Holy Father, This morning I pray for all who find themselves discouraged and depressed, for all who find their souls numb and their vision blurred, for all who feel their lives slipping down to the pit. Help them turn to your Word, cry out for your mercy, trust in your promises, and rise to do … More A Prayer for the Downcast
Yesterday I shared the exciting news that God has called me to serve as Lead Pastor of BridgePoint Bible Church in Houston, Texas beginning this summer. I will teach my final five biblical counseling classes at Boyce College this spring before we launch into a new season of life and ministry. But this transition is … More A Letter to My Students
BridgePoint Bible Church Ray and Hollington Architects Fretz Construction Photo: John Lindy We are thrilled to announce that God has called me to serve as Lead Pastor at BridgePoint Bible Church in Houston, Texas. Cindi and I just returned from a 5-day candidating trip, and the church voted overwhelmingly to invite us to serve with … More Following the Cloud and Flame: A New Gundersen Journey
Does God ever call us to die? I don’t mean the daily cross-bearing that Christ demands of every Christian. I mean: Does God ever call us to serve in a particular ministry or setting or location that seems to promise our death? A ministry or responsibility or stewardship we know will burden, overwhelm, and press … More When God Calls You to Die
“Should my personality influence my ministry?” A female student recently asked this question in a discussion about counseling, but it applies to any responsibility a person might hold. Whether leading, managing, preaching, organizing, parenting, or discipling, we often wonder how our personalities should affect our Christian responsibilities. The longer we live, the more we see that … More ASKED: Should my personality influence my ministry?
The following is the manuscript of a sermon I preached at Fellowship Church in Louisville, Kentucky (audio here). Psalm 78:1-8 (ESV) 1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of … More Lesson and Legacy: Tell the Coming Generation (Sermon from Psalm 78:1-8)
They just keep coming. Now it’s rabbi-counselor Shmuley Boteach and actress-model Pamela Anderson joining the growing outcry against pornography. Their joint Wall Street Journal article, “Take the Pledge: No More Indulging Porn”, arrives like an amateur medic rushing into a graveyard to inform the deceased that death is dangerous for us. The article is generally laudable. The timing … More Trailing the Prophets: Pornography’s New Firefighters and the Church’s Prophetic Witness
As a college freshman, Scott Burns was my Resident Director. Scott was a 6’5″ man’s man who knew everything about hunting, fishing, poisonous insects, and indigenous bushes. When he walked the halls, guys flocked to him. But above all these things, “Burns” was known for one particular quality. I later heard that he had committed to pray consistently … More What Every Young Man Needs
Each week, it seems, I experience a class session that seems magical — filled with intellectual tension, unbridled curiosity, stimulating questions, rich spontaneity, and seemingly life-shaping learning. I inevitably walk away with my mind racing over fresh terrain and new ideas, rejoicing in my God-given role as lead learner. Of course, growth is mainly measurable over time, … More The Magical and the Mundane
The satirical Babylon Bee could and does write handfuls of articles about worship leaders. Apparently there’s a lot of material to work with. They’re mocked for their skinny jeans, their black-frame glasses, their chronological snobbery, their hipster tendencies. Or they’re knocked for their old-guard mentality, their antiquated ways, their refusal to get with the times whether … More The Sacred Teaching Task of the Christian Worship Leader
ASKED: A New Feature This semester I’m teaching 230 students in four biblical counseling classes at Boyce College, the undergraduate school at Southern Seminary. CN101a: Introduction to Biblical Counseling CN101b: Introduction to Biblical Counseling CN201: Methods of Biblical Counseling CN481: Counseling Skills Development I Depending on time and topic, students ask 10-20 questions per class, and many … More ASKED: Should a younger Christian ever correct an older Christian?
It can be hard to be productive with all the productivity tools flying around us. Everyone has a seven-step process for prioritization or an intriguing taxonomy of tasks or a S.M.A.R.T. way of doing things. I appreciate these tools and benefit from many of them, but there reaches a point where addition becomes distraction. You can spend so … More Aim Straight and Chip Away
What makes ministry effective? How are people changed? What has the greatest impact? In the annals of war, certain leaders and strategies and weapons get the most attention: the tanks and the bombers, the gold and the generals, the noble sacrifices that rightly earn chests of medals and leave loud legacies ringing out to the far … More Seven Secret Weapons in Ministry
Monday, May 2 was a strange day on the campus of Southern Seminary. Something was missing. In the weary hum of late spring, things may have felt normal, and our students and faculty and employees may not have noticed immediately. But there’s a big gaping hole in the fabric of our institutional life. Jeff Dalrymple is … More The Servant Leadership of Jeff Dalrymple
One hour ago I walked out of my final student leadership meeting after fourteen years of full-time Christian college ministry. It’s late, tomorrow’s a packed day, and I should head straight to bed. But after twenty-eight semesters of a college schedule, what’s one more reflective jaunt into the a.m.? Each year, on a Sunday night … More Passing the Torch: My Last Student Leadership Meeting
What’s a “bottleneck”? Literally, it’s the “neck or mouth of a bottle,” the place where the bottle grows most narrow. Metaphorically, it pictures “a point of congestion or blockage” or “a situation that causes delay in a process or system.” ¹ Leaders should increase the quality, efficiency, and productivity of their teams, but there are … More Seven Marks of a Bottleneck Leader
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