Hope Managment

John Ortberg, pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian, wrote an excellent reflection on hope as it relates to leaders at the blog - Out of Ur. Here is a quote:

“The church is in the hope business. We of all people ought to be known most for our hope; because our hope is founded on something deeper than human ability or wishful thinking. Martin Luther King was fond of citing Reinhold Niebuhr’s distinction between hope and optimism. Optimism believes in progress; that circumstances will get better. Hope, however, is is built on the conviction that another reality, another Kingdom, already exists. And so hope endures when hype fades.”

Check out the complete article here — John Ortberg on Hope Management

Also, you can hear some of Ortberg’s sermons here. I listen to him weekly on my ipod and love it!

Podcast Favorites

I have about a 20 to 25 minute commute to church and I love using that time to keep up with my favorite podcasts. Here is a list of some of my favorites:

Danube International Church  - Budapest, Hungary — Ronnie Stevens - Ronnie is an excellent preacher or probably better put — an expositor. A few years ago, he was the pastor of the church where I grew up — First Evangelical Church in Memphis. With his heart for Missions, God led him from the states to Budapest. Ronnie is very well read and speaks with a passion that moves you study and apply God’s Word into your life. He is a huge C. H. Spurgeon fan but to me is not stuck in a Victorian world but always challenges me in my 21st century lifestyle. Podcast Link

Mars Hill Bible Church - Grand Rapids, Michigan — Rob Bell — Practical, Missional, Controversial, Creative, Passionate — These are some of the words that I think describe the teaching of Rob Bell. What an incredible impact he has in his community and across this country and the world. Whenever I listen to Rob I am always challenged to think about how the gospel impacts my life and the poor and disenfranchised in our world. He also has had some great guest speakers in Lauren Winner and Donald Miller. Podcast Link

Menlo Park Presbyterian Church - Menlo Park, CA — John Ortberg — I became familiar with Ortberg through some of his books — If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat and Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them along with his fruitful ministry at Willow Creek. And I love his speaking style. He has a great balance between great scholarship and incredibly relevant messages. He also shares the pulpit with some very talented staff including his wife Nancy. Podcast Link

University Presbyterian Church - Seattle, WA — Earl Palmer — If you are not familiar with Earl Palmer, you need to be. He has been at University Pres since 1991 and before that for 21 years at First Pres in Berkley, CA. This Princeton graduate truly is brilliant and is amazing in explaining the text in understandable and applicable ways. You better hurry and listen as I think he will be leaving University Pres sometime in 2008 to begin a ministry of traveling around the world to teach and encourage pastors and students. Podcast Link

That is all for now. I will share more at a later date.