We get a rare opportunity Saturday evening. We’ll meet some folks who are “boots on the ground” in the struggle against human trafficking. This summer our Front Range FREEDOM Tour raised money for U COUNT Campaign and their partners at Project Rescue. The FREEDOM Tour team and their supporters donated nearly $7,000 (after all expenses) […]
Continue readingHow Will Others Remember You?
“Any publicity is good publicity.” We’ve seen that truth play out again and again as public figures compete for the spotlight. In some arenas, apparently it doesn’t matter how you’re seen, as long as you’re seen. Do you ever get a little frustrated when people do the same selfish, hurtful things time after time, and […]
Continue readingAre You Willing To Be Flexible?
As we pulled out of Fort Collins on our very first ride, Pastor Mark Orphan imparted one final bit of wisdom: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken. I don’t think he was quoting the Beatitudes, but we’re discovering it’s great advice for operating on the road. We had a great first […]
Continue readingAre You A Black Hole Or A Prism?
John 3:16 is perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. That’s the outrageous nature of God’s sacrificial love for me—even His own Son was not too high a […]
Continue readingRich’s Ride Worship Video
Today I’d like to share a gift I made for some folks toward the end of the TAOS to TUCSON tour. Several of our speaking events included worship. I wanted to contribute somehow. I thought about offering to sing, but I didn’t want to inflict that kind of pain. So I made this video, which tells the […]
Continue readingBully
HAPPY MONDAY! I’m trying to put a positive spin on today’s word-of-the-week… BULLY I once thought a bully was a big kid shaking down a weaker kid for lunch money. Now I know bullies are adults, too. They’re bosses, parents, teachers, spouses, neighbors, pastors, celebrities, and pro athletes. A bully is an insecure person who […]
Continue readingA Better Way To Climb
Every tour seems to leave a few lasting impressions. I’ll remember TAOS to TUCSON for an improved approach to cycling up hills. I haven’t gotten much better—physically—at climbing. I’m still terribly slow. I need to change my workouts over the winter and see if improved training can overcome advancing age and yield faster results. What […]
Continue readingMy Story (Video)
During our last tour, Pastor Elwin Mack and the kind folks at Faith Assembly Church in Phoenix invited me to tell my story. When you’re the main speaker at a Sunday worship service, folks want to attach special words to what you’re doing. You’re preaching, or teaching, or giving the message. It’s a sermon, right? Except, of course, […]
Continue readingThe Difference Between Encourage And Cheer
When you help someone climb a hill, you end up at the top. On our recent trip I talked a lot about the word ENCOURAGE, which I define as “giving courage to someone else.” I used this photo of a hill to illustrate a challenge, and asked listeners to think of someone they knew who […]
Continue readingDrive Thru Prayer
The sign said: DRIVE THRU PRAYER. We looked and, sure enough, right next to the church driveway sat a guy in a folding chair under an awning. I made my typical sarcastic remarks. “I need my prayer supersized. Can I get fries with that?” We passed that church a few times during our days in […]
Continue readingCan You Fear Being Afraid?
“Why am I so afraid of everything?” She’s a college junior, perhaps 21 or 22 years old. From my perspective, it was a great question. “What are you afraid of?” She blurted out a list, a litany of seemingly everything that could possibly go wrong in this young woman’s life. “Whoa,” I chuckled, “you really […]
Continue readingStory
HAPPY MONDAY! Today’s perfect for this word-of-the-week… STORY Our recent southwest tour convinces me even more of the power of our own story. I thought a lot about story on the tour because telling our story was a big part of our purpose. Here are some thoughts and observations. I wish church folks didn’t call it […]
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