Author: Seth Barnes

Youth pastors as hired guns

Written by Seth Barnes on April 28, 2007. Posted in Youth Ministry. 10 Comments on Youth pastors as hired guns

Youth pastors approaching 50 often run right into a brick wall. The really tragic thing is when a guy like Mike pours himself into his youth ministry for years and years and then...

Why we need to share stories

Written by Seth Barnes on April 27, 2007. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 3 Comments on Why we need to share stories

The disciples asked Jesus, “Why do you tell stories?” He answered, “I tell stories to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight.” (Matt....

Media addiction is killing us in 7 ways

Written by Seth Barnes on April 26, 2007. Posted in Culture and Faith. 11 Comments on Media addiction is killing us in 7 ways

The media is a neutral thing, neither good nor bad – it’s just raw technology. The problem is that because it is so often used in negative ways, one needs filters or...

Learning to see with spiritual eyes

Written by Seth Barnes on April 25, 2007. Posted in Abandon. 2 Comments on Learning to see with spiritual eyes

The last two day’s blogs have explored how we inadvertently mistake stewardship for ownership when we are stewards of something for a long time. Jesus combated this tendency...

The slow poison of a long stewardship

Written by Seth Barnes on April 24, 2007. Posted in Simplicity Liberates You. No Comments on The slow poison of a long stewardship

In yesterday’s blog, I unwrapped the subject of “the slow poison of a same place.” It’s a phenomenon whereby we become presumptuous about ownership of things...

The slow poison of a same place

Written by Seth Barnes on April 23, 2007. Posted in Simplicity Liberates You. 5 Comments on The slow poison of a same place

We just visited our friends Mike and Terri Nicholaou in Virginia. They have a neighbor lady with an attitude who presides over her section of the neighborhood with a subtle form...

God heals the beautiful feet of an evangelist

Written by Seth Barnes on April 22, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 2 Comments on God heals the beautiful feet of an evangelist

When I was in Cuba in 1995, I met Ramon Lopez, who was a revolutionary leader with Castro. He and his wife got into the ministry because of their son, now a pastor in Miami. At...

Do I tell my floating dog story?

Written by Seth Barnes on April 21, 2007. Posted in Vulnerability and me. 3 Comments on Do I tell my floating dog story?

We’re in Charlottesville, VA at the 20th year reunion of our business school. It’s an occasion for reminiscing. Arriving at the reception last night made me think thoughts...

Why Jesus keeps us off balance

Written by Seth Barnes on April 20, 2007. Posted in Discipling. 1 Comment on Why Jesus keeps us off balance

A central tenant of this blog is that to grow spiritually, we cannot settle into the comfortable and the familiar. A life of continual comfort devolves into a a form of slacker spirituality....

The power of vulnerability

Written by Seth Barnes on April 19, 2007. Posted in Vulnerability and me. 8 Comments on The power of vulnerability

One of the braver things I’ve seen this year was a World Racer I’ll call “Bill” confess his pornography addiction to his team. He was risking a lot. What...

Getting the poetry back in your life: Over the Rhine

Written by Seth Barnes on April 18, 2007. Posted in Better Living. 3 Comments on Getting the poetry back in your life: Over the Rhine

I don’t know about you, but there’s not enough poetry in my life. My soul has chords that need to be strummed far more frequently. Sunday night we (Messners, Mark, Amanda,...

Are you hungry?

Written by Seth Barnes on April 17, 2007. Posted in The Holy Spirit is on the move. 2 Comments on Are you hungry?

The whole point of this blog is to help you drain the complacency and comfort from your life so that you can experience the abundant life that Jesus promised you as one of his followers. More...

An example of listening prayer

Written by Seth Barnes on April 16, 2007. Posted in Listening prayer. 5 Comments on An example of listening prayer

I believe in taking risks. When a risk has been prayed over and is God-directed, it is a form of faith. Here’s an example: This past week I was on my regular jog, which, when...

The story of Emilio & Luisa

Written by Seth Barnes on April 14, 2007. Posted in The Holy Spirit is on the move. 4 Comments on The story of Emilio & Luisa

This past month our World Race team in the Andes mountains in Peru met an elderly couple, Emilio and Luisa Chavez. After some conversation, they led Luisa to Christ. A few days...

A story of church planting among the unreached

Written by Seth Barnes on April 13, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 4 Comments on A story of church planting among the unreached

Here’s a great story from Bob Logan’s book on church planting movements that I pulled off Steve Addison’s blog. Sure, here is the text with paragraph alignment: In...

How much money is enough?

Written by Seth Barnes on April 12, 2007. Posted in Simplicity Liberates You. 2 Comments on How much money is enough?

Here is an issue that so many of us want to keep private and off-limits even to good friends, much as we would refrain from discussing politics at a family reunion....

Threadbare Christian words

Written by Seth Barnes on April 11, 2007. Posted in Culture and Faith. 3 Comments on Threadbare Christian words

The following from Buechner makes the distinction between Christian words and the concepts behind them. Many of us who follow Jesus need to examine the exclusivist language we use...

Minister to others wherever you are

Written by Seth Barnes on April 10, 2007. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 3 Comments on Minister to others wherever you are

Ron Walborn tells the following story. I was at the grocery store, checking out when the people behind me accosted me. “Excuse me, are you Ron Walborn? Do you pastor...

We have far more power available to us

Written by Seth Barnes on April 9, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 3 Comments on We have far more power available to us

We’re sitting here in another World Race training conference in Georgia. We’re challenging the naturalistic worldview that young people get by osmosis growing up in...

Following a God who loves the remnant

Written by Seth Barnes on April 8, 2007. Posted in Mobilization. 1 Comment on Following a God who loves the remnant

We are a people who discard our remnants. On this resurrection day, it is worth considering a God who loves the remnant and the dramatic sensibility of a God who is continually snatching...

Make an extra effort to bridge the distance

Written by Seth Barnes on April 7, 2007. Posted in Church. 4 Comments on Make an extra effort to bridge the distance

Last week my old friend Damon Ghee made a special effort to see Karen and I after we’d not seen one another for a couple of years. He drove seven hours to spend a little...

Smashing the God box

Written by Seth Barnes on April 6, 2007. Posted in Comfort and Pain. 3 Comments on Smashing the God box

Ron Walborn tells the story of Kelly, a student at Nyack College where Walborn is a professor. A speaker at Nyack was praying for students and they were falling down. Kelly came...

Families are too small (part 2)

Written by Seth Barnes on April 5, 2007. Posted in Parenting. 4 Comments on Families are too small (part 2)

Responding to my blog on families being too small, Kathy Lucas wrote the following guest blog. “This one was an accident.” “This is it. No more!” “I...

When chaos attacks, fight back!

Written by Seth Barnes on April 4, 2007. Posted in Courage. 13 Comments on When chaos attacks, fight back!

Karen and I just returned home from a week away. Upon entering our home, we discovered it in a state of chaos: While...