When everything’s busy, how do we leave room for divine appointments? On a bike tour there are about a million small details to think about. You can easily get to the end of each day, and the entire week, and not really remember much of substance about what happened. We talk a lot about being aware of divine […]
Continue readingAuthor: Rich
Disillusioned
Happy Monday! An odd word prompts today’s word-of-the-week… DISILLUSIONED Do you think it’s a bad thing to be “disillusioned”? I’ve always thought the word had a negative connotation, sort of like disappointment, but I actually think Jesus came to disillusion us. Dis-illusion: to remove illusions…that’s what Jesus was all about. He came to reveal the truth. […]
Continue readingCan You See The Big Picture?
“I’m climbing this hill for someone else.” I’ve been on a few team bike tours. Inevitably there’s that point in the middle of a tough hill on a hot day when somebody’s tempted to stop. They’re struggling, and just when you think they’ll pull over and give up they grab a drink or an energy bar and […]
Continue readingWho Are You?
What do you do? How often do you ask those sorts of questions? It’s just harmless small talk, right? I’ve spent some time recently with a guy who’s paralyzed by his fear of that question. Details don’t matter, I’m just struck by his sense of how much we identify people with what they do. Or worse, what they’ve […]
Continue readingAre You Efficient?
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. Henry Van Dyke Have you ever considered the limited time Jesus had on Earth? The central figure in all of history […]
Continue readingGet In The Way
U.S. Congressman John Lewis was beaten nearly to death by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on March 9, 1965. Last weekend he returned to that bridge to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.” Lewis has said that his parents told him as a young child in the segregated South his parents told him not […]
Continue readingIt’s A Guy Thing
Sex trafficking isn’t a “women’s issue.” Maybe that sounds silly, but I’m always struck by the fact that women seem to dominate the voices speaking out about these horrible crimes. While the majority of the victims of sexual slavery are women, the perpetrators are overwhelmingly male. Unless we’re going to blame the victims, it’s time to […]
Continue readingWow, That Looks Hard!
People said that a lot at our table this weekend. It was “Missions Weekend” at our church, and the lobby highlighted a whole bunch of missionaries and missions projects. People stopped, talked, and learned about incredible work happening around the corner and around the world. Most of these folks are doing difficult, often dangerous work. […]
Continue readingWe
HAPPY MONDAY! A friend’s graduation inspired today’s word-of-the-week… WE My friend Melvin completed a year-long rehab program. At his graduation the other guys spoke about Melvin’s time with them. I was struck by how often they used the word “we.” These men arrived from big cities and small towns. Most had tough roads marked by […]
Continue readingWhat’s Your Dream Goal?
“What’s your dream goal for the FREEDOM TOUR?” Interesting question, and honestly one I hadn’t really considered. Strange, for a project based on following God-sized dreams. Once you get that kind of idea rattling around your brain, it creates its own space and hangs out. You realize it’s not going away. So I looked back […]
Continue readingThe Problem Of Human Slavery
Human slavery is a terrible thing. I write that mostly to remind myself. Sometimes I wonder, in my safe, comfortable suburban home, if I really appreciate the horrors of this pervasive crime we allow to exist in our communities. Becky, Woody, and I recently attended Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the Colorado State Capitol. We talked to folks from a broad […]
Continue readingWhere’s The Bible Centered?
I’ve been reading about different traditions when it comes to interpreting the bible. Without trying to explain all of the different options, it’s interesting to realize that I see scripture almost exclusively from a Christ-centered perspective. I’d never really considered that other options existed, but I’ve learned that they do. As our small group studies the life […]
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