Author: Seth Barnes

4 Aids to personal growth

Written by Seth Barnes on April 3, 2007. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 3 Comments on 4 Aids to personal growth

In life, many people get stuck somewhere on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. They just settle at a certain level and never go higher. The vast majority of humans are stuck in the...

5 Barriers to personal growth

Written by Seth Barnes on April 2, 2007. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 5 Comments on 5 Barriers to personal growth

Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to grow. So why is it that as you look at your life, you may not be happy and you feel as though you’re not growing? Over the years...

A.A. looks more like church than a lot of churches

Written by Seth Barnes on April 1, 2007. Posted in Church. 4 Comments on A.A. looks more like church than a lot of churches

The following from Buechner compares A.A. to the church. The church would look a lot more attractive if it learned a few things from A.A. Alcoholics anonymous or A.A. is the name...

Cuban pastors confronting Castro’s godless government

Written by Seth Barnes on March 31, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 1 Comment on Cuban pastors confronting Castro’s godless government

In yesterday’s blog, I shared the story of a pastor I met in Cuba named Manuel who is fearless in the face of persecution. Here is another story he shared with me. “Once...

Miracles happening in Cuba

Written by Seth Barnes on March 31, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 1 Comment on Miracles happening in Cuba

When I traveled to Cuba in 1995, I met Manuel Rodriguez, a pastor in his 50’s at the time. The fruit of a lifetime of ministry is impressive. Growing up in Castro’s Cuba...

Families are too small these days

Written by Seth Barnes on March 29, 2007. Posted in Parenting. 7 Comments on Families are too small these days

Families in America and in other western countries are too small these days. They barely keep up with the replacement rate (2.1 children per couple) and in some countries like Spain,...

Yearning for a perfect father (part 3)

Written by Seth Barnes on March 28, 2007. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 2 Comments on Yearning for a perfect father (part 3)

Third in a series on fathering We all incur wounds at the hands of our fathers. Even the best fathers have their shortcomings, leaving some sort of painful memory in the minds of...

Fathers, call out your children (part 2)

Written by Seth Barnes on March 27, 2007. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 3 Comments on Fathers, call out your children (part 2)

Second in a series on fathering Perhaps one of the most prevalent needs of a child for their father is to have someone to “launch” them into the world. It is a father...

Job description for a father

Written by Seth Barnes on March 26, 2007. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 15 Comments on Job description for a father

First in a series on fathering If you’re a teenager, you can easily pick out all the ways in which your father is letting you down. But what does a good father look like? What...

Answering a call to ministry

Written by Seth Barnes on March 25, 2007. Posted in Finding your call. 7 Comments on Answering a call to ministry

Buechner on the subject of answering a call to ministry is so good, he’s poetic. “I hear you are entering the ministry,” the woman said down the long table, meaning...

Jesus and the kingdom – what he meant

Written by Seth Barnes on March 24, 2007. Posted in Kingdom Reality. No Comments on Jesus and the kingdom – what he meant

Jesus is poorly understood by Evangelicals on the subject of the Kingdom. Buechner lends us a helping hand here. It is not a place, of course, but a condition. Kingship might...

Trading comfort for adventure

Written by Seth Barnes on March 23, 2007. Posted in Comfort and Pain. 4 Comments on Trading comfort for adventure

Our culture prizes comfort and perpetuates consumerism. It locks us into a lifestyle where we expect the soft, the savory and the entertaining on a daily basis. And this expectation...

Learning abandonment & prayer in Cuba

Written by Seth Barnes on March 22, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 3 Comments on Learning abandonment & prayer in Cuba

On my trip to Cuba 11 years ago, I met Inez Suarez. She may be retired as a pastor, but she had not lost her passion for the gospel. When the government shut down her church in Jaguay...

A generation like birds over a lake toward a volcano

Written by Seth Barnes on March 21, 2007. Posted in Mobilization. 4 Comments on A generation like birds over a lake toward a volcano

At precisely 5:45, as the first glint of dawn light illuminated the Nicaraguan landscape, thousands of swallows came rushing down the sand dunes, past my ankles, skimming like miniature...

What does it feel like to live in a garbage dump?

Written by Seth Barnes on March 20, 2007. Posted in Poverty. 2 Comments on What does it feel like to live in a garbage dump?

I just returned from debriefing the World Racers in Nicaragua. They had so many different experiences this past month. Some worked with the poorest of the poor living in the garbage...

My college buddy is a star witness in a scandal

Written by Seth Barnes on March 19, 2007. Posted in My Life. 3 Comments on My college buddy is a star witness in a scandal

Dave Iglesias and I have been buddies since freshman year of college at Wheaton 27 years ago.Every year we get together somewhere in the world to have fun. We both have four girls,...

Which voices are you listening to in life?

Written by Seth Barnes on March 18, 2007. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. No Comments on Which voices are you listening to in life?

The following meditation from Buechner is profound and even disturbing. I pray that it unsettles you if you’re one of those who needs to listen more closely to what God is...

How to become a human being

Written by Seth Barnes on March 17, 2007. Posted in Identity issues. 5 Comments on How to become a human being

Buechner writes the following on the subject of what it means to become truly human. I derive great solace from his writings, particularly when I periodically am flummoxed and discombobulated...

Helping the poorest of the poor: a success story

Written by Seth Barnes on March 16, 2007. Posted in Eswatini / Swaziland. 5 Comments on Helping the poorest of the poor: a success story

Julie Anderson had been leading short-term teams with AIM for eight years. She felt God calling her to commit to a country and a people – Swaziland. Not long after moving there,...

Limits of a U.S.-based mission trip

Written by Seth Barnes on March 15, 2007. Posted in Short-term missions. 5 Comments on Limits of a U.S.-based mission trip

Part 4 of a series on the subject of dependency in STMs. Many youth groups for whom a short-term mission trip (STM) has become a faddish part of their calendar are stuck in a U.S.-based...

The dangers of dependency on a mission trip (part 3)

Written by Seth Barnes on March 14, 2007. Posted in Short-term missions. 1 Comment on The dangers of dependency on a mission trip (part 3)

Third in a series on the issue of dependency focuses on why it can backfire on your group. For the participants of the sending church, a sense of dependency can also be formed. Most...

The dangers of dependency on a mission trip (part 2)

Written by Seth Barnes on March 13, 2007. Posted in Short-term missions. No Comments on The dangers of dependency on a mission trip (part 2)

Second in a series on the issue focuses on dangers to the host church. The reasons for going to a new location for a missions project are largely based on the problem of dependency....

The dangers of dependency on a mission trip (part 1)

Written by Seth Barnes on March 12, 2007. Posted in Short-term missions. No Comments on The dangers of dependency on a mission trip (part 1)

First in a series on the issue of dependency, focusing on your objectives in going. If you are working with a host partner and your objective is true partnership, then you will...

Floyd McClung on debriefing

Written by Seth Barnes on March 11, 2007. Posted in Debriefing. 1 Comment on Floyd McClung on debriefing

I’m leaving this morning to debrief our World Race team in Nicaragua. Here’s a video showing what one team has gone through this past month. And here’s another...