Category: Spiritual Formation

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LET YOUR DEED MATCH YOUR CREED

I mentioned the church I visited last Sunday with all of the young adults……I sat there pondering what is drawing young adults to this place.  The pastor, preaching on lessons of the day, talked about one’s calling and how important it is to have your “deed match your creed.”  Seems another way of saying we […]

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INTEGRATED LIVING: Transitional Living Toward Focused Mission

What is it that one might reflect upon?  It seems to me that reflection begins with values and a movement toward authenticity.  In a life where there is little in the way of reflection it is easy to move in disconnected directions.  When this happens a person tends to become what others desire rather than […]

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CONVERSATIONS WITH STEVE: A NEW PIVOT POINT MINISTRY

Technology provides wonderful new opportunities for ministry.  Beginning in April, Pivot Point Ministries will offer CONVERSATIONS WITH STEVE.  These conversations will center on a given topic as participants bring together their expertise, insight and questions.  This will be an electronic round-table in which all participate, and, all lead.  It is hoped that participants can share […]

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The Destructiveness of Individualism

In one of his final sermons in office, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the destructiveness of individualism.  Alexis de Toqueville, a French writer describing the new American experiment, said that the democratic movement would prosper unless the concept of community was replaced by individualism.  He remarked that the American experiment would be doomed to failure […]

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Seeking Peace and Safety

I pray for and seek a life of nonviolence.  It is my prayer that, as God gives peace through Christ, this peace will be translated into action.  In the sixth century, when Europe was experiencing economic, communal, and social collapse, and marauding bands of destructive tribes wrought violence throughout the countryside, Benedict of Nursia created […]

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Recent Items

  • The Loneliness Factor

    I was at a luncheon that was serving as a listening post for seniors to describe their sense of loneliness and isolation. I knew that the population invited to this luncheon was one that would probably have a higher sense of isolation, but, what I heard was much more intense than I expected. A man […]

  • Social Networks and Aging

    It is interesting that research is showing two demographics experiencing social isolation in such as way as to impact health: Young Adults (18-22) and Senior Adults (65+). I have worked with both populations over the past 50 years and I continue to be amazed at the similarity of the questions raised by both groups and […]

  • An Eye-Opening Awareness: One More Transition for this Guy

    I sat at a luncheon two weeks ago that opened my eyes to a reality that I knew was there, but as the discussion unfolded I began to realize how the discussion, about to take place, was going to expand my thinking. As I listened to the needs of the people with whom I shared […]

  • TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE: LETTING GOD SET THE AGENDA

    When it comes to the human condition and a desire to change, we can become easily frustrated: we think that we want to change … but we really don’t. Paul expresses this contradiction well in Romans 7:15-24: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do […]

  • The Crisis of Loneliness

    THE NATIONAL CRISIS CALLED LONELINESS From “LINKED IN” “America is becoming Isolation Nation. Nearly half of respondents to a nationwide survey by health insurer Cigna say they always or sometimes feel alone, and 54% say they feel no one knows them well. Such loneliness is connected to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death. The […]