Not me! I was never *in charge* of my classroom. First, anyone who believes they’re in charge of a room full of teenagers for any length of time is delusional. Beyond that, demanding compliance through coercion isn’t particularly effective. I didn’t want to spend my days playing whack-a-mole with kids who challenged my “authority.” As […]

Love and hope…a powerful combination.

I don’t have to invite people to toss their trash on my lawn. I do, though, through TV and social media, the “junk” I invite into my brain. Do you have any of that in your life? I wonder why, when I know there’s a better way. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever […]

May God bless you and me with just the right amount of foolishness…

“Follow me.” Pretty simple. Jesus didn’t invite us to talk about following. Or to make a plan to follow. Or to study how people used to follow, or criticize how someone else follows. Or judge those who don’t. He didn’t tell us to get everything in order before we start. In fact, He was clear […]

Here’s an interesting bit of Bible trivia. Paul uses the phrase, “our Lord” 53 times, & “my Lord” only 1 time. Perhaps it’s not definitive, but to me it’s at least an indication that Paul thought about following Jesus as a communal activity. Jesus spent most of His three years of ministry gathering people, traveling […]

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

(First published 5 years ago. Given current events, it seemed worth a secont look.) I think about justice a lot. We spend a big chunk of our time working to support a group of kids rescued from a life of sexual slavery. What does justice look like for those kids? “Justice is what love looks […]

“How do you know it’s true?” A guy who loves cycling joined the FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC last summer. He wrote a nice note saying he had a great time, and appreciated the opportunity to support the kids at the Home of Hope. He wondered why faith was an important part of the day, whether we […]

The FREEDOM TOUR supports kids. There’s a song that means a lot to me and to many folks of my generation. I encourage you to listen to The Steeple Song by Don Francisco. In light of current events, I’m mindful of the last line: Lord, when were You a prisoner, that we did not come […]

I’m fond of the phrase, “The FREEDOM TOUR is a community.” It’s my way of emphasizing that we’re followers of Jesus and relationships matter. It’s also a way of clarifying that fundraising is not our primary focus, which is a curious thing to say since we raise funds to support a group of kids who’ve […]