Our inability to self reflect is a huge obstacle to Growing Up. What do I mean by self reflect? It means simply the ability to remember what went wrong and what went right in our day. When did God show up? When did I feel his presence? When did I feel distant from God? When... Continue Reading →
How To Find Treasure
Like a modern day parable, Jack Steuf, the man who found Forrest Fenn’s treasure, rejected sophisticated and highly technical theories on locating the treasure and simply attempted to understand Forrest Fenn himself. "I understood him (Fenn) by reading his words, and listening to him talk over and over and over and over again. And seeking... Continue Reading →
Are You Ready To Grow Up?
I desire to be the kind of person who people describe as a grown up. More specifically, I desire to be the kind of person people describe as a Grown Up Christian. A Grown Up Christian is someone who takes God seriously but themselves less seriously. A Grown Up Christian is someone who reads scripture... Continue Reading →
National Be With God Day
Reposted from 2019 On July 17, you should have eaten a Hot Dog while getting a Tattoo. You should have done this because that day was both National Hot Dog Day and National Tattoo Day. Recently, I was trying to explain Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Bastille Day to one of our daughters. As... Continue Reading →
An Alien Looks At Christmas
Reposted from 2016 If you dropped an alien into a medium sized American town on Christmas Eve, down the street from a church, what would he make of the scene? He would probably report back that Earthlings are obsessed with light. He would first notice that houses and buildings have lights attached to the walls... Continue Reading →
My Homeless Beach Weekend
Reposted from May 2018 Taking twelve homeless men to a beach house on the Texas coast? What could possibly go wrong? Nothing. Actually. A lifelong friend helps run a Houston Homeless Chess Club Ministry and back in March asked if I would go along with them on a retreat to the Texas coast. I didn't... Continue Reading →
The One Thing The American Church Must Not Be Fueled By
Reposted from 2018 Twelve years ago, I quit one of the great joys of my life. I had enough. I was disgusted and embarrassed and I felt hoodwinked, used, and deceived. So I quit. Baseball, this great game that had captured my imagination and heart since I was in junior high, had become bloated, monstrous,... Continue Reading →
Why You Shouldn’t Drop Out of Church
Reposted from 2017 If you have had a bad church experience, then join the club. But understand what you will be missing if you drop out of church. You will be missing a chance to hear the Gospel proclaimed on a regular basis. This age of personalization and personal preference can lead us to never... Continue Reading →
Time To Feast
Reposted from 2016 There are names for people who refuse to grow up in the normal sense - immature, stunted, sophomoric, deadbeat. For the Christian who isn't growing in "grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," what do we call them? How about starving. The feast that is the Christian life is... Continue Reading →
Quit Focusing On Inadequate Examples of Growing Up
Reposted from 2016 Superficially, many of our hang ups on the road to Growing Up don't involve anything to do with your deep personal spiritual make up. Often, you are hesitant to Grow Up because of the poor examples of "mature" Christians you see around you or observe a church culture that you want no... Continue Reading →