tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131183002024-03-14T08:49:36.651-04:00Rev. DukeRev. Duke is Rev. Dr. Jason Leininger. He is married to Anna. He has two fine sons, Moses and Asa, and two wonderful daughters, Aravis and Kyrie. Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.comBlogger537125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-85266480322170774212024-01-17T23:00:00.001-05:002024-01-17T23:03:11.033-05:00Beware of the way you mock your parents...you may become themAs a teenager I frequently noticed that my dad would fall asleep at the kitchen table before going to bed. When I started dating my wife she noticed it too. Then for a while as a young married couple, because we lived far from my folks, she began taking photo's of my dad sitting at the table, fast asleep. Last night, at the end of a long day of work and cold weather, while I sat in front of Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-51715181820058477482024-01-12T19:16:00.002-05:002024-01-12T19:16:15.785-05:00Hello Winter Today it is cold. The warmest it was today was at midnight, 48 degrees. The temps have dropped to 13 or 14, with a wind chill of -2. When Anna and I went for a walk we noticed that the wind was blowing so strong that the pine needles were swept to the east. In addition, the air carried enough freezing precipitation that the needles were frozen, bent like shards of glass and fixed to Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-53572982570535229672024-01-08T16:46:00.004-05:002024-01-08T16:46:32.670-05:00A Daily Baptismal Prayer Yesterday I had the joy of presiding at a baptism. Following the baptism I shared with the person, newly clothed with Christ, a prayer that Adam Hamilton shared at a conference a few years ago. It's a prayer that was intended to be said daily, or whenever a person enters water to bathe. _____A Daily Prayer to Remember your Baptism
Lord, as I enter the water to bathe, I remember my Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-26257160826306886892024-01-06T17:48:00.005-05:002024-01-06T17:48:34.120-05:00A Happy Epiphany Asa returnsIn the middle of August 2023 Asa departed for a stint with the Peace Corps. The stunt would take him to a country that was relatively warm all year round. In a few months of trying to acclimate a number of things became clear in his heart and mind. So today, on Epiphany, he returned from his endeavor. We are glad to have him home, for a season. Up next for him will be a pursuit Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-48905893173085026282023-12-31T00:12:00.005-05:002024-01-05T12:03:34.565-05:002023 - A Year in Review Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!We hope this note finds you well, celebrating what God has done, and anticipating another year of God’s faithfulness, goodness, and kindness. The past year for the Leininger’s has been unique. We’ve had completions, celebrations, pauses, continuations, and re-directions. In the spring, Asa and Aravis completed educational quests they wereDukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-24933570254138365962023-08-12T11:34:00.001-04:002023-08-12T11:36:25.355-04:00Really Cool PeopleA backstory to the podcast, Really Cool People.This past spring I have had an incredible privilege to conduct and record a number of interviews, with Really Cool People. The interviews were turned into a podcast by that name and the podcast is available in all the places you may listen to this content. The podcast became a vision and work because of a number of converging realities. 1) Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-70345599109258691702023-03-19T19:04:00.007-04:002023-03-19T19:04:58.913-04:00O Christ, you are our Rest - A PrayerO Christ, you are our Rest among the possible voices that call out to us You have called us by name to follow, and to come aside to a place of restTo be renewed in our spirits to be healed in our souls and bodiesWe confess, we are prone to live life in a blur of activity running, fretting, stewing Rest is hard to come byYou, O Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-2426683053997861162023-02-27T16:29:00.000-05:002023-02-27T16:29:00.316-05:00A Prayer in Worship, for Rest Prayer for 26 Feb 2023
Kind Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth
We gather together today to worship you, for your great and mighty deeds of creation and redemption
We gather with our neighbors, friends and family - and in gathering, we join others around the world who have been moved by Your Spirit, people from every tribe and tongue upon the earth,
It is our prayer to have Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-33121326408785366022023-01-26T14:09:00.002-05:002023-02-02T07:12:15.591-05:00Snowy Day in the Ozarks (25 January 2023) Yesterday was a gorgeous snowy day in the Ozarks. We woke up to 6-7 inches of snow. It was a gorgeous blanket covering the ground, the trees, the cars, everything.Stillness and silence filled the air as most activities paused. First to behold in wonder, and then to wait the clearing of roads so that travel could be commenced safely. By the late afternoon, the wind had picked up Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0Strafford, MO 65757, USA37.2776839 -93.11775558.9674500638211541 -128.2740055 65.587917736178838 -57.9615055tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-61297006560028710992023-01-16T07:29:00.000-05:002023-01-16T07:29:24.317-05:00A New Book - Becoming A Leader: A Journey with JosephToday I am happy to announce a new book project is ready to share:Becoming A Leader: A Journey with Joseph As a young person I was like Jospeh, from the book of Genesis, I had visions of being "a leader." What I did not know was that becoming a leader is a process. This book follows Joseph's life as a leadership development example that is often marked, expanded, and made significant by Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-77554681707312162682022-12-25T16:38:00.006-05:002022-12-25T16:42:24.589-05:00Christmas Day 2022A note from the Leininger’s - Composed by Aravis & Jason
Merry Christmas!
We are celebrating in our home just east of Springfield, MO.
The outside looks like a winter wonder land. One of the kids said, this is the first Christmas where we have had snow on the ground. We are glad for the snow, but we could do without the bitter cold. These conditions do make us wonder about Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-297199810552047572022-11-13T21:12:00.001-05:002022-11-13T21:13:18.113-05:00Prayer for 13 November 2022A Corporate Prayer (on Veterans Day weekend)* Kind Father We have heard the call to Give Thanks and Praise It is always right and good to rejoice in your loving kindness, tender mercy, and merciful justiceWe Give Thanks For the Gift of Grace, of redemption born of JesusWe Give Thanks for the indwelling Spirit who makes your kingdom personalWe Give Thanks for a house of worship, Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-77527437183324017522022-09-24T08:52:00.002-04:002022-09-24T09:25:57.925-04:00Assertive, Directive, Hospitable - a posture to welcome Transient GuestsThe Mary Tyler Moore house in Minneapolis, MN. Mary was incredibly hospitable, and had to learn to lean into Assertive and Directive, for her own good, and the good of others. In a recent conversation, I shared about an increase in transient guests we have experienced at the church I serve. The increase is expected to be temporary, and it is primarily the result law enforcement razing Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-21737341607858042942022-09-08T07:26:00.003-04:002022-09-08T07:26:41.171-04:00We The Fallen People - a book ReviewI just completed the work: "We the Fallen People; the Founders and the the future of American Democracy" by Wheaton College history professor, Robert Tracy McKenzie. The book is an insightful reminder about how the founders philosophically viewed the human person - as made in God's image and severely hampered with a fallen nature of original sin. Given this anthropology McKenzie describes Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-91942879764707799812022-09-06T18:00:00.002-04:002022-09-06T18:00:27.584-04:00Prayer for 11 September 202211 September happens to fall on Sunday in 2022. How does one mark a day of profound significance for so many? Prayer is a fitting endeavor. In an attempt to prepare for a congregational prayer time, I worked on the following prayer. Maybe it will be helpful to you. It is written to be a together prayer. _____________Prayer for 11 Sept 2022(Bold = everyone pray)Holy, holy, holy Lord,God of Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-18318042673630766672022-08-20T11:57:00.002-04:002022-08-20T11:57:30.840-04:00Flying Bunnies in Worship. . . Have Mercy I heard a story, and it is true.A pastor and their congregation were having challenges in the realm of communication. The congregation felt that the pastor, in the act of preaching, had great affection for the proverbial bunny trail. The congregation, or at least some of the members, had expressed their concern to the pastor, through their representatives, asking the pastor to stay on pointDukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-68384368576938720992022-07-22T13:44:00.004-04:002022-07-22T13:44:49.257-04:00Post vacation 2022 thoughtsAnna, the girls, and I recently made a summer voyage to our home state of Michigan to visit with family and friends. We are never able to see all the people we would love to see, or do the things we would like, but we are able to stay connected, to some of the people and places that we love. This trip was a first-in-a-while for us; there were only four of us traveling together. Until a year Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-19253472979087550142022-06-17T10:42:00.004-04:002022-06-17T10:42:44.464-04:00Like a Mustard Seed . . .PASTOR'S NOTEoriginally published by Schweitzer Church16 June 2022In Matthew 13.31-32, Jesus uses an illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches."This past week my family hosted some friends for dinner Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-47394056003311054302022-06-12T14:14:00.004-04:002022-06-12T14:14:41.220-04:00A Prayer of Relinquishment (a borrowed prayer)In worship today I invited people to engage with this prayer. Afterwards several people expressed an interest in the full text. I thought readers here might find it helpful._________A Prayer of Relinquishment (Richard Foster, Prayers From The Heart, p.29)Today, O Lord, I yield myself to you.May your will be my delight today. May your way have perfect sway in me.May your love be the Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-55732632792832513372022-05-10T22:27:00.003-04:002022-05-10T22:27:30.169-04:00Shakers – Ho! For the West [Official Video]About a year ago my youngest daughter, Kyrie, was asked to be part of a music video. This work by Ho! For the West is the result. I love watching all my kids sing, dance, and act - and this project is no exception. The song is a little weird, IMO, but hey, aren't we all a little weird!Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-31008094585504163872022-05-06T09:06:00.001-04:002022-05-06T09:06:38.652-04:00Food Pantries - Good for the Soul?Returning from coffee, an immigrant Pastor of a refugee community and I, watched as donated food was loaded onto a trailer, headed for another village in SW Missouri. I asked the Pastor if the people in his community received free food from the pantry?He thought, pensive for a couple of minutes. Then he said, "No. I don't think so. I don't think it would be good for their souls. I don'tDukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-16659146222567306852022-04-30T15:03:00.006-04:002022-04-30T15:30:55.048-04:00Many Parts of One Body - Easter 2022Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (Romans 12.3-5)----------The last two Easter Sunday's have been unique Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-24289057777094376362022-04-02T12:43:00.000-04:002022-04-02T12:43:54.670-04:00With the Eyes of a Foreigner 1 Peter 1.1 - This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.1 Peter 2.11 - Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” A week ago I had the privilege of taking part in an Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-65894690887064894522022-03-11T21:17:00.001-05:002022-03-11T21:17:41.222-05:00My Leadership Maxims Recently I was asked to name some of my leadership maxims. I sat down and began to compose a list. I kept my document open and began to add, and sometime sort. The following is the list that I have to come to believe, and make serious attempts at practicing. <!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Flexibility, humility, trust, risk, respect, and Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13118300.post-13770706065715399232021-12-23T18:41:00.003-05:002021-12-23T22:00:34.552-05:00Christmas Letter 2021 The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2.10-11)Happy Christmas! When Moses went off to college in 2017 we thought that was going to be the end of our days with all four kids under one roof. We Dukehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13683389200962717555noreply@blogger.com0