I was raised to value God’s Word. This was not a consistent message in my home. I do not know how I caught this, except to say that God worked through a preacher who seemed so far removed from daily life, a youth pastor who invested in me, and a bible college that taught me…
My life is entangled with technology. I wish I had a clear solution for those of you who are like me, and find yourself in an increasing fog of technology. I have apps that need to be updated. I have texts to write, blogs to read, shows to watch on Netflix, pictures of my breakfast…
People have been squeezing Jesus into their mold and using him for their purposes for centuries. Everyone with an opinion about anything, is pretty sure that Jesus supports them. In the realm of theology and politics, both the liberal and the conservative persuasions have adopted a Jesus that fits their mold. It is as if…
A lot of time has gone into preparing for a few short hours next Thursday! How many bazillions of dollars have been spent? How many bazillions of miles of wrapping paper have been used? How many pigs gave their all for Christmas hams? I imagine that this must be disappointing to those who practice this…
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…
Somewhere between feeling like a hip and cutting edge church planter a few years ago and where I sit right now, I lost my mojo. I could go back and search along the history of the past few years to find it, but I am not sure it was all that I felt it was…
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,…
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…
A couple of things have come up in the media recently that have led me to consider and question the civility of the “civilized” world. The realities of living in a society with more information at our fingertips than any other generation lends itself to all kinds of abuses. But what I have seen in…
