Author: Seth Barnes

In a New Season? Review the Seven Habits

Written by Seth Barnes on October 1, 2013. Posted in Leadership. 7 Comments on In a New Season? Review the Seven Habits

We live our lives in seasons. If you’re like me, you live in a cycle of seasons defined by school. Start a new year in the fall; graduate in the spring. It seems somebody in...

Surprise! Losing is Good for You

Written by Seth Barnes on September 25, 2013. Posted in Parenting. 4 Comments on Surprise! Losing is Good for You

Things that get rewarded get repeated, so regularly reward your child for being a winner, right? Turns out, life is not so simple. In life, you’re going to lose more often...

Why Do We Debrief?

Written by Seth Barnes on September 19, 2013. Posted in Debriefing. 5 Comments on Why Do We Debrief?

You can't debrief yourself, but you need debriefing. Debriefing as an activity requires at least two people. One person to ask the questions and the other to answer. Life happens...

You never know the impact you make

Written by Seth Barnes on September 12, 2013. Posted in Spiritual Coaching. 5 Comments on You never know the impact you make

In 1974, I was a punk high school kid. For all the things wrong with my life at the time, one of the things that I could do OK was wrestle. Gil Waterman was an all-American Wheaton...

Som – Kind of Wonderful

Written by Seth Barnes on September 5, 2013. Posted in Cambodia. 9 Comments on Som – Kind of Wonderful

The following is the rest of the story about Som, a paralyzed woman Megan Kennedy met in Cambodia. Read the first part here. Each day this month when we visited 42 village, I would...

A Woman Named Som

Written by Seth Barnes on September 3, 2013. Posted in Cambodia. 10 Comments on A Woman Named Som

Megan Kennedy shares this touching story from Cambodia. On a small plot of land just outside the city of Kampong Cham, the people of "42 village" reside. 42 village is...

Sustainability in Swaziland

Written by Seth Barnes on August 29, 2013. Posted in Eswatini / Swaziland. 5 Comments on Sustainability in Swaziland

The fight for hope and life rages in Swaziland. I returned from a visit yesterday. An estimated 40% of adults are dying from AIDS. Drugs help – ARVs are relatively cheap. But...

Recovering From a Broken Heart

Written by Seth Barnes on August 19, 2013. Posted in A broken world. 11 Comments on Recovering From a Broken Heart

So many of my friends are struggling with some aspect of brokenness. Some are dealing with a sadness so profound, it’s really a broken heart that they’re tending. And...

Burned Out on Religion?

Written by Seth Barnes on August 13, 2013. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 10 Comments on Burned Out on Religion?

When it comes to religion, some people think, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If it worked before, just keep doing it. They’re good at making and...

Compassion on the Burnouts

Written by Seth Barnes on August 7, 2013. Posted in Church. 14 Comments on Compassion on the Burnouts

Jesus had compassion on the burnouts, of whom I’m one. Here was his prescription for those tired of a hollow, lifeless faith: “Walk with me and work with me—watch how...

Regaining a Theology of Danger

Written by Seth Barnes on July 29, 2013. Posted in Courage. 14 Comments on Regaining a Theology of Danger

Sunday at the local church. Four policemen wandered the campus during the Sunday morning service. They were there just to keep people inside safe. I thought about it, and it flipped...

Rehabilitating the Word ‘Evangelism’

Written by Seth Barnes on July 22, 2013. Posted in Culture and Faith. 8 Comments on Rehabilitating the Word ‘Evangelism’

We can be evangelists for our computers or the latest tech, but talk about your faith in the wrong place these days and you might get arrested. Evangelism and evangelists have fallen...

Following A Call to Extreme Poverty

Written by Seth Barnes on July 9, 2013. Posted in Poverty. 7 Comments on Following A Call to Extreme Poverty

This is a guest post by Emily Chant, currently in South Africa. Today I walked the “wetlands”, a slum community on the outskirts of Masiphumelele. God has given me a...

Debriefing Your Childhood

Written by Seth Barnes on June 27, 2013. Posted in Parenting. 8 Comments on Debriefing Your Childhood

Joe Lynch, a friend and coworker, decided to debrief his daughter Kerrey on her childhood. It's a conversation I recommend parents have with each of their children as they...

Giving Away $100,000

Written by Seth Barnes on June 18, 2013. Posted in Dreaming. 5 Comments on Giving Away $100,000

Great news! We're giving away $100,000 to fund God's dreams. Led by Daniel Stinson, a young man who believes in the power of dreams, the folks at Adventures just raised...

Help Celebrate an Unsung Hero

Written by Seth Barnes on June 11, 2013. Posted in Kingdom Reality. No Comments on Help Celebrate an Unsung Hero

Over the years, I've met hundreds of people who are quietly changing the world. They live stories of sacrifice, risk, and heartfelt love. But many of them at times feel alone...

Why Do a Pilgrimage?

Written by Seth Barnes on June 10, 2013. Posted in Journeys. 4 Comments on Why Do a Pilgrimage?

It's been a crazy couple of months. I became a grandfather. I came face-to-face with the sudden death of someone I loved. And then, it happened a second time. For a while,...

Camino Culture

Written by Seth Barnes on June 2, 2013. Posted in Community and Covenant. 1 Comment on Camino Culture

After seeing the movie "The Way," I sensed that a walk on the Camino might be in my future at some point in my life. There's something about it that has pulled pilgrims...

Awesome Leadership Development

Written by Seth Barnes on May 24, 2013. Posted in Leadership. 4 Comments on Awesome Leadership Development

I'm on a 200 mile hike on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. Here's why: For several years now, I've been dreaming about creating a high voltage leadership...

Karen’s Mom vs. the Big Lie

Written by Seth Barnes on May 21, 2013. Posted in My Life. 6 Comments on Karen’s Mom vs. the Big Lie

There is a lie afoot in our culture that says, "You are what you do." It roots our identities in our careers and in our accomplishment. We begin our cocktail party conversations...

Connecting To Your Past

Written by Seth Barnes on May 9, 2013. Posted in Culture and Faith. 11 Comments on Connecting To Your Past

I ran through Tokyo this morning. Took a left on the main road out of the hotel at 6 a.m. Took in all that I could of Japan along the way. A factory, a bamboo forest, small gardens,...

Jesus’ promises about pain

Written by Seth Barnes on May 3, 2013. Posted in A broken world. 7 Comments on Jesus’ promises about pain

I'm returning from two weeks in Kenya. One night we went to sleep to the sounds of a torrential downpour. In the morning we woke to the news that three children that members...

Parents Vision Trip

Written by Seth Barnes on April 26, 2013. Posted in Mobilization. 12 Comments on Parents Vision Trip

I'm on a World Race parents vision trip in Kenya. It's beautiful here on the green escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. Forty parents and their 27 racers are with us and...

Michael Black Graduates Today

Written by Seth Barnes on April 21, 2013. Posted in Comfort and Pain. 20 Comments on Michael Black Graduates Today

You were the golden boy we parents always want. And today is graduation day. We come dressed in black, but we also come to celebrate all that was golden in you. You grew up strong...