Brian Hershey

Brian Hershey currently serves as the Campus Life Military Senior Advisor for the Greater Omaha Youth For Christ chapter in Omaha, NE. He holds an undergraduate degree in education, a Masters in Theology from Dallas Seminary, and 20 years of youth ministry experience. He and his wife, Bonnie, have been serving military teens and families since 2001 in Bad Aibiling, Wurzburg, Heidelberg, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Kaiserslautern, Germany as well as Naples, Italy.

When Life Doesn’t Make Sense: The Exodus Attitude

When life throws us an unexpected surprise that turns our world upside down, it is human nature to regain our bearings by reclaiming some sense of control over our circumstances. What, or who, we turn to in that moment of crisis makes all the difference in the world.

Consider the Jewish people right after they left Egypt, a place that was their homeland for over 400 years. Overnight all that was familiar to them – their routine, daily activities, diet, and sense of security – was suddenly stripped from them. God was in the process of doing something marvelous, but in doing so he had radically disrupted his chosen people’s “normal” life. It was pretty big “curveball.” (more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago

How to Change the World, 3/4

In a previous post, I asked the question, “Precisely how do we define culture?”

This question is important for Scripture gives the Church a clear cultural mandate to bring all of creation under the rule and dominion of God.

Obviously ours is a paradise lost. Therefore, in order to redeem, or transform, that which is lost we must first be clear about what culture is. Or, in order to defeat your opponent you must first know your opponent.

I appreciate the insights of James Hunter in his book To Change the World.[1] He shatters the common definitions of culture, and proposes a more refined understanding that I believe better reflects reality. He defines culture as: (more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago

How to Change the World, 2/4

For Christian leaders, I submit there are fewer questions more worthy of thoughtful consideration than how the church goes about fulfilling its cultural mandate.

It is not that the question is new because nearly all denominations and para-church organizations share a deep desire to change the world for the better. But good intentions are not good enough. How we answer this question is just as important as the mandate itself.

Hang with me for second. (more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago

One Road. Two Ways.

I turned this outfit around on a two-lane highway!

On one of the more memorable truck driving trips I took with the school district came in the fall of 2011. I drove the high school’s band to the famed Ratliff Stadium in Odessa, TX (remember “Friday Night Lights”?). At the end of a long Saturday, I set out for the hotel a few miles down the road in Midland. For reasons I still cannot explain, I made a wrong turn at a key intersection. The road was right. At issue was the direction; I was headed the wrong way.

The right way is important, isn’t it? (more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago

The Brass Tacks of “Gravitas”

Alece and I on her first field trip….Yes, I got to drive the bus!

[BREAKER 1-9]

I like specifics.

Whenever I take a group of kids on a trip with the school bus or drive the band to football games or competitions, the district always provides me with specific details: punch-in time, load-time, directions, and maps.

Such information empowers me to get the job done well.

So when it comes to building “gravitas” – that is weightiness of the soul – exactly how do we go about collecting spiritual mass? (more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago

“Gravitas”: The Whole Soul

If it is true that “people do what we inspect, not what we expect,” then exactly how do we monitor spiritual progress? How do we move from product-oriented metrics to process-oriented ones?

Let me begin by looking at the term “gravitas.” Craig Barnes defines it this way:

“[It is] a soul that has developed enough spiritual mass to be attractive, like gravity…. [Gravitas] has everything to do with wounds that have healed well, failures that have been redeemed, sins that have been forgiven, and thorns that have settled into the flesh.”[1]

(more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago

Seminary and the Soul

Someone recently made this comment:

“People do what you inspect; not what you expect.”

For weeks now this simple statement has echoed in my head like a yodeler’s mountain call.

It forces me to examine life anew.

I begin with seminary.

Seminary has surprised me. The things I thought I would learn are quite different from the things I’m actually learning. For example, I expected seminary to be a rich season of abiding spiritual intimacy with the Father. Certainly professors expect their students to remain “connected to the vine.” They expect us to maintain all the good Christian disciplines. (more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago

Punished for Doing Right?

Ever feel like you can’t get anything right?

I thought of this question again when I read how one father’s afternoon went recently. He was taking his young son to feed the ducks at a nearby lake. In typical toddler zeal, his boy raced out of the family’s 2006 Jeep Commander as soon as it came to “rest”. Unknown to the lad, he was dashing straight towards a 35′ cliff. In desperation, the father fled the vehicle, rescuing his boy just feet from the edge.

So far, this dad’s 2 for 2 in my book. Not only was he spending time with his son, but he also showed fatherly care by saving his boy from injury. (more…)

By Brian Hershey, ago