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…
I have recently noticed a trend that is probably not very recent. I am often behind the times just enough that I am just realizing something is cool, right about the time it is totally on the way out. Know what I’m saying, my peeps? But to the point, I have heard a lot of…
I attended a pastor’s conference in Chicago recently and one of the most beneficial take-aways, came from a breakout session that had about 20-30 in attendance. The topic was “debunking the myths about marriage and divorce” and since divorce and remarriage are something I have been specifically studying, it grabbed my attention. I have often…
I am in awe of all the work that gets done each week at ReCAST church! We have a crew that sets up and tears down the entire stage, seating, and children’s classrooms! We have a crew that comes in early to make coffee and set out the donuts and juice. We have teachers and…
Last week I was out at a week long conference called The Journey. It is a program run by Open Hearts Ministry in Kalamazoo, Michigan and it is a counseling training/ group experience that started as help for those who have gone through abuse, and it has been opened up to all who want to…
I am going on a week and a half without Facebook. I deactivated my account last week after a run in with some very prurient content and that was the straw that pushed me over the edge. It is a decision that has been building up as I observed Facebook consuming more of my time,…
I came across the following quote from Timothy Keller in the book “Center Church.” He says, “Moralism eats away at real joy and humor because the system of legalism forces us to take our self (our image, our appearance, our reputation) very seriously.” [parentheses and italics in original]. That has indeed been my personal experience.…