[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”lifeverse welcoming truth sermon dfmc”]image: Davison Free Methodist Church[/featured-image] This past Sunday I spoke in both services at the church I grew up in and where I worked for eight years when I first went into the ministry. I didn’t know at the time that the service was going to beContinue reading “Welcoming Truth”
Author Archives: temparbor
What I’ve Learned Since Leaving the Ministry
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”ministry”]123rf.com[/featured-image] On June 12th (2016), I officially retired from the ministry after being a pastor since 1994. It’s still very new, this being a layman business. But I love it. In fact, I don’t miss the job one single bit. I do greatly miss the wonderful people in my former congregation at WildwindContinue reading “What I’ve Learned Since Leaving the Ministry”
The Attitude I Choose In These Times
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”choose the right path”]123rf.com[/featured-image] We are living in difficult times. It seems every day something happens to shock us, numb us, horrify us, or cause us to question what in the hell is happening to the world. Because of the media (both mainstream and social) we are discovering, to our horror,Continue reading “The Attitude I Choose In These Times”
Looking for One of My Readers
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”looking for binoculars”]123rf.com[/featured-image] Several months ago I received one of the kindest, most genuine, honest emails I have ever received. It was fairly lengthy (which I love) and I didn’t have time to respond at the moment so I simply fired off a note that the email was really meaningful toContinue reading “Looking for One of My Readers”
“Christian” and “Counseling”
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”christian counseling”]123rf.com[/featured-image] I recently completed an interview for several of my graduate students about my perspectives on the integration of faith and counseling. I think my answer to one of the questions is something some of my readers might appreciate. Question: How do you distinguish between secular counseling, Christian counseling, pastoral counseling,Continue reading ““Christian” and “Counseling””
How Liberals Tend to Misunderstand Compassion
In my last post I said conservatives often mistake compassion for weakness, and to the conservative mind, strength — if not everything — is extremely important. Strength, of course, has limitations of its own, which is another post. In this post I want to focus on the particular way liberals tend to misunderstand compassion. InContinue reading “How Liberals Tend to Misunderstand Compassion”
How Conservatives Tend to Misunderstand Compassion
Conservatives tend to make the mistake of believing compassion is synonymous with being a “bleeding heart.” They may think someone calling for compassion is unreasonable, or doesn’t understand reality or economics. This is false. The word “compassion” is rooted in a Latin word that means “co-suffering,” and it’s literal meaning in English is “to loveContinue reading “How Conservatives Tend to Misunderstand Compassion”
Your Primal Fear
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”fear”]123rf.com[/featured-image] Want proof that most people live with a deep fear they are constantly trying to disguise? All you have to do is teach a college philosophy class and watch what happens as one person after another finds their most basic beliefs threatened. See how people sputter, how their ears andContinue reading “Your Primal Fear”
My Eulogy
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”dead rose – eulogy”]123rf.com[/featured-image] If you don’t know that a lot of famous people have been dying lately, you’re living under a rock. With all these people dying, I’ve been reading a lot of tweets and posts in memoriam. It got me to thinking about what I want to be said aboutContinue reading “My Eulogy”
Thoughts on Caretaking and Being Taken Care Of
[featured-image link=”null” link_single=”inherit” single_newwindow=”false” alt=”care taking”]123rf.com[/featured-image] A friend wrote to me recently about a friend of hers whose husband suffered a traumatic brain injury a few years ago. Her friend was struggling with the fact that she feels like she doesn’t get to “date” her husband anymore, that she is a caretaker only, and noContinue reading “Thoughts on Caretaking and Being Taken Care Of”
Temp Arbor 