Happy Monday! A random encounter with a radio dial brings me today’s word-or-the-week… MAIN You know how it works. You jump in the car, flip on the radio, and you’re inserted into whatever’s happening on that particular frequency. I arrived just in time to hear the guy proclaim, “The MAIN POINT in life is to […]
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The Little Stuff, Isn’t
Our small group has been working through the book of Mark. It’s curious, because Mark relates incidents without a lot of explanation or background. If you don’t look carefully it can seem like a collection of isolated events. In Mark 10, Jesus wanders around Judea with His disciples. He does a few miracles, heals some […]
Continue readingMore TagImpossible?
I posted this video over at RICH’S RIDE yesterday. I want to share it here because it’s really about a lot more than a bike ride and I’d like to hear your thoughts. I also included the “subscribe” button below for the RICH’S RIDE blog. I want to encourage you to consider clicking. I know […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat If It’s Impossible?
Let’s talk a bit about what it looks like when they keep telling you it’s impossible. Can’t see the video? Click here. Please leave a comment here.
Continue readingMore TagWhen God Is Good
Recently it seems like a disproportionate number of folks in my extended circle have encountered various kinds of adversity—illness, financial setbacks, relationship struggles, and personal challenges. I don’t want to seem uncaring or matter-of-fact about my friends’ pain. Actually, that’s not what I want to write about. What strikes me is our tendency to celebrate […]
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Happy Monday! Sometimes I wonder about myself and why I think of things like today’s word-of-the-week… INSIDERS Do you ever think about how much of what we do is aimed at insiders? I’m not sure why, but recently I’m struck by how my “church stuff” resembles a closed circle. It just doesn’t seem like I’m […]
Continue readingMore TagWho Makes Jesus Relevant?
Saw one of those election post-mortem articles attributing the result to the perceived “irrelevance” of the American church. Actually, I only read the headline and maybe the first paragraph. Then I got lost in self-reflection. If Jesus is perceived as mostly irrelevant in our communities—and I suspect He is—don’t we have much bigger concerns than […]
Continue readingMore TagChicken Little Was Wrong
The sky isn’t falling. Contrary to post-election paralysis-by-analysis, “the next four years” will not be the most crucial, difficult, trying period in US history. It will not be the longest four years we’ve experienced. In fact, the next four years will most likely be just about four years long. Certainly we face challenges, but when […]
Continue readingMore TagYour Mission Needs A Mission
Okay, that’s an odd title. A while back, Pastor Mark Orphan made a powerful statement about a project we were discussing. “We don’t have much long-term success when we do an activity for ourselves. People respond when there’s a cause, a reason for what we’re asking them to do that’s bigger than us or them.” […]
Continue readingMore TagMilestones
Okay. I’m officially a little bit excited. Last week, we reached an important milestone in the publication process of the new book. I’m really pleased with the design of both the cover and interior layout. As a writer, it’s humbling when artists use their talents to interpret the words graphically. I think these folks did […]
Continue readingMore TagMilestones
Okay. I’m officially a little bit excited. Last week, we reached an important milestone in the publication process of the new book. I’m really pleased with the design of both the cover and interior layout. As a writer, it’s humbling when artists use their talents to interpret the words graphically. I think these folks did […]
Continue readingMore TagChange
Happy Monday! I’m right in the middle of today’s word-of-the-week… CHANGE In thirty-five years as an educator I worked with some incredibly creative individuals. We discovered that, like any large organization, systematic change was often easy to talk about but difficult to accomplish. I developed my own semi-sarcastic adage: The only problem with change is […]
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