Control

Before leaving seminary, I asked lots of the people who were influencing me (teachers, pastors, friends) to tell me what their favorite books were, or what journals they read regularly.  I got lots of good stuff.
My pastor at the time said, The Control Trap.  Really?  That’s interesting.  I was mostly getting all this heady, theological [...]

Church Hopping 2

If this post doesn’t make sense, you might try looking at Church Hopping.  To start off, I enjoyed going to Freedom Christian Center.  I think the pastor (well, the husband.  They list husband and wife as co-pastors, which is fine, but kind of icky too) was right at my age, so that was a kind [...]

Church Hopping

I really haven’t done it since we moved to Massachusettes in 1989.  We visited several churches before we decided which one we wanted to attend.  I see people doing it now when they come to the Vineyard.  I’m always gratified when people stick after visiting only once.  Sometimes we’re the first place they try and [...]

Especially fond.

I like it when my mother tells each of her grandchildren, when no one else is around, that she loves them best.  I think my wife considers it a little psychotic.
When I pastored a church in Jayton, TX, there was an elderly man who died.  When I went to meet with the family, I asked [...]

Book Craze

So, only 5 days after making fun of Christian trends and fads, I picked up and finished one, The Shack.
The first book that ever made me cry was Where the Red Fern Grows.  The last one was The Shack.  The first time, I was mortified that someone might be able to look into my bedroom, [...]

2009

Welcome to a new year.
I always try to name my year.  It’s what I sense in my spirit that God is going to do in my life.  I’m calling 2009 my year of discipline.  That’s embracing a term that cause many to feel an acidic burning in their gut – maybe even a little bit [...]

Proof

I read a poem online that I think is very powerful.
Nothing is uglier than
‘they did it to me’
This has nothing
to do with whether
they did it to you,
which I have to assume
they did
Still, whatever
they did, your life remains
yours
When you say they did it
to you
you give your life to them,
ruined
You say,
‘I’m damaged
and you’re the reason
I’m damaged’
The damage [...]

Walkin’ in my own shoes

Do you ever think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence?

I guess we usually think it is whenever life for us seems hard, and it seems that other people have it easier than we do.  Or maybe we think their deal is more fulfilling.  I have some minister friends who made [...]

Finally, Science Helps Us Believe in Generosity.

I drove up to the window at Captain D’s and waited for my food.  (A slab of grilled salmon on a bed of iceberg, mmmm) Through the speaker, I could hear the a woman ordering from the car behind me, so I asked the attendant how much she owed.  I handed her some cash and [...]

Discipline

Everyone’s favorite word. Discipline. But we do like being disciples, though. Can’t be a disciple without discipline.
Hebrews talks about being disciplined by God. Apparently, if we’re his, then we can expect to be disciplined. Goes with the territory. But what someone just pointed out to me an angle to [...]