Steve Pike

@9NEWS please post the web address of the map showing the tainted gas locations in the Denver area.

Before you book a cruise with @American_Cruise be sure to watch the 9 News report on how they treated the widow of the man who bought a cruise to surprise here and then died before the cruise. They refused to refund the money. Disappointing.

@ascoma What took you so long to get there? You were made for each other!

This where I live now. #ChinaBeach #SanFransisco

@erichoke Uncharted territory. Anyone who gives you an authoritative answer doesn’t know what they are talking about.

So is there another primary or does the DNC just move some random person on the ticket? I have questions…

@erichoke The win for business is the profit margin a clear result of a value exchange involving tangible goods and services. The win for the church is less tangible and harder to measure. Churches can figure out ways to keep the lights no that have little to do with financial return.

Having worked in business and ministry, I found businesses tend to be much better at navigating Sunk Cost Fallacy than ministry environments. What is Sunk Cost Fallacy? When a person or organization is reluctant to abandon a course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial. For example, a business has a product line that is no longer selling, they discontinue making and selling that product and focus more on what is selling. But a church can have a ministry or department that one time had high engagement but it fizzled out but the thought of discontinuing it is not even a conversation. Why do you think this is?

@KyleClark Bo Chapman Nix

@Scotty_G6 Bo Chapman Nix

@ascoma The younger you has an intensity in his look that foretells your deep passion for things that matter…

Found my favorite shirt from high school. Still fits! The helmet of hair has thinned slightly.

@erichoke Great list Eric.. perhaps I’d add mediator. But that may be covered in some of your list.

If you ever wonder what skills did you learn in ministry that would be transferable in the marketplace, here’s what I share. From 2009 - 2023, I served as a minister in local churches in New Jersey, and New York City. My positions were in a variety of functions including youth work, executive leadership, and a lead pastor of a congregation that I founded. Here are some of the core skills I developed in my role as a minister: Empathy - As a minister, I worked with people through some of their most challenging situations and circumstances. This taught me to meet people “where they are” and without judgment. Self-Regulation - Leading people through the lens of their spiritual development can be highly stressful and this line of work is know to lead to burnout. I learned to manage my emotions well, and work in a sustainable manner. Self-awareness - Being in a position of religious authority taught me about power dynamics and the weight of my own words and actions. As a result, I have an astute sense of myself and how others perceive me. Cultural Agility - Religious communities welcome people of all differences, and as a result, I learned how to embrace and appreciate different backgrounds. Change Management - Leading a congregation through COVID-19 was a massive test of navigating unprecedented change. This experience and other massive changes have taught me how to lead through unknowns. Fundraising - The congregation that I founded was funded through the generosity of individuals, organizations and grants. Being a minister has taught me how to raise and manage funds, and work with a board of trustees. Recruiting & Staffing - Throughout my career as a minister, I have recruited, interviewed, onboarded, and off boarded dozens of staff and volunteers. This has taught me best practices in finding and developing talent. Communication - The core skill of any ministry professional is communication. Preaching is just the beginning, leading staff meetings, writing copy and having tough 1:1 conversations have helped sharpen my communication skills and abilities. Prioritization and time management - From 2016-2023, I was a “bivocational” pastor which meant I worked a full time job in addition to leading a congregation. This taught me how to empower staff and focus on the highest priority items in my day. I wrote this because I understand many people (including hiring managers) may now know just how many transferable skills people from ministry possess but my hope is that this sheds light on the complex skills that ministry professionals have.

@erichoke I think you’re on to something. Urban is more naturally communal. Rural is more naturally individualistic. Also why urban tends to be attractive to democrats and rural is more attractive to republicans.

So I have a theory and the it seems to hold true. The theory is people in large cities are not nice, but they're kind. People in small towns are nice, but unkind. My theory is that when you live in a densely populated place, especially an apartment building where you legit share walls with your neighbors, you are much more invested in their lives and care more about them. When you live in a house in the suburbs / small town, you have space in between your neighbors, you are much less invested in their lives and care less about them. I spent 10 years in The Bronx, in an apartment and I can tell you, if I ever needed help moving furniture, or got locked out of my apartment or just needed someone to watch the kids while I switched laundry, my neighbors would help. In a heartbeat. In PA, where I live now, I was moving a piece of furniture upstairs, asked someone for help and he flatly said no to me. Now, my neighbors in The Bronx were not 'cheery' people, they didn't smile and wave when they saw you, they were respectful but not particularly 'warm' as you may say. My neighbors in PA smile and wave like you're their long lost cousin that just returned from the war, but if you're in a pinch, good luck. So my theory is - city folks - not warm and fuzzy but there if you need them. Rural folks - warm and fuzzy but maybe not quite as willing to help.

@edstetzer The first time I saw someone walking through an airport talking loudly to themselves, I thought they were crazy and then realized they were on a phone call using AirPods. Like it or not, within five years, this picture will be the norm. Weird now. Normal later. Rude always.

@erichoke Hmm.. ok.. yes, Eric. Let’s write a book together. Thanks for not calling it “How to rot well.” Chapter One- All the choices you make in your 40’s will come back (for good or not so good) in your 60’s.

“How to season well” and new book by Eric and Steve

@edstetzer So, you move away from Chicago to a place it never rains… and then this happens… What might the theological/eschatological implications be???

@erichoke @anthonydoes Hey Eric… I’m on the other side of 60. Can I be part of this discussion, or have you moved on?

@anthonydoes I need someone on the other side of 60 to help.

Over the last few years, many older men who I admire made decisions that derailed their lives. Some had affairs, others got addicted to a substance, some left their families, while others abandoned their faith. There were 2 things these men had in common, they were all around 60 year old and overly dutiful. I don’t have clear reasons for what happened to each of them, as some I knew but others I didn’t but one question remained constant: maybe they just got tired. Maybe around 60 is when you realize, I did all the right things and I thought there would be a payoff by now but there wasn’t so let me just blow it up. I don’t know. But it gave me time to reflect as 60 is still a number of years away for me but what kind of man did I want to be at 60? When I thought of older men around that age who were living a life I admired and still had their health, family, faith and social life intact, I noticed some consistencies. Here’s the differences I’ve identified between overly dutiful men and responsible yet realistic men. 1. Not afraid to be misunderstood or disliked. Overly dutiful men tend to be because they’re overcompensating for something else and aim to please all people, even at the expense of their own happiness and well being. Responsible yet realistic men aren’t afraid to say no, push back and say hard things that sometimes get them in trouble. 2. Comfortable in their own skin. Overly dutiful men are rigid, uptight, and fear being seen as “less then” so they tend to be extremely disciplined and use any chance they can to remind you of it. Responsible but real men are comfortable in their own skin and aren’t afraid to tell you when they’ve got it wrong or how often. 3. They have other men who really know them. Overly dutiful men have this aura around them that wreaks of inauthenticity. No one can be that happy or that accomplished or that “good” all the time. No one really knows them. They move in secrecy. Responsible but real men have true friends who know them, every part of them, and love and accept them as they are. I strive to fulfill all my duties but also accept I’m a person, don’t get it right most of the time, and can give myself and others grace.

@edstetzer @drleahpayne And now the song is in my head too….

@edstetzer Now you’re going to have to behave when you’re in Gaston County…

@erichoke Start another church! 🤪

I grossly underestimated how hard it would be to find a church after no longer being on staff at one. Any advice from someone who has done it?

@erichoke Are you going to survive the ‘burbs?’

Suburbs are wild.

@nexton9news And this is supposed to make things better how?

Rep. Kevin McCarthy was voted out as speaker of the House Tuesday in a historic vote, the first in U.S. history. 9news.com/article/news/n…

What a difference a coach makes… #GoBuffs