In a world facing deep spiritual and ecological challenges, we need leaders who are both wise and resilient. My "why" is clear: Encouraging the leaders we need to sustain our spiritual and ecological futures. This vision takes shape through three new initiatives: STRENGTHSForward, integrating CliftonStrengths with ancient practices; Shadoems, a poetry collection exploring life's complexities; and Spiritual Directors on Practical Questions, a webinar collaboration with Saint John's. Each is designed to help individuals take a spiritually grounded and constructive step forward—wherever they begin. Join me in cultivating leadership rooted in wisdom, reflection, and action.

Poetry invites us to the edges of our awareness, guiding us into liminal spaces where we encounter the unseen and unwelcomed within ourselves. Shadow work—acknowledging and integrating the hidden aspects of who we are—requires courage, curiosity, and creativity. This collection of poems serves as a companion on that journey, offering glimpses of insight, moments of tension, and invitations to deeper freedom.

The bar has been raised, and is rising even higher, as we all scramble to improve our use of web conferencing, live streaming, and video editing. As spiritual directors and retreat leaders, we are eager to pool our learning about accompanying others online so that we can all exercise our listening and leading as effectively as these times demand.

This reflection kicks off a three-part exploration of the unknown in our inner worlds, sometimes called the shadow. Part 1 takes up the question “What Is Shadow?” while parts 2 and 3 follow the questions “What Do We Do with Shadow?” and “What Is the Gift of Shadow?”

The everyday and lasting pressures of ministry can take their toll on Christian leaders—and venting only helps so much. Thankfully, what we can learn from the practice of spiritual direction is that Christian leaders are not alone in their struggles and that there are ways to notice and reflect upon our experiences more constructively. God is present and stirring. The sustainability of our callings depends on our paying attention.

These days I need the woods. I need to steal away from everyday pressures and quagmires to wander and wonder within creation. While I cannot quite wholly explain why this feels so natural and important, I am coming to appreciate that experiences in nature restore my perspective. In the woods I encounter touchstones, signs of what is true and genuine that teach me how to remember and recognize the presence of the divine elsewhere.

When it comes to spiritual direction, do you ever feel like everyone else is talking about a book you haven’t read? I have grown to appreciate spiritual direction so much that I don’t want others to feel left out. With this short essay I want to help those who are unfamiliar with the practice find a place to begin.

I find it easier to practice boundaries within the context of spiritual direction than I do the flow of life and responsibilities outside of those relationships. This became clear to me after re-reading Boundaries by psychologists Henry Cloud and John Townsend [Zondervan, 1992].  Nearly twenty years after first reading this best seller, I still surprise myself some days by being clear and relaxed as a spiritual director, only to lose my sense of groundedness moments later in another setting. What can we learn from spiritual direction relationships that helps us keep practicing boundaries in others?

It is curiously liberating to realize that tensions become life-giving. Christ walked in constant awareness of the world’s pain and beauty. I must accept myself in contradictions and contradictions in me. In Christ all things are held together. Recognize Christ’s love. Let yourself receive that love.

Adults approaching forty occupy a unique space in the life cycle. Having moved beyond their teenage years, they have accumulated their own stories about lived challenges and opportunities. They have learned a great deal about their unique gifts, skills, and passions. At the same time, it is unlikely that they have begun to exercise their full personal capacity or experience the process of physical diminishment to the same degree as their elders.