Author: Seth Barnes

Here’s What Courage Looks Like – Kathy Lucas R.I.P.

Written by Seth Barnes on January 5, 2017. Posted in Courage. 2 Comments on Here’s What Courage Looks Like – Kathy Lucas R.I.P.

Last night we lost a friend and one of our best kingdom warriors. Kathy Lucas showed me a lot in the decade that I knew her. She knew the stakes and she fought well. Her life was...

Here’s a Way to Make Those Resolutions a Reality

Written by Seth Barnes on January 2, 2017. Posted in Better Living. 5 Comments on Here’s a Way to Make Those Resolutions a Reality

How many of you just made some New Year’s Resolutions? Resolutions are changes that you want to make to your life. Yet, if you’re like most people, you know from experience...

Make 2017 a Journey of Discovery

Written by Seth Barnes on December 29, 2016. Posted in Better Living. 5 Comments on Make 2017 a Journey of Discovery

How are you approaching the new year? Change is hard for a lot of people and so much will change in the year ahead. I like the idea of seeing it in terms of another leg on your...

God is a Father Who Wants His Family Back

Written by Seth Barnes on December 21, 2016. Posted in Lordship. 5 Comments on God is a Father Who Wants His Family Back

I’m a bundle of contradictions. On the one hand I’m mercy-driven. And on the other, I enjoy watching these justice/revenge-focused movies like Taken. What’s up...

Where Did Your Spirit Come Alive?

Written by Seth Barnes on December 15, 2016. Posted in Finding your call. 9 Comments on Where Did Your Spirit Come Alive?

This morning the doorbell rang. It was a repairman. I invited him into the house. I introduced myself. He said his name was Manuel. Where are you from?” I asked. And in my...

How To Change Your Story From Ordinary To Amazing

Written by Seth Barnes on December 8, 2016. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. 1 Comment on How To Change Your Story From Ordinary To Amazing

My parents had lived a good life. At 61, they were pillars of the community. Early in their married life, not wanting to go into debt, my dad enlisted in the army. The military...

Did Jesus Emphasize Excellence?

Written by Seth Barnes on December 1, 2016. Posted in Leadership. 2 Comments on Did Jesus Emphasize Excellence?

Today is my son’s 32nd birthday. He is a person of excellence – he doesn’t cut corners. How about you? Are you a person who works to “good enough” or...

The Gift of An Extended Family

Written by Seth Barnes on November 23, 2016. Posted in Intergenerational connection. 3 Comments on The Gift of An Extended Family

The morning began in a disconcerting way. So far, we have six house guests with a bunch more coming. I have a little coffee routine in the morning and was awake early this morning,...

What God Wants Men to Do

Written by Seth Barnes on November 19, 2016. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 8 Comments on What God Wants Men to Do

A lot of men are confused these days. We live in confusing times. We want to know, “Who am I and what should I do?” Here is what God said to Adam and what he’s...

The Secret of Getting Men In Church & On Mission

Written by Seth Barnes on November 15, 2016. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 21 Comments on The Secret of Getting Men In Church & On Mission

I was jogging through our neighborhood asking myself the question, “What’s the deal with men and church?” I mean, it’s a real problem. Men are no longer...

6 Ways to Know If You’ve Been Called By God

Written by Seth Barnes on November 8, 2016. Posted in Finding your call. 22 Comments on 6 Ways to Know If You’ve Been Called By God

Following God’s call was one of the toughest things I ever had to do. And what made it especially hard is that the same questions kept coming up every few years until I’d...

Why Community Is Hard To Find & What To Do About It

Written by Seth Barnes on November 1, 2016. Posted in Community and Covenant. 6 Comments on Why Community Is Hard To Find & What To Do About It

People in wealthy countries are much more likely to be depressed than people in poor countries.* Many have stopped having children because they’re pessimistic about the...

What Do We Need to Leave In Order to Grow Up?

Written by Seth Barnes on October 25, 2016. Posted in Abandon. 12 Comments on What Do We Need to Leave In Order to Grow Up?

My parents loved me the best they could, but our home was a claustrophobic place by the time I was 18. The four walls of my bedroom were not going to contain me. The world was beckoning...

Vulnerability Gets Us to God’s Best

Written by Seth Barnes on October 19, 2016. Posted in Vulnerability and me. 12 Comments on Vulnerability Gets Us to God’s Best

I’m writing this from Thailand. When I return home from trips like this, Asha, our little Morky dog, invariably will greet me by laying on her back and showing her stomach....

5 Ways to Move From Vulnerability to Intimacy

Written by Seth Barnes on October 11, 2016. Posted in Vulnerability and me. 2 Comments on 5 Ways to Move From Vulnerability to Intimacy

Brene Brown is all the rage at Adventures. Her TED talk on vulnerability went viral – nearly 27 million views – and it sure hit a responsive chord with us. Why?...

Why Vulnerability is So Important

Written by Seth Barnes on October 4, 2016. Posted in Vulnerability and me. 14 Comments on Why Vulnerability is So Important

We all hunger for intimacy; it’s hard-wired into humans. We want to go be known and we want to go deep. But getting to a place of intimacy seems more complicated than ever...

What Do I Need to Repent For?

Written by Seth Barnes on September 27, 2016. Posted in Vulnerability and me. 17 Comments on What Do I Need to Repent For?

The coffee is good this morning. It’s especially good because it’s early. I awoke before 6am, but I lay there, because I hadn’t slept enough. Then thoughts of...

Spiritual Sleepwalking Requires an Awakening

Written by Seth Barnes on September 21, 2016. Posted in Lordship. 3 Comments on Spiritual Sleepwalking Requires an Awakening

I think Jesus might be saying the same thing to me he said to the Sardis Church: “Wake up!” Maybe he’s wanting to say it to you as well. All my life I’ve...

How Do You Give A Spiritual Inheritance to Those You Love?

Written by Seth Barnes on September 16, 2016. Posted in Community and Covenant. 10 Comments on How Do You Give A Spiritual Inheritance to Those You Love?

Church is important to me, but I struggle with it. I look at Scripture and I look at the Sunday morning social club that church has become, and the gap concerns me. Yet, it is part...

Why Familiarity Breeds Contempt & What To Do About It

Written by Seth Barnes on September 6, 2016. Posted in Comfort and Pain. 19 Comments on Why Familiarity Breeds Contempt & What To Do About It

God made you to be great. But you will never walk in the greatness he made you for until you’ve left your hometown. Hometowns are places of familiarity and as the proverb says,...

Your Best is Revealed in Discomfort

Written by Seth Barnes on September 2, 2016. Posted in Comfort and Pain. 5 Comments on Your Best is Revealed in Discomfort

Your potential for greatness is probably far beyond what you realize. But it will cost you to get there. To get to greatness, we humans have to bleed. Why? For one thing, greatness...

You Are Not An Orphan – Stop Living Like One!

Written by Seth Barnes on August 26, 2016. Posted in Identity issues. 4 Comments on You Are Not An Orphan – Stop Living Like One!

Ashley Mueller wrote a blog about how she feels sometimes. “As long as I’ve remembered, I’ve always feared there will never be enough of anything for...

The Red Pill of Commitment

Written by Seth Barnes on August 18, 2016. Posted in Dreaming. 14 Comments on The Red Pill of Commitment

The ministry I work for changes lives. And for many, it all starts with Training Camp. Training Camp is a chance to swallow the red pill. Participants (we call them Racers) have...

We Call the Commission Great – But Is It?

Written by Seth Barnes on August 11, 2016. Posted in Missions. 3 Comments on We Call the Commission Great – But Is It?

I run in the morning before the summer sun begins to beat down. Generally it’s about three miles and it’s through our little blue collar neighborhood. Each of the three...