Mark 1:14-20 Dear Working Preacher, I still remember learning the meaning of “kairos” my first year in seminary. It was such a cool and compact lesson in the difference that knowing even just a little bit of Greek made. You likely remember that as well. Chronos – root of “chronological” – as the steady, even relentless beat of the time that marks our days, our work, our waiting and watching, contrasted with Kairos, the special, even royal time of God’s intervention into human affairs. The time when chronos is interrupted by promise, presence, and fulfillment. And speaking of fulfillment, “pleroma” was...

Leadership is about the future. It’s that simple…and that difficult. Max DePree began his influential and elegant little book, Leadership Is an Art, by saying that “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality” (11). I would suggest that the most important element of the reality to be defined is the future. What future do you imagine? What future are you hoping for, working toward, dreaming of? The future matters so much simply because it defines the present. A friend of mine – who is a remarkably capable pastoral leader – shares the same story each time she meets with a new group of people in her congregation. There...