lisaauthor, Author at The Artios Center for Vibrant Leadership

Christ-Centered Rest on Sabbath is For Pastors, Too

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

By Amber Riggs Exhausted from a long, demanding day, Joseph feels his body begin to release stress and his mind struggle to let go of its seemingly endless list of responsibilities. It’s almost Sunday, he tells himself. Maybe I’ll finally get a chance to rest. The sad irony is that this is a relatable situation for many pastors, ministry leaders, and members of congregations who meet on Saturday with good intentions of celebrating Sabbath. Unfortunately, the day on which a congregation worships is often the most physically and emotionally taxing day of the week for many pastors and church leaders. It can become a [...]

Christ-Centered Rest on Sabbath is For Pastors, Toolisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

How Roman Christians Responded to Corrupt Rulers

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

By Amber Riggs Not a month goes by that we don’t hear an allegation of corruption regarding one or more of our governing leaders. Even the thought that our leaders could consider themselves above the law is downright maddening. Or perhaps we think that a politician’s policies – or proposed policies – are dangerous. We question their motivations. What would happen if these policies are put into law? Regardless of your political persuasions, watching all of this take place can easily make a person feel helpless. And when we feel helpless, we often find it easier to react in frustration. However, [...]

How Roman Christians Responded to Corrupt Rulerslisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

Why You May Not Be Getting Enough Rest

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

By Amber Riggs For years, there has been this accusing voice in the back of my head telling me that no matter how much I’m doing, it’s not enough. Like all lies, there’s truth in this. No matter how much I do, five seconds on my newsfeed is enough to jar me with words and images that confirm that this world is still very much a broken place. There’s a reason that the Christian stadium events I went to as a teen and young adult bombarded us with heartfelt pleas to be radical world changers. There’s a reason why so many [...]

Why You May Not Be Getting Enough Restlisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

We Need to Study God (and Here’s How)

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

By Amber Riggs “There weren’t a lot of books on leadership in those days. So I studied leadership by reading biographies of leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.” When my mentor shared how he had studied leadership as a young man, it initially took me by surprise. Especially when I mentally surveyed my growing library of leadership books — none of them biographies. And yet, there is a clear logic to it. One way to learn something is to study an “expert” — someone who demonstrates the skills we want to practice. Watch and learn from them, then [...]

We Need to Study God (and Here’s How)lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

Is God Still in Control?

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

By Martin Cicero I am not sure what God considers the last days, but to me, it sure seems that we are approaching those days rather quickly. As I read 2 Timothy 3:1-5, it appears that the Apostle Paul is describing our time: But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of [...]

Is God Still in Control?lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:48+00:00

John: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 3

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

By Israel Steinmetz BACKGROUND AND SCOPE The purpose of this series is to explore a supposed rift in how Jesus is depicted in the Gospels. As many scholars have noted, John’s Gospel proclaims a majestically high Christology. Indeed some have seen in John a Christology that finds no parallel in the other Gospels. 1 To put it simply, “If Jesus was as He is depicted in Matthew and Mark and Luke, He cannot have been as He is depicted in John. The two are incompatible.” 2 Previously we examined the opening scenes in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and found that each presents not only an [...]

John: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 3lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

Luke: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 3

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

By Israel Steinmetz BACKGROUND AND SCOPE This is part of a series exploring how Jesus is depicted in the Gospels. Many scholars have noted that John’s Gospel proclaims a majestically high Christology. Indeed some have seen in John a Christology that finds no parallel in the other Gospels. 1 To put it simply, “If Jesus was as He is depicted in Matthew and Mark and Luke, He cannot have been as He is depicted in John. The two are incompatible.” 2 But is this contrast between John and the Synoptics accurate? Does it give a fair reading to the Christological titles and roles assigned [...]

Luke: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 3lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

Matthew: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 2

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

By Israel Steinmetz BACKGROUND AND SCOPE This is part of a series exploring how Jesus is depicted in the Gospels. Many scholars have noted that John’s Gospel proclaims a majestically high Christology. Indeed some have seen in John a Christology that finds no parallel in the other Gospels. 1 To put it simply, “If Jesus was as He is depicted in Matthew and Mark and Luke, He cannot have been as He is depicted in John. The two are incompatible.” 2 But is this contrast between John and the Synoptics accurate? Does it give a fair reading to the Christological titles and roles assigned [...]

Matthew: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 2lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

Mark: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 1

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

By Israel Steinmetz From its declaration that “the Word was God” to Thomas’ worship of Jesus as “My Lord and my God!” John’s Gospel proclaims a majestically high Christology. Indeed, many people have seen in John a Christology that finds no parallel in the other Gospels. 1 For them, John’s logos and incarnational thought and his explicit portrayal of Jesus’ divinity is juxtaposed with the less exalted portraits of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. 2 To put it simply, “If Jesus was as He is depicted in Matthew and Mark and Luke, He cannot have been as He is depicted in John. The two are incompatible.” 3 But is this [...]

Mark: High Christology of the Gospels-Part 1lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

How Does Prayer Connect Us to God?

lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

By Josiah Robles How does prayer connect us to God? Prayer is more than just a few words spoken to God before a meal or before one goes to sleep. Though it can simply be said that prayer is how “we make contact with God, and likewise God communicates with us.” Prayer is a lifestyle of communion with God in which we develop a deep intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. This deep intimate relationship with the father is what allows us to become friends with God. Prayer for me as a Christian leader is extremely significant. Prayer is what allows me to come before [...]

How Does Prayer Connect Us to God?lisaauthor2025-02-14T16:18:49+00:00

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