NextGenKent

I recently read an article's title that caused me to think, "What could that mean for leadership in realtime?" I was not disappointed as I took some moments to reflect on wolves, packs, what has been shown in cartoons about them, and on the 'what ifs' of all I know about wolves not being true. Can you say, "epiphany?" The subheading summed up the article quite well,  " The idea that wolf packs are led by a merciless dictator, or alpha wolf, comes from old studies of captive wolves. In the wild, wolf packs are simply families." [ Scientific America - Feb 2023] Wait. Wolves in captivity or in a setup environment are different than those in nature? Hierarchy emerges when the same old members are the same old members in a closed community. Not unheard of as this is how cults make things work--authority is ... well now I have an open-ended question: is it needed or is it a false natural? A false natural in that if the group had a choice hierarchy ma...

My daughter worked on her graduation display after I went to bed at 10:30pm. At 12:15am, she spoke into my bedroom, "Dad, I need your help with something. I spilled some paint on the carpet." My grogginess soon dissipated when I walked into the living room and saw an eight-inch circle of deep black. She had reached for something and turned over a pint full of tempera paint and had already attempted cleaning it up. "This happened in your bedroom once before ... and why we told you to have plenty of newspaper down..." No speech would help her (or the carpet) at this point, so I stopped, turned and headed for the Oxi-clean.  It was my problem now.  I could stop there because that is the crux of the theological moment for a life lesson that happened that night. At least the summary of what God spoke to my heart as I headed back up the stairs to go to bed.  We are going into the Pentecost season starting Sunday, and I am filling in the pulpit at a ch...

What if I never had to sin again? Part 1. I have been pursuing some answers to my sin problem--or my overcoming sin problem, that is of being able to move beyond forgiveness to developing patterns in my life that keep me connected to God and all that that means. Isn't that called Sanctification? Well, most likely, but stating the word now locks me into a theological debate I do not want to get involved in. But yes. I purchased a book not too long ago entitled, The Five Views of Sanctification, which basically has each view beating up on all of the others in Jesus' name while rising to the top. I bought it because it added yet another feather into the hat of my search for perfection--it continues in humanity too. It is a viable question of merit. Perfection? Another theological term I do not want to debate (but discuss? Yep). It doesn't mean to me what it means to so many others. To me it means responsibility to the best I am able. Some would say it is the Garden of E...

Most of us are just waiting around in life. Oh, we have a schedule to keep, make lists perhaps, have a pretty good idea of how the day is going to go; but most of us don't initiate anything. It's a "get up out of bed then live life until we go back to bed" sort of existence. We may gain something from being with friends, family, getting that paycheck on Friday, sleeping in on Saturdays and Sundays, but when Monday comes back around its "same o, same o." I wonder if people tire of this "do it again" existence.  Jesus told a parable about some guys who were just waiting around. In the parable the master hires the guys to go work in his field and they seemed excited to do so...for pay. There is more to this parable but I wonder if this waiting around problem isn't new to my day ... To me? I have been feeling like I have just been waiting around. It's safe, just waiting. Besides the Bible gives a promise to those who wait ... Who wait upon the ...