The Church 
A Season of Listening…
(0)Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. (James 1:19) For the better part of the past 7-8 months, I have recognized the value of silence. This has been a hard lesson, because I love to talk. I love to voice my… Read More ›
How to Go Back to Church – Part 2
After writing part 1 of “How to Go Back to Church” (you can read that here), I was eager to write part 2. I had the post ready to publish, then life happened. I found myself in not one, but two discussions with people who are just done with the whole church thing. “I’ve changed. I no… Read More ›
How to Go Back to Church – part 1
So, it’s happened. Whatever IT is, you have dropped out. Why? You have your reasons. And while some people may simply be habitual quitters, maybe you are not. You have had something go wrong in the ONE place where it should not: God’s house. The “safe,” “welcoming, “accepting (no matter who you are)” place turned… Read More ›
Why I Still Love the Church
Years ago, I ordered a Beef n’ Cheddar sandwich from Arby’s. If I go to Arby’s, this was what I get. It is about the only thing I ever eat there. Roast beef, melted cheddar, onion roll, Arby’s sauce, and a little horseradish sauce thrown in for good measure. But on this particular occasion, things… Read More ›
Breaking the Box
I have learned to hate the phrase “think outside the box.” It’s a great phrase, though. In fact, it’s the “go-to” expression of many in church leadership. I’ve heard it uttered at church conferences. I’ve heard it uttered in creative team meetings. It’s a real catchphrase among those trying to plant churches. I’ve probably… Read More ›
What are you waiting for?
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for… Read More ›
When good things go bad…
My dad once had the misfortune of finding a Hostess Ding Dong buried in the pantry when he was looking for something to snack on. He unwrapped it, took a big bite, and – instead of chocolaty, creamy goodness (if you can say such a thing about a Hostess Ding Dong) – he experienced a… Read More ›
Easter Service?
As a kid, I remember Easter being one of the two Sundays a year that my dad went to church. In fact, looking around the sanctuary, I probably was not the only kid who appreciated this occurrence involving their own fathers. Year after year, the Easter service filled up with face after face of people I… Read More ›
Take. A. Break.
Today, I drove past a church with a marquee out front that read: “Spring break is not an excuse for being absent from church.” Every now and then I see a church sign that makes me want to find its author, smack them upside the back of the head Gibbs’ style (NCIS) and say, “No! Stop… Read More ›
If these songs were written today…
Seeing how social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) has changed so much about how we build and maintain relationships, I thought it would be fun to re-write a few OLD songs to make them more accurate in today’s social media culture: Michael W. Smith’s “Friends:” Friends are friends forever, if the Lord’s the Lord of them,… Read More ›
unORDINARY 