Author: Rich

Did you ever dream of being really good at something? I bet many of us have watched the Olympics and wondered if we could make it in one of those sports. Stand on the podium, hear the national anthem while a gold medal was placed around our neck. But let’s be honest…most of us know […]

Curtis is a gentle giant. He says you should always try as hard as you can at whatever you do. He works on a supervised crew doing maintenance work. Mariah says people sometimes make fun of her. She’s learned to remember she’s one of God’s angels because it makes the words hurt less. Darrel’s proud […]

(This seemed like a good time to revisit this post from 5 years ago.) The bad guys in the movie all looked alike. Becky and I noticed we had trouble keeping track of the villains. We knew the good guys, but the crooks sort of blended together. It’s not an accident. Stanford Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky […]

One of my strengths is a teacher was a willingness to be uncertain…at the right times. When a student asked “What about this?” or “Why not do it that way?” I didn’t need my way to be the only way or the right way. Kids appreciated that, I think. Uncertainty doesn’t indicate weakness. In fact, […]

I don’t think coercion is the best strategy for getting people to follow Jesus. Last time I asked a question: What comes to mind when you hear “…make disciples”? I’ll bet a lot of us picture some form of coercion. Maybe it’s guilt-laced, fear-based preaching. Perhaps it’s some sort of transactional “service” in which the […]

What did Jesus ask us to do? He invited us to go and make disciples, right? And when we ask how we’re supposed to do that, He says, “Follow me.” “Live like I did. Do what I did.” Isn’t it really that simple? We do all sorts of complicated theology, spend endless hours parsing the […]