HAPPY MONDAY! A friend’s blog inspired today’s word-of-the-week… MEAN Why can’t the bible just mean what it means? Well, it does. But knowing what the bible means isn’t always quite as simple as it might sound. My friend Jon Swanson wrote about some words in the book of James. As Jon explains, words often require […]
Continue readingTwo Ways to Grow The Circle
How do we get folks to join the circle? We want to build our community, enlist folks in our cause. Makes sense, if we truly believe in what we’re doing. Seems like there are two ways to go. We can scare ’em. The others are coming after us, and you’d better grab your guns, send your […]
Continue readingRejecting The Wrong God
Most people today, in short, assume that the word God refers to a dull, distant, and perhaps dangerous being. Most of those who think like that try hard, not surprisingly, to believe that this being doesn’t exist. “I don’t believe in God,” said the novelist Kingsley Amis, “and I hate him.” They are right. That […]
Continue readingIt Doesn’t Have To Be For Everybody
I talked to a bunch of folks this weekend about the FREEDOM TOUR. It’s an interesting balance, wanting to inspire people and get them involved while understanding that everyone’s free to make their own choices. This great thing we’re doing doesn’t have to be for everybody. I love it when someone walks up to the […]
Continue readingI Measure The Wrong Stuff
I think a lot about the impact of this project. I know what I want. I want you to catch the vision. I want you to see what we’re doing and get excited. I want you to feel inspired, to ask, “How can I get in?” I also want to know about our impact. Problem is, […]
Continue readingQuestions
HAPPY MONDAY! One of my favorite things is today’s word-of-the-week… QUESTIONS I’ve learned everyone doesn’t share my love of authentic questions. I guess I understand, since questions are often thinly-disguised weapons. “Why did you do it that way?” may be a sincere inquiry. Or it may be an attack…”That was a dumb way to do […]
Continue readingFreedom Tour ’15 Video
Did you know we have a theme song? Our friend Kristen Orphan from Finally Home Foundation graciously donated her beautiful recording of this inspirational song. If this doesn’t get you fired up, have someone check your pulse! Can’t see the video? Click here. There’s a way for everyone to join this team. You know you […]
Continue readingWaiting For The Guy In Charge
“Who organized all of this?” I was describing RICH’S RIDE to a new group of guys and one man asked who set it all up. “I mean, who figured it all out and put it together?” “Well, we did. Becky and I at first, and then a few friends. The circle grew as people caught […]
Continue readingWhat About Those Stairs?
What do you see when you approach a staircase? Me? I see a diabolical obstacle designed to keep me from reaching the other level. Of course I don’t believe the builder intended to frustrate me. I’m simply seeing the stairs through my personal biases. I know the creator of this sign meant well. I’m sure he didn’t […]
Continue readingWhat Did God Call That Tree?
“The Bible begins with the creation of a world and a garden, with the fashioning of humanity and two trees. One tree in the garden is strangely named the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not “the tree of sin,” not “the tree of self-destruction”—the Bible writer gives us a lengthier, more descriptive […]
Continue readingHow To Escape A Drive-By Life
Teachers fight the temptation of a mile wide and an inch deep. We try to teach a curriculum that’s so broad, there’s no time for students to stop and think deeply. It becomes all about shortcuts and speed and pass the test and on to the next topic because we have to get it all covered. And […]
Continue readingWhose Dream Will You Follow?
I absolutely believe we’re wired to follow big dreams. However, I don’t buy the sappy notion “if you believe it you can achieve it.” I’ve said before that Jiminy Cricket’s advice to Pinocchio to wish upon a star made for a great song, but I’m not seeking wisdom from a bug. In Genesis 12, Abram […]
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