Author: Seth Barnes

Becoming a person of grace

Written by Seth Barnes on February 24, 2012. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 15 Comments on Becoming a person of grace

An old friend picked a fight with me by email. It was unprovoked, out of the blue, and offered me a test. At first I wanted to respond defensively. But for all it’s drawbacks,...

Down in the dumps

Written by Seth Barnes on February 23, 2012. Posted in Poverty. 4 Comments on Down in the dumps

My son, Seth, is leading a project in Nicaragua this week. He just wrote the following about his experience in the dumps. I went to the dump in Granada, Nicaragua for the first...

God equips us with pain

Written by Seth Barnes on February 22, 2012. Posted in Comfort and Pain. 6 Comments on God equips us with pain

As a younger man, I was fired twice and three times demoted. In my view, I’d performed well and was the victim of office politics. I stored up a lot of angst and pain in the...

Ownership is overrated

Written by Seth Barnes on February 21, 2012. Posted in Simplicity Liberates You. 3 Comments on Ownership is overrated

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or-worse!-stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe…The...

Our Cambodia team

Written by Seth Barnes on February 20, 2012. Posted in Sex Trade and Sex Trafficking. 6 Comments on Our Cambodia team

There are 10 of them now and we expect 20 or so to be there by the fall. Most of them are fresh out of college and have committed to minister in Cambodia for at least two years....

Leaving Thailand

Written by Seth Barnes on February 16, 2012. Posted in My Life. 3 Comments on Leaving Thailand

There’s a lot to love about Thailand. While Phuket is ground zero for the sex trade and all it represents, it is also home to SHE Ministries, a key partner of Adventures. We...

Don’t live somebody else’s life

Written by Seth Barnes on February 15, 2012. Posted in Finding your call. 8 Comments on Don’t live somebody else’s life

You’ve got one life to live and lots of people who want to tell you how to live it. Your parents may want you to be successful. They may want you to become a doctor or a...

To grow, copy somebody else

Written by Seth Barnes on February 14, 2012. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 9 Comments on To grow, copy somebody else

Sometimes we can make mentoring too complicated. At the most basic level, if you want to learn how to do something new, you find someone who knows how and you watch them. That’s...

Worshiping a mysterious God

Written by Seth Barnes on February 13, 2012. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 2 Comments on Worshiping a mysterious God

C.S. Lewis calls it “the God-shaped vacuum.” Something in us longs to know God. The created wants to know the creator. And while God makes himself known to us in a thousand...

Blind spots & pendulum swings

Written by Seth Barnes on February 10, 2012. Posted in Parenting. 2 Comments on Blind spots & pendulum swings

Parenting is one of the hardest things you’ll ever undertake. Based on your own experience growing up, you may make vows about the things you’ll never do. Maybe your...

Ambivalent

Written by Seth Barnes on February 8, 2012. Posted in Comfort and Pain. 8 Comments on Ambivalent

Today we hopped on a long flight to Asia. We have arrived and are deep into combating jet lag as I write this. It’s 1:11 a.m. and the A/C isn’t working. I think we’re...

God, the master recycler

Written by Seth Barnes on February 6, 2012. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 4 Comments on God, the master recycler

In 1979, horrified by the genocide Pol Pot was visiting upon his country, I knew I had to do something. I was a senior at Wheaton College, but before long, I was traveling to Thailand...

Disappointed with God

Written by Seth Barnes on February 6, 2012. Posted in A broken world. 14 Comments on Disappointed with God

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Georgia. The Superbowl party at the Hyltons was a blast. Along the way I had the chance to talk to a friend who has had a lot of pain in his life....

Take the afternoon off

Written by Seth Barnes on February 5, 2012. Posted in Living Free. 9 Comments on Take the afternoon off

One of the top regrets people (men especially) have before they die is “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.” I’m a hard worker and don’t want that be a...

Top 5 regrets of the dying

Written by Seth Barnes on February 3, 2012. Posted in Better Living. 4 Comments on Top 5 regrets of the dying

Saw this article in the Guardian. There was no mention of more sex or bungee jumps. Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years caring for patients in the last 12...

Defragging from a toxic environment

Written by Seth Barnes on February 2, 2012. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 14 Comments on Defragging from a toxic environment

This past weekend I was at my daughter’s home in downtown Atlanta. I was talking to her and a roommate about their toxic work environment. “A lot of the people there...

Passion’s not enough

Written by Seth Barnes on February 1, 2012. Posted in Dreaming. 5 Comments on Passion’s not enough

Most passion is inert, unharnessed to a dream. We need passion, but it’s not enough. Eventually passion needs to resolve itself into a dream. And dreams alone are not enough....

What season of life am I in?

Written by Seth Barnes on January 31, 2012. Posted in Finding your call. 6 Comments on What season of life am I in?

I’ve watched young people struggle under the pressure of needing to perform. We all need pressure, but some of it is unnecessary, born of a people-pleasing spirit or a sense...

What is a day worth?

Written by Seth Barnes on January 30, 2012. Posted in Better Living. 10 Comments on What is a day worth?

“Better is one day in your courts…” Psalm 84:10 Sunday was my day to spend with Emily at her new home in Atlanta. We went to church together at Atlanta Christian...

Finding hope when life is a shambles

Written by Seth Barnes on January 27, 2012. Posted in Faith & risk. 14 Comments on Finding hope when life is a shambles

For 22 years we have prayed for the healing of a family member. And at this point, praying is a grind. Other folks pray for us more than I probably do. Please don’t judge me,...

Free from religion

Written by Seth Barnes on January 26, 2012. Posted in Living Free. 18 Comments on Free from religion

“Religion” has become a bad word. In a society that puts a premium on authenticity, it has come to mean “pre-planned.” In a culture that prizes reality, it...

How I connect the body

Written by Seth Barnes on January 25, 2012. Posted in Community and Covenant. 3 Comments on How I connect the body

We need each other in the worst way. We were hardwired for connection. In this age of networks and super specialization, we have more connecting opportunities than ever before. Facebook...

Too fast for needy people

Written by Seth Barnes on January 24, 2012. Posted in Poverty. 21 Comments on Too fast for needy people

I awoke from a dream at 3:30 a.m. In the dream I was flying in a small plane. We were descending rapidly to a grassy landing strip somewhere in a place that seemed remote. The...

Powerful connections

Written by Seth Barnes on January 23, 2012. Posted in Community and Covenant. 4 Comments on Powerful connections

While the average person has 150 acquaintances and 130 Facebook friends, they have just two close friends. According to the Discovery Channel’s report, one in four people have...