I'm taking a break from the news, for at least this one moment in time. Instead of writing about Jennifer's coming out, or Bruce's getting kicked out, I want to take a moment and talk about my family.We'd all cleared our schedule for this past weekend because my oldest daughter is moving to Europe for two years and this was our time to celebrate being a family. We enjoyed some time together in the mountains. We ate steaks and smores, drank coffee and wine, talked about everything. We la … [Read more...]
B-L-E-S-S: one way to do a rule of life
May 28, 2010 by 3 Comments
I have a friend who runs a camp outside of Toronto. It's one of the largest camps in North America. I spoke for the staff there a few summers ago, and just the staff numbered over 300. Their vision is to simply be the presence of Jesus by serving the campers. It's more of an Emmaus Road experience (where people end up walking along the road with Jesus for a while before they recognize him) than a Damascus Road experience (where Paul is confronted by God's truth and revelation).When I spoke … [Read more...]
Next Tree…Next Church
May 26, 2010 by 1 Comment
It's intriguing to me that these two days I'm spending in vision development and long range planning should come at just the time when a miracle happened in my backyard. This tree (that's right, it's all one tree) you're looking at is probably 60' tall, though when things get above about 25' I lose all sense of perspective. What's fun, though, is that the tree is a gift from my mother in law, who got it at a school carnival near San Francisco. It was in a dixie cup when she became the owner, a … [Read more...]
Does Paul think like Paul? (Ron, Apostle)
May 24, 2010 by 28 Comments
There's an interesting NY Times article from this past weekend that declares Europeans can't afford their cradle to grave safety net. Declining birth rates, longer lifespan, and the migration of manufacturing to the developing world are all contributors to the problem. Change is needed, and it will be a hard pill to swallow. I hope we learn from this as a nation. Conservatives and Liberals both need to find some political will to make the kind of hard choices, and I hope we can all agree on th … [Read more...]
“Perhaps” – the paralysis of fear, and power of risk
May 21, 2010 by 8 Comments
If you're climbing a rock face, the thing that spares you from death in the event of a fall is your protection (which is some sort of anchor you put in the rock that will put an end to your falling). Of course, the higher you climb beyond your last piece of protection, the farther you'll fall if you fail. This can have the effect of unnerving the climber, which ultimately negates the climber's skills, causing him/her to freeze with fear and eventually fall.It's terrible irony that the very t … [Read more...]
A cup of cold water…or cola?
May 19, 2010 by 3 Comments
After Asa Chandler purchased the coca-cola formula from a pharmacist in 1887, he cast a vision to his sales team, declaring that this product should be, "a thirst quenching, heaven-sent drink; a blessing to this sun-parched earth." Chandler was a Methodist who began his sales meetings with prayer and ended his training weeks with the whole team singing stirring renditions of "Onward Christian Soldiers."The marketing strategies of coke, globally, were actually tied to Christian mission work … [Read more...]
Getting to “Why”
May 18, 2010 by 3 Comments
This past Sunday evening's sixty minutes offered a remarkable example of the power of vision. This is worth watching! Gustavo Dudamel is the new Venezuelan conductor of the LA Philharmonic. He could have gone anywhere, but chose Los Angeles because, as he says, he wants to "change the future of this city through music". Members of the Philharmonic are now investing part of their professional hours teaching young children in the poorest parts of the city how to play instruments, believing that … [Read more...]
Forgiving – the challenge and the power
May 17, 2010 by 2 Comments
Yesterday's theme at my church was forgiveness, in particular the challenge that each of us face in forgive those who've hurt us deeply. We looked at an extended clip from As We Forgive, and then invited people to write down names of those they needed to forgive, bring them forward to the altar, pray, and release their anger. There was an avalanche of forgiving that ensued...all day, at every service. You can hear the sermon here, but be advised that the film clip was in Rwandan, with s … [Read more...]
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