written by Richard Bergstrom, D.Min. President, ChurchHealth/Re-Ignite I recently watched the new Pixar Movie Soul about Joe Gardner, a music teacher in a New York City school. In the film's opening, Joe’s principal announces his temporary teaching job has become permanent. That news should make him happy. Unfortunately, his heart is not in teaching but [...]
I am proud of my ability to find my way. I have always assumed I had a flawless internal compass that leads me to my desired destination. However, now that Siri lives inside my iPhone and gives dependable and accurate driving directions, I’ve concluded that historically I may have spent more time than necessary wandering around [...]
On a cold winter night in 1816, a young Austrian priest walked the streets of his parish. He was stunned by the tranquility and calm— a stark contrast from the years of chaos, conflict, and war. Experiencing this new serenity, Joseph Mohr penned a simple, reflective poem. Several years later, the Church assigned Fr. Mohr [...]
NOTE: Dr. Bergstrom will host a Third Calling Conversation Webinar about MOTIVATION on THURSDAY, November 12, 2020; 10 am PST. Click here to register. What motivates you? by Richard Bergstrom, D.Min., President ChurchHealth/Re-Ignite Do you know what motivates you? Or, to put it another way, “What inspires you to get you up in the morning?” What if [...]
Richard and Leona Bergstrom, Co-Directors of Re-Ignite, were recently guests on a webinar hosted by Dr. Mark Roberts, Executive Director of the De Pree Center for Leadership, Fuller Seminary. The title of the webinar was "The Power of Purpose in a Pandemic." This interactive session is helping launch the "Third Third" Initiative of the De [...]
by Leona Bergstrom, Director, Re-Ignite September 1, 2020 Author's note: I wrote this little allegory on April 23, 2020 to encourage my kids and grandkids who were hunkered down because of COVID 19 restrictions. We were sure it would soon be over. But, alas, today on this first day of September, we are still wondering [...]
Richard and I stood at another glass-enclosed kiosk and studied the enlarged map of the old city. We consulted and photographed such maps frequently during our 6-week/10 countries trip to Europe a few years ago. We loved the confidence and security experienced when we found the red circle indicating, “You Are HERE.” This particular time, [...]
By Leona Bergstrom, Re-Ignite I am an old Monarch. No, I’m not the Queen of England. I’m a butterfly currently hanging out in a beautiful garden in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been fluttering around here for a couple of weeks and have seen a lot of things come and go—blossoms, people, and insects. On an ordinary [...]
These days I am disinfecting everything that doesn’t move. I was a tad chagrined to notice that for some time, I’ve ignored one significant surface—my computer keyboard. Meticulously I took a treasured Lysol wipe to the little white keys. Two keys were particularly grubby: Escape and Control. Curious. They must be my most frequently used. [...]
Author's note: This was written in 2016, and while the depth of emotion is similar to then, the reality of our Easter weekend in 2020 is so much different. No Easter egg hunts, no frilly dresses, no choirs singing. In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, we face grief and loss head-on. May we, on [...]
