scottnprime

Follower of the best - Jesus, married to the best - Shari, father to the best - Seth & Samuel and Lead Pastor of the best - New Hope

[Mike Netter @nettermike]

On August 8, 1982, a line drive foul ball hit a four year old boy in the head at Fenway Park. Jim Rice, realizing it would take EMTs too long to arrive and cut through the crowd, sprang from the dugout and scooped up the boy...

He laid the boy gently on the dugout floor, where the Red Sox medical team began to treat him.

When the boy arrived at the hospital thirty minutes later, doctors said, without a doubt, that Jim's prompt actions saved the boy's life.

Jim returned to the game in a blood-stained uniform.

A true badge of courage.

After visiting the boy in the hospital, and realizing the family was of modest means, he stopped by the business office and instructed that the bill be sent to him.

This is what a real sports hero looks like.

"Love is patient. Love is kind."

Thank you Jim Rice for who you are and for all you do.

[Luke Simmons @lukedsimmons]

One pastor said, "I had become a full-time pastor and a part-time Christian."

That's called losing your soul.

It's too common in church leadership, but doesn't have to be.

15 STRATEGIES FOR KEEPING YOUR SOUL

1. Connect regularly with God — as a Christian who needs him (not primarily as a pastor or sermon-prepper)

2. Prioritize solitude — my favorite definition is from Cal Newport: “time spent free from the input of other minds”

3. Rigorously practice weekly Sabbath — rest to pray, play, and intentionally lay down any striving

4. Spend time with real friends — people who don’t really need you as their pastor

5. Identify your personal warning signs & invite input — give trusted people permission to point out areas of concern.

6. Invest in counseling — an experienced person to help you process limits, losses, and the wear-and-tear of life.

7. Use every minute of vacation — it’s not lazy (“a lumberjack never wasted time sharpening his axe”)

8. Develop healthy pressure release valves — the pressure will come out one way or another, so intentionally decide for it to come out in good ways

9. Create sweet personal & family practices for Christmas & Easter — these are moments to practice being a private Christian, not just a public pastor

10. Don’t let other people decide what is an “emergency” — their emergency is rarely your emergency

11. Regularly practice retreat days — time to zoom out, take inventory, & invest in yourself

12. Create a folder of ministry implosion stories — read and review this annually as a warning to your soul

13. Develop a plan for intentional sabbaticals — this will be healthy in the long-run for you, your family, and the church

14. Structure your week with margin — you can’t red-line forever

15. Put “developing leaders” on your job description — it’s the only way to build a sustainable ministry that doesn’t depend on you

—

Follow me @lukedsimmons for more resources to help you have a faithful & fruitful ministry that endures.

I'm pulling for you!

[Billy Graham @BillyGraham]

"The regeneration of the individual is much more needed than the revolution of society." #BillyGraham

[scottnprime @scottnprime]

@ecurrie1970 @kingswood @oncampusedu Looking good 😊

[Carey Nieuwhof @cnieuwhof]

Usually, if you’re resisting change, you’ll realize you’re hanging onto two things: past success and what you know.

[Carey Nieuwhof @cnieuwhof]

As I was stepping off church staff after 25 years, I asked a mentor (now in his eighties) what I should prepare for. I'll never forget what he told me: They forget you quickly. He was right.

[Fascinating @fasc1nate]

The 9000 who never made it home, 1944

This is an art piece dedicated to those who died on D-day. It was designed by Andy Moss and Jamie Wardley. It was created with the help of volunteers. It shows outlines of dead soldiers who died both attacking and defending the beaches of Normandy. The art piece was made in 2013.

D-day is one of the most infamous land invasions of all time. It consisted of American, British, Canadian, and other allied troops attacking the heavily defended coast of Normandy, France. It was divided into 5 different beaches codenamed Juno, Utah, Gold, Sword, and Omaha. The deadliest of all was Omaha. The Germans thought the Allies would land at Calais, as it is closest to Britain, but the Allies chose Normandy to trick the Germans.

9000 men lost their lives. Before the invasion, Allied planes dropped 13,000 bombs at the coastal defenses, but they all missed their targets, especially at Omaha Beach, which led to the highest death toll at 2,400. The bombs were meant to damage and destroy the coastal defenses, however, many of them missed, and the invasion had to go ahead as the weather conditions were good. The invasion was actually meant to begin prior to June 6th, but bad weather conditions delayed the attack.

D-day saw Allied troops storm the beaches in a desperate attempt to overrun the German defenses, all while a huge and intense amount of German machine gun fire rained down upon them. The Allies succeeded in their mission.

[Rick Lee James @RickLeeJames]

AI created image from the phrase, “Jesus flipping over the tables in the temple.”

[Historic Vids @historyinmemes]

The heart of a blue whale, which can weigh in excess of 1,300 lbs (590 kg), is the size of a small car. The gigantic heart beats 8 to 10 times per minute, and each heartbeat can be heard from over 2 miles (3.2 km) away. Their arteries are so large that a full adult-sized human can swim through them.

At birth, a baby blue whale is already 25 ft long (the size of an adult killer whale) and can drink up to 150 gallons (568 liters) of milk a day, gaining as much as 200 lbs (90 kg) per day in its first year. They feed almost exclusively on krill, which are small, shrimp-like invertebrates that are on average only 1 or 2 centimeters long. They eat 4 to 6 tons of krill a day. As adults, they can grow up to 110 ft (33 m) in length and weigh up to 180 tons.

It's fascinating that throughout history, Earth has been home to some of the biggest animals, but the largest one of them all exists in our timeline, swimming in the deep ocean right now.

[Boston Bruins @NHLBruins]

A once-in-a-generation leader.

#MerciBergy

[Shukri Wrights @SWrights975]

12 years ago today,
The #NHLBruins beat the #Canucks in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals for their first Stanley Cup since 1972
Bruins Captain and future Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara with one of the most epic Cup raises in NHL history

[Canadian Army @CanadianArmy]

The D-Day invasion began #OTD in 1944. #CanadaRemembers the bravery of the Canadians and allies who helped lay the foundations for an end to the #SWW on that day. #SecondWorldWar

[hfxgov @hfxgov]

Preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 200 homes or structures have been damaged as a result of the fires. A full assessment of the damage cannot yet be confirmed. Details: https://t.co/8ymlOpgSLM

[Billy Graham @BillyGraham]

"When [God] is sovereign in people's hearts, anguish turns to peace, hatred is transformed into love, and misunderstanding is turned into understanding." #BillyGraham

[Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx @CraigBaird]

Each province and territory in Canada, represented by a Muppet who lives there. Generated by AI.

1. British Columbia

[Boston Bruins @NHLBruins]

53 years ago today.

#NHLBruins

[Tim Micallef @tim_micallef]

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

[Historic Vids @historyinmemes]

In 1922, a group of scientists went to the Toronto General Hospital where diabetic children were kept in wards. Most of them were comatose & dying from diabetic keto-acidosis. Others were being placed on extremely strict diets, which inevitably led to starvation.

[Dr. Michael F. Bird @mbird12]

Whoa!

[Aviation @xAviation]

Airplane wings aren't some rigid chunks of metal: in fact, they probably have a bit more flex than you'd expect. This is the behavior of a Boeing 747's wing in a turbulence. It can move 6m up and down safely.