I have now been attending churches for over 40 years. And I have picked up a few things about church culture that I do not particularly appreciate. And most of the things that trouble me about church culture revolve around the subject of conformity to non-Biblical standards. As a child I picked up on these…
It is scary how quickly the things of life are taken for granted. I was in college when I recieved my first email. Prior to that day, every correspondence I had with a person was via a corded telephone or a mailbox! I am thankful for the ease of communication of our current age. When…
Helicopter Parenting, Snowplow Parenting, and Other Unhelpful Analogies.
October 23, 2014
I have been a father for 13 years. It has been a journey of learning about my own strengths and weaknesses. It has had ups and downs. I have been stretched to put away my own schedules, plans, preferences, and iPhone. But I didn’t realize until recently how little I know about parenting. It amazes…
The Bible. The most read, most published, most common book in the world. The old testament prophets would have LOVED to live in our time when the Word of God was completely revealed and available in every bookstore, on every mobile device, and even in a lot of homes. (1 Peter 1:10-12) So, are we…
When I hear some people speak about the call of God it sounds a lot like the expectation that God has a mobile phone. As long as my phone doesn’t ring with a call from God, I am free to do my own thing. It is spoken of as if some people got that call,…
Guess what? Jesus is coming back!! Despite being a nation with a large percentage of people who would call themselves Christians, I wonder if I am in the minority of people who actually believe this is true. Ironically, it seems like there is always someone predicting His return is soon. Someone will tie his second…
I have not always been a runner. I have always enjoyed sports. I played soccer in high school and college and always considered myself somewhat in shape. But several years ago I hit my highest weight, realized I had a pretty sedentary lifestyle, and was eating very poorly. I changed my diet at that point…
I am a church-planter turned pastor. Between our first meeting in April of 2009 and this day, ReCAST has grown from a church plant to a church. I am not sure how long you can call a church plant a church plant, because the reality is that every church was planted at some point, right?…
I have grown to love Gungor. They are a very musically gifted band led by Michael and Lisa Gungor. I love the creativity and intentional quality that they add in a world where so much music is shallow and lacking depth. Many contemporary songs are musically written as just shells to carry forward some lyrics.…
We live in a very direct culture. Mericans, tend to be a pretty forward bunch on the global scene and if someone is talking loud on the underground in London, it is probably a Merican. As I was listening to Ravi Zacharias this morning on a podcast referring to the art of subtlety in our…
I climbed out of my cave a couple weeks ago and watched “Fiddler on the Roof” at the Barn Theater in Augusta, Michigan with my wife and kids. Having set my eyes on it for the first time I was completely intrigued and torn over the theme of tradition. I grew up in a household…
Those who hope in me will not be disappointed. If I just left that one hanging, it might leave some questions in your mind . . . Has Don lost his mind? Has he gone on a power trip? Superman complex? But this is not a quote from me. And despite sounding like something Lebron,…