Archive - Identity RSS Feed

Daddy Issues: 3 Foundations of a Father

May 16, 2012 in Identity 20

What was your relationship like with your father?

That’s the first question I ask when dealing with issues of fear. Some immediately squirm. Others frown and cross their arms. Some smile and say that the relationship was great. But very few know the full impact of this relationship to their lives.

Once you understand what you were meant to receive from your father, you can make the connection to how these things affect your life.

A father is meant to provide 3 key foundations in the lives of his children:

  • Provision
  • Protection
  • Identity

This list is by no means exhaustive. However, I’ve found that these 3 foundations come up over and over and are the root of many, if not all our issues relating to fear.

Continue Reading…

Daddy Issues: A Series

May 15, 2012 in Identity 27

“Fathers be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do.” – John Mayer

When we think of “daddy issues” we’re typically referring to what’s behind the attention-seeking, flirtatious, promiscuous, overly emotional woman. In a sense there is truth to this generalization but daddy issues aren’t only reserved for women or even these specific characteristics. They affect us all in more ways than we realize.

Over the past 2 years I’ve been a part of the inner healing ministry in my church. I’ve walked a number of people through various issues in life.

I’ve found that fear in some form surfaces in the lives of nearly every person that walks through the door. Without fail, fear finds it’s root in father issues.

Continue Reading…

What Garbage Juice Taught Me About Humility

April 26, 2012 in Identity 31

“They won’t take it if it’s overflowing. You need to move the trash to the other dumpster.”

I stared down at the text message on my phone in a brief moment of incredulity. I realized that I was going to have to go into the dumpster and pull out trash bags, then haul them across the street on a cart.

The trash at the church wasn’t picked up the previous week because it was just barely more full than they allow. A week later, the trash was out of control. I’m confident people were attempting to recreate the Tower of Babel in the dumpster.

“Are you freaking serious?” I thought to myself. I was not a happy camper.

Continue Reading…

Praying Like An Orphan

April 13, 2012 in Identity 17

From Tony: This is a story from my friend Jason, who is learning a lot after recently adopting a beautiful boy from Japan. If you are interested in submitting a guest post, you can find out more here.

Driving around to another appointment, my son was ecstatic that we had been to Wal-Mart and found a snack that he used to enjoy in Japan (little panda cookies with strawberry filling).

It’s been a good two months since we brought Mizuki home from the orphanage he had been in all his life. Being part of a family in a new place has been a big adjustment, but I know he’s truly beginning to see us as home.

Continue Reading…

How Our Name Is Tied To Our Destiny

April 11, 2012 in Identity 23

Do you ever read the Bible and get caught up in theological terms? 

Predestination and election are two terms that I’ve wrestled with for a few years. When I try to wrap my head around these concepts, I never feel like I fully have it figured out. And rightly so because it is a beautiful mystery.

Sometimes another perspective helps me get deeper revelation of a concept. That’s why I like the Message translation of Romans 8:29-30ish:

“After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name.”

How Our Name Is Tied To Our Destiny

There is a lot of technical jargon in the original language about “foreknowing” and “predestining” but this translation gives me new insight.

Continue Reading…

More Of You Means More Of Me

March 20, 2012 in Identity 29

The other day in worship my friend Andrew began to sing a refrain that most of us are pretty familiar with. “More of you and less of me, Jesus“. The problem was that he changed it up and sang out “More of you means more of me. More of you means the real me.” It caught me off guard and I needed a minute to process it before I could actually sing it out.

More of You

Initially it seemed contrary to a humble heart. The message of humility is something that has marked me. Not because I necessarily have a firm grasp on it. More because the Lord has revealed to me its utmost importance in the life of His followers. So I had to ask myself, does more of Him really mean more of me?

Continue Reading…

You Become What You Behold

March 7, 2012 in Identity 9

In my experience, weddings come in spurts. I know about 10 people that have been married within the past year, including myself. In these waves, I get my fill of weddings and then some.

You Become What You Behold

What is cool is to see how each couple decides to plan their wedding. Some are very informal (like we did) and others are quite traditional. One of the most interesting weddings I went to years back was when one of my best friends married a Greek Orthodox. It was a very traditional wedding in every sense of the word.

Wedding traditions can be something of an enigma, especially to guys. As Katie and I were planning our wedding, I began to look at the origin of some of these traditions.

All cultures have different traditions on when the wedding starts, what is worn, the type of ceremony, food and music.

One of the most consistent components of a wedding in all traditions is the veil.

The veil is a face covering, symbolic of purity and virginity. If the bride is a virgin, she often wears the face veil through the ceremony and then either her father lifts the veil, presenting the bride to her groom, or the groom lifts the veil to symbolically consummate the marriage covenant.

Continue Reading…

Sin Management vs Holy Spirit Leadership

March 1, 2012 in Identity 25

Since coming on staff as the Communications Director for my church, my outlook on leadership has significantly changed. In all of my previous jobs, I’ve been managed. It wasn’t until I actually experienced healthy leadership that I realized management and leadership are two very different concepts.

My pastor is very much a visionary. His aim is to empower everyone on our team to excel in their area of gifting. He comes in to cast vision and provide overall guidance but he’s not a mirco manager and he extends a lot of freedom. Much more freedom than I’m used to.

This is a stark contrast to what I’ve seen in management. My managers were there to provide stability, structure and facilitate the status quo. I know all about policies, procedures and formal processes. My managed environments were safe, full of rules and they thrived when risk was minimized.

But this all got me thinking about the Holy Spirit’s role in my life. Is He a manager or a leader?

Continue Reading…

Stop Blaming The Holy Spirit For Your Conviction

February 28, 2012 in Identity 28

My first job was in a grocery store. I was a bagger for a couple of years before I was promoted to the meat department. This is where I encountered my first jerk of a boss.

He was a perfectionist in every sense of the word. Every shelf had to be stocked fully and perfectly. He was quick to point out the smallest flaws and he regularly did so in front of others. I’m pretty good at not making mistakes once I learn something, but there were more than a few times that he berated me in front of employees and even customers.

Continue Reading…

Getting To Know Uncle H

February 27, 2012 in Identity 24

I’ve never been to a family reunion but I’ve talked to others who have. Some families are loud and crazy while others are conservative and formal. However, the one common thread in all the stories has to do with the weird uncle. The one everyone either ignores or avoids.

In some stories the uncle is crazy and obnoxious. Other stories paint the picture of the drunk uncle that sits by the bar, mumbling unintelligibly to anyone in earshot.

In all cases, the uncle is reluctantly invited while hoping he won’t come to the event. Sometimes he shows up and makes a scene that everyone tries to handle quickly and efficiently. Other times he sits quietly in the corner. But like it or not, he’s family so he’s invited.

Continue Reading…

Page 1 of 712345»...Last »