PathLight Archives - Page 3 of 19

Buy a Book, Build a Leader

An acquaintance of mine asked if we are using my book Salvaged to help the new Leadership Institute at PathLight. As it turns out they are using it, and we had a fun conversation about how young leaders from a different culture might read my book.

All of which led to an exciting promotion idea this acquaintance is supporting: buy a copy of Salvaged and $50 will be donated to the PathLight Leadership Initiative. All you need to do is buy a copy of the book and forward the receipt to salvaged@pathlight.org. Then a $50 donation will be …

Christmas Letter

In a recent devotion, I came across a Christmas story in an unexpected place: the middle of Luke’s gospel, fifteen chapters after the traditional Christmas story.

Luke 18:35-43 tells of a twice-burdened man: a roadside beggar who is also blind. Each day he’s forced to plead and scrape—in darkness—just to survive. No doubt he lives by patterns. Seventy-three steps between the best place to beg and his sleeping mat; the familiar sound of a shopkeeper who usually slips him a bit of fish; the feel in his hand of a cool cup of water a kind woman brings him. These …

Rooting for Rivals

Rooting for Rivals by Peter Greer and Chris Horst is one of those books all of us in ministry need to read. The premise of the book is simple: when nonprofit groups work collaboratively, generously, and across organizational boundaries, putting aside rivalry, great things can then transpire. All of us who work in the nonprofit world know how obvious this is, but we also know it should be practiced more frequently. I’m glad Peter and Chris finally wrote what we all needed to hear.

Despite the lovey-dovey image of the nonprofit world, it can sometimes be as ruthless as the …

Wealth, Wisdom, and Howler Monkeys

Wealth, wisdom, and howler monkeys? Well yes, actually, they do go together.

A year ago D’Aun and I, along with Ken and Tamara Wytsma, hosted an event called Junkyard Wisdom Belize. Two dozen folks joined us for 5-days of discussion, adventure, prayer, and going deep into the themes of my book. We did this at the amazing Jaguar Creek, where howler monkeys regularly wake people in the morning.

So yeah, they all do go together!

As you read this we are probably on our way to Belize to host the second annual event. We will again spend …

Christmas Mystery

There is a mystery about Christmas that should eternally amaze us; The Almighty God, creator and ruler of all, becomes a child born in poverty. That, my friends, is a marvelous truth. It is why we celebrate Christmas.

Sometimes we are busy or distracted or simply weary of the story, so to our detriment we fail to be awed by this mystery. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The lack of mystery in our modern life is our downfall and our poverty. A human life is worth as much as the respect it holds for the mystery. We retain the child in us …

Abundant Joy

As readers of this blog know, the work PathLight does in Belize is among my favorite ministries. Recently the CEO of PathLight, Roger Dermody, wrote the letter below announcing the launch of a new campaign built around Abundant Joy. I’m sharing it here in whole because it is so good!

Dear Friends,

I am writing this letter after spending a week in Belize surrounded by people who have what the Apostle Paul describes as “abundant joy” in his letter to the Corinthians. In the midst of poverty, with no obvious way out, the people Paul wrote to embraced joy – …

Back to School!

It’s back to school time! Millions of students are returning to school this time of year, and almost all of them are receiving some degree of financial aid. Not just college students — but anybody who attends a public school, in any nation, is receiving a subsidized education. Even those who attend private school are being assisted by an endowment or scholarship.

We’re fortunate in America to have good school systems and generous donors (or local governments) who provide for students. Unfortunately, in Belize, the government struggles to meet the needs of students, especially thousands who live in poverty. Secondary …

My 58th Birthday

I was born in 1958 and it’s my 58th birthday today. Lots of 58’s ringing around in my brain, so here’s an idea. Give $58 to PathLight, and I’ll send you a free signed copy of my book Junkyard Wisdom. It’s a good way to support the amazing work PathLight does for children — education, mentoring, discipleship, and all the rest. And you get a halfway decent book!

Don’t have time to do this today? ~~Why you lazy…~~ Sure, I understand. We’re all busy this season. So I’ll keep this offer open till the end of the year.…