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The Way of the Towel: Greatness, Redefined by Jesus

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by Bart Denny Central text: John 13:12–17 (NIV) Over the years, in church settings, I’ve done a lot of dishes. I’ve raked a lot of leaves. I’ve painted plenty of church walls. I’ve plunged more than a few clogged toilets. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. But if I’m honest, at this age, with this many years in church, there’s a part of me that wants to say, “I’ve done my time.” I don’t usually say it out loud. I dress it up. I call it wisdom. Focus. Stewarding my time well. But the feeling sneaks up on me. It shows up when another need pops up. When the same few people carry the same load. When I feel tired. It shows up when I think, “Shouldn’t somebody else take a turn now?” And I’ll confess something else: I don’t mind serving. I just want to choose the terms. And if I’m not careful, I start thinking and acting like the low places belong to somebody else. Now let me be even more honest: I don’t struggle with getting my hands dirty. I struggle to keep my ego in check....
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My Gomer Pyle

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by Bart Denny I suppose my basic training stories are like anyone else's. But I’ve got a bunch of them—probably because I was a glutton for punishment. I went through Navy boot camp in Orlando, Florida, in 1987. That was the first—but definitely not the last—training pipeline I endured in my Navy career. Someday, maybe I’ll tell all the stories about being screamed at by every variety of Navy and Marine Corps instructor imaginable. But for now, let me introduce you to my first bunkmate in boot camp: Seaman Recruit Flannagan. Well… “Flannagan.” That’s not his real name. And I remember his name vividly. But, given now nearly 40 years to reflect on it, I see no need to humiliate someone who may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Meet Flannagan More than any red-rope-wearing "company commander"—what the Navy called its version of the drill sergeant back then—Flannagan was the bane of my existence during the opening weeks of recruit training. Shortly after...
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Created to Reflect: How the Image of God Transforms Christian Leadership

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By Bart L. Denny Have you ever wondered what it really means to be created in the “image of God”? It’s a truth we affirm often, but what if it’s not just a theological concept—what if it’s the foundation of every Christian leader’s calling? Whether you lead in a church, a classroom, a boardroom, or your own home, the truth of the imago Dei —Latin for “image of God”—has the power to radically reshape how you view yourself and those you lead. Let’s explore how understanding the image of God can lead to more Christlike, transformative leadership. What Is the Image of God? The Bible doesn’t give us a textbook definition of the imago Dei , but it introduces the idea right at the beginning: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26–27). That’s the spark. But what does it mean? For centuries, theologians have wrestled with t...
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Pastoral Leadership and an Ethic of Artificial Human Intelligence Enhancement

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A paper from a class: Ethics in Christian Ministry Leadership and Education (CLED 815), Liberty University, Rawlings School of Divinity by Bart L. Denny, Th.M. December 14, 2020 You might find this a strange article, but I believe pastoral leaders will soon have to deal with the possibilities explored here not as science fiction, but as a medical reality our people are considering. Cybernetics—the melding of electronic and computer systems with the human nervous system—seems to hold the genuine possibility of healing diseases with a neurological basis.   However, many futurists dream of far more than the restoration of normal functioning; they see a human race on the cusp of forcing its own “evolution,” with the melding of the human mind and artificially intelligent computer systems. The desired result is a cybernetic transhuman, with intelligence far beyond normal human cognition and perhaps even the ability to attain immortality. Such an eventuality smacks of humanity’s desire to...
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