2006

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Spiritual Life


We Americans are confused about spirituality, especially those of us who are Christians. Church life today is so focused on Sunday morning that I regularly fall into the trap of thinking that what happens then is the definition of spirituality. I think of powerful worship and heart-felt prayers. And that translates into my personal [...]

God in the Storm


I am not sure how many tornadoes I have seen, but I know it has been a lot, and I know all but one of them were in Colorado. I grew up just south of Denver. Our town was positioned on a high enough hill along the front range that we could see for miles. [...]

Why Do I Go?


I grew up going to church. That’s just what we always did. Every Sunday and Wednesday. And maybe this happened to you if you grew up going to church, but there was a point in my life where I began wanting to go to church. Before that point in my life (roughly junior [...]

One Hope


We moved around some when I was growing up. We lived in Colorado, New Jersey, and Arkansas, and I went to four different school districts in my kindergarten through high school years. Each move was quite a change, although each in different ways. But, each time we moved, though I didn’t always like it [...]

A Murder of Christians


Sometimes I act like a crow. I didn’t really know that I did until I read an interesting story about the crow’s uncanny ability to recognize human faces. When we look at a bunch of crows we see, well, a bunch of crows. But, when crows look at us they can recognize the guy [...]

Everyday Lessons


According to George Hunter III, in his excellent book The Celtic Way of Evangelism, one of the reasons Christianity spread so rapidly among the “barbaric,” pagan, Celtic cultures of Britain was because the missionaries of the day were experts at taking everyday objects and attaching spiritual significance to them. So, the shamrock is still [...]

They really do text ALL THE TIME


The youth rally went well yesterday. We had about 140 teens from Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma (and one from South Korea). We sang together a lot, which is great. We got to eat together, and teens love that. And they even pretended to listen while I was telling them to put [...]

Standing Up for Christ 3


And here is the third and final point of my upcoming youth rally lesson. If you haven’t read parts one and two, you can start with part one by clicking here. Third, The world is holding you back. Because the world tells you that you can never be good enough unless you are a rock star, [...]

Standing Up for Christ 2


This is point number two in a three point lesson I’ll be giving to a rowdy crowd of teens on Sunday. You might want to start by reading point one first. Click here for that post. Second, Your school is holding you back. And not in the ways that you might think. Not because [...]

Standing Up for Christ 1


This Sunday I will be speaking at a youth rally. Speaking to young(er) people, especially teens, always gives me mixed emotions. There is so much potential…for disaster. I might think I am connecting, being hip, and being real, but teens have a way of looking at you with one expression while thinking [...]