Dreams are pretty resilient. I think God wants us to try stuff with our dreams. He wants us to take risks, push boundaries, and face fears. Following dreams isn’t about being safe. But there’s one thing about your dream that needs to be carefully guarded. Biking time is thinking and listening time for me. I’ve […]
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The Same Old Story
“Do you ever get tired of telling your story?” As we begin our week in Arizona, I was reminded of this great question from a group we spoke to last year. The young woman told me she was studying to be a teacher and she worried she’d become bored covering the same subject matter year […]
Continue readingSelf-Righteous
HAPPY MONDAY! A thoughtful article got me thinking about today’s word-of-the-week… SELF-RIGHTEOUS Self-righteous people are just comparing. I never thought about it like that until Don Miller pointed out that self-righteousness is really just a way of building myself up by tearing others down. It’s not about being truly righteous, only appearing to be in […]
Continue readingIs This Why We’re Obsessed With Keeping Score?
“There’s only one winner—either you win, or you’re a loser.” The guy was adamant. Life’s a competition, a battle, and there’s only room for one person at the top. If you don’t fight for that spot, you’ll get squashed. You exploit weakness, because if you don’t someone else will. I listened and tried to understand […]
Continue readingWhat’s The Next Chapter In Your Story?
I love this picture. It’s a lot more than just an old bald guy and his dog. For me, this picture signifies everything about the crazy journey I’ve taken since my injury. It’s the culmination (so far) of the story of Relentless Grace. It began in a rehab unit, wandered through more than a decade […]
Continue readingWhy Do We Make God Small?
We tend to make God small. Okay, we can’t actually make Him small, but our small group discussed how we shrink our perception of who He is and what He can accomplish. As I wonder about my habit of minimizing God I’m reminded of this unrelenting question: Do we really believe what we believe? # […]
Continue readingBeing
HAPPY MONDAY! Several converging thoughts got me thinking about today’s word-of-the-week… BEING Social justice seems to be the thing these days. Lots of folks talk about it, write about it, and give money to it. Some are even trying to actually do something about it. This newfound focus on justice ignites emotion and passion, but […]
Continue readingWhat’s So Complicated About Social Justice?
Social justice sounds simple. Feed a hungry person. Stop one episode of abuse. Rescue a slave. Prevent one kid from being bullied. Find a home for one orphan. Get a homeless person a place to live. Then rinse and repeat as often as necessary. Those things are hard, but there’s a lot of us. Sounds […]
Continue readingAre We Excluding God?
We’re systematically excluding God from our culture. Excuse me? You’ve heard the refrain. The country’s in trouble because we exclude God from the public square. Christmas loses its meaning because someone says Happy Holidays. Public schools stink because kids don’t pray. Apparently, we need to let God back into our culture. Every time I hear […]
Continue readingWhat’s The Church’s One Unique Resource?
Why does our city hate homeless people? We have great discussions in our workshop. Sometimes they’re about the stuff I’d planned. Homelessness matters to these guys. Many have been there, and they know they’re one bad choice from returning. So they’re concerned about the way our city is addressing the issue recently. “What makes you […]
Continue readingGod Might Be Talking–Are You Listening?
I love questions, but I like them better when someone else is asking. I’ve been asking a question for a few months. Basically, it’s about the direction RICH’S RIDE ought to take as we move into 2015 and beyond. I’ve learned that answers to those sorts of questions tend to come slowly. They don’t show […]
Continue readingNarcissistic
HAPPY MONDAY! A fairly common question raises today’s word-of-the-week… NARCISSISTIC “Why is an all-powerful God so narcissistic that He demands our worship? Why does He need us singing and bowing down to Him? I love questions, and this is a great one. Is God a narcissist? Does He “need” our worship? I’ve written about this before. […]
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