun was at the center of the universe, not the Earth. This discovery changed centuries of thinking. It impacted the way people saw the world. People experienced a shift in their understanding, and it radically altered the way people thought about life. And the ripple effect of this discovery continues to this very day. It continues to remind us of the truth that we are not at the center of the universe. And that everything doesn’t revolve around us. In short, Copernicus gave us perspective with his scientific discovery.
It’s exciting to cast a vision of the future for Potter’s Inn ministry. Our total revamping and transition to a new model of ministry is being led by the Board of Potter’s Inn. Gifted and seasoned men and women are shaping a future for Potter’s Inn to transition to a healthy, vibrant and far impacting ministry. We hope this impact will be greater than we have seen and experienced in the past. We sense it will be. We feel led to study, build and release a new platform of ministry that people need, people want and people are asking for!
What is a “message centric” model?
In January 2017, I decided to invest an entire year of my life on the journey in discernment (doing the Ignatian Exercises). I found myself at a critical crossroad. My work, my marriage, my heart needed attention and care. The future felt looming and did not excite me.I decided to do an ancient, year long, proven way of deepening my own heart and experience with God that helped me; renewed my heart and is rekindling love in my marriage. I think I've morphed into a new place; a new space and a new way of living my life and expressing my faith.I did this because:
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” -Rainer Maria Rilke
Living the questions of life, love, purpose, and faith is about wrestling through issues, perspectives, and views until some type of clarity comes—or maybe does not come at all. Finding our way in life and knowing God’s will for our lives is about holding questions in our hearts without an inner urge to answer too quickly or with all assurance that we’ve settled a matter, once and for all. And in all of the question asking and answer finding, we need to practice holding both loosely in our hands.
