How do you measure success? For many speakers, lots of people = success and two people = not so much success. Yesterday we scheduled a speaking gig, sort of last-minute, at Crossroads Coffee House in Cross Plains. Everyone was invited, and we spent the evening with the owner and one of her baristas. Failure, right? […]
Continue readingMore TagCategory: About Relentless Grace
What If Prayer Doesn’t Work?
“It doesn’t seem like my prayers work.” Now there’s a conversation starter. You just have to inquire—what do you mean, they don’t “work”? “Well, it seems like none of the stuff I pray about ever happens. Ever. It’s like God’s not listening. Or if He is, He’s not answering.” I felt like the smart kid […]
Continue readingMore TagA Whisper From The Fog
“What if I can’t be fixed?” You ask a bunch of guys about their biggest fears, and you hope for some open dialogue. You don’t really expect someone to whisper from the depths of the fog. “What if I’m hopeless? This addiction killed my dad and my grandma. My sister’s relapsed over and over for […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat Would You Do?
QUESTION: How much grace? ANSWER: Grace is boundless and unmerited. QUESTION: Who do you forgive? ANSWER: Everyone. Yeah, I know it’s not that simple—except, it really is. Not easy, for sure, but those are the principles to which we’re called. So now I have a real-world question for you to ponder. How do we act […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat If There’s No Way Out?
I’m in a hole, and there’s no way out! I’ve been there. I’ll bet you have as well. It’s the moment of truth, the time you’re tempted to quit. After all, what’s the point? If there’s no way out, why bother? Why bang your head against an impossible-to-defeat brick wall? The entire story of Relentless […]
Continue readingMore TagSo This Is What A Gift Looks Like
This weekend I watched a man receive a gift. The gift had a good deal of sentimental, emotional value to the giver. He’d held it as a reminder of a special time and place. It was cared for and kept safe for a very long time. The gift meant something quite different to the man […]
Continue readingMore TagHow Can You Miss Church?
Words matter. We might dismiss them as “just semantics,” but often they’re not. We choose words that consciously or unconsciously express how and what we think. Last time I told you What I Learned By Missing Church. As I considered the responses I realized that my own title revealed something odd about my internal thoughts. […]
Continue readingMore TagHere’s The Only Thing That Works
I’m continually fascinated by how many people see Jesus as a control freak. As I learn more about Him, I see no evidence that He cared about rigid external rules. Jesus was about radically transforming hearts, and you don’t do that through fear and punishment. I spent a bunch of time over the weekend talking […]
Continue readingMore TagEver Suffered From Reverse Pride?
“I’m a mess.” It could’ve been me talking, though this time it happened to be one of the guys in my workshop. He repeated a familiar fear. “How can God possibly forgive the horrible mess I’ve made of my life?” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve said that…well, you know. Ever been […]
Continue readingMore TagWhich Group Would Jesus Join?
Ever wonder which group Jesus would join? We take for granted that He’d be part of our group, right? He’d obviously share my theology, my politics, my national pride, and so on. It’s obvious because, well, I’m right. I’m being sarcastic, sort of. Driving home from a meeting yesterday I probably passed twenty churches and […]
Continue readingMore TagHow Big Is Grace?
Do you think you “get” grace? I’ve been hanging out in a workshop with some guys who are trying to find their way out of addiction. Today one of them said he felt really blessed and wanted to know what God wanted in return. Grace is a hard concept, isn’t it? We receive a priceless gift […]
Continue readingMore TagMy Yoke Is Easy
What do you think Jesus wants you to do? I’m not thinking of specific choices like whether to have pizza or turkey for lunch (I don’t think He cares). But in terms of overall life choices and directions, what do you think He wants? There are probably a lot of answers to that question, but […]
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