Steve Bezner

Sometimes I joke about what I'd do if I had one day left to live. Eat junk, go crazy, etc. Today it hit me: Jesus knew. And he washed feet.

The biggest game of the first round is on Friday, when Long Island battles Arizona for iced tea supremacy

@ryanvisconti Re: character, just thinking of lots of folks who were empowered and elevated bc they had talent but hadn’t been developed in character. I agree we have lots of folks needing leadership training but think we need a lot more humility, particularly among folks with “influence.”

@ryanvisconti I think the biggest issues I see are a focus on lag measures as driving metrics rather than lead measures. Think baptism numbers vs gospel shares. We can only control one of those. But usually we measure the latter and neglect to train for the former.

One pastoral reflection after many decades in and around evangelical congregations: We have an outsized obsession with leaders and leadership.

I LOVE MARCH MADNESS

“If Jesus of Nazareth had not been raised from the dead, we would never have heard of him.”—Fleming Rutledge

@ryanvisconti All that to say, I'm all in on leadership, but I think that we in the church have too often focused on the corporate/business approach to leadership without the necessary guardrails to prevent unhealthy leadership from taking root/multiplying.

@ryanvisconti Instead, I'm concerned about the "outsized obsession" portion of my post, thinking about the leadership "industry" of evangelicalism (books, podcasts, conferences), particularly apart from meaningful accountability/character development. (cont.)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. —Psalm 73:26 My portion.

@j_rhett 💯

@kriztypher I don't know, but that's gold.

@Bezner Yeah, was it Skye Jethani (sp?) who said that the Pastor is not only the star of the show...he (always he) is the main sacrament.

@zachandcarrieb Leadership is good and necessary. Just need to frame it around Jesus and what he says leadership is.

@Bezner I’m keeping this in mind as I’m creating a leadership class for our church

@Bezner Often bc they presented themselves as oracles for the Divine, on par with the Prophets. Rarely do they have the humility we see modeled by Jesus.

As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. —Psalm 71:14 Hope. There is always a baptism to remember, the Resurrection to anticipate, the goodness of love to pursue, and the Savior to thank.

A lot has changed in our lives over the last year. In part? Learning to live a “smaller” life. Blessedly. open.substack.com/pub/bezner/p/a…

Why do you boast, you tyrant, that you can do evil; Whereas the goodness of God endures all the day long? —Psalm 52:1

Had a fun weekend in and around Philadelphia with my friend Pastor Kevin Brown and his incredible congregation, The Perfecting Church. It is so good to have friends who have waked with me in ministry for a very long time and to encourage one another on the way.

@ashleydeancook This makes perfect sense. They’re so stinking poppable.

@Bezner Same for donut holes for me. There’s never one- only every possible one I can get my hands on

With tortilla chips, there are two options: Eat none. Or eat them all.

I never met Dr. Perkins, but I heard him at a conference several years ago and immediately read One Blood. We soon sent a team to Mississippi to learn from him and his son. I trust his Heavenly welcome was raucous.