Eugene Peterson

A few of my friends, whom I respect deeply, have been following the writings of Eugene Peterson lately and shared some of his thoughts that have affected them. Here are a few that are tumbling around in my brain these days:

"People are uncomfortable with mystery(God) and mess(self) – so they hire a pastor and start a program to deal with these."

Pastors should never brag about their busyness – it is the disqualifying factor to the role of pastor." 

"Busyness is a sign of insecurity or laziness." 

"Discipleship is a decision to live by what I know about God, not by what I feel about Him or myself or my neighbors."

Another Good Quote

One of our prayers for our boys is that they would be men of character. We don't often pray that they would be leaders, that might not be their gifting... instead we pray for character and humility and influence for the Kingdom. I would rather see them live life unnoticed and unannounced if they live life in love with Jesus, His Kingdom and are willing to do whatever it takes... even if it means the death of personal dreams, pride and perceived position. That's why this quote from John the Baptist is one of the greatest "leadership" quotes, in my opinion, that there is:

"He must become greater; I must become less." ~ John 3:30

There are and will be times when men of real character are called upon to step back and to push others forward. That's a sign of real character.

Quote on Leadership

I'm a collector of quotes and this one caught me attention. I've observed it to be mostly true...

"Humility recedes as Leadership Advances." - Eugene Peterson