A few weeks ago the New York Times ran an op-ed piece on the new epidemic that Western society is slowly beginning to become aware of. It kills more people than obesity (and some of the stats I’ve read suggest is even more deadly than smoking). It’s what Mother Teresa once called the greatest poverty of all, and the Western world is drowning in it. Loneliness. In the Times article, the author Katie Hafner begins by recounting a small but... Read more

As the bombs were falling around the people of London, everyone was worried that it would trigger mass hysteria. It certainly seems like it would. For 57 straight days, German planes dropped bombs in highly residential areas. Hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands of people were displaced from their homes. The projections by London officials was that the blitz of London would cause total chaos. Projections were for the psychiatric breakdown for as many as four million people…but... Read more

 I’ve dedicated the next few Fridays to churches/ministers who are wanting to develop vision. And I’ve asked my good friend Steve Cloer to give some practical advice for what it means for a local church to develop a vision. Steve is an incredible leader and preacher who works with the Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth.  A couple of years ago, Steve and I were having lunch together and I asked him how ministry was going, and his eyes lit up talking about the... Read more

My favorite author for the past few years has been G.K. Chesterton. He lived over 100 years ago in England, wrote voraciously and laughed a lot. In fact, the reason I love his writings is because they make me happy. Chesterton has a way of seeing the world with wonder and awe and humility. And that brings me to yesterday. When my wife gave birth to our fifth (and final) child Judah Danger Storment. It’s easy after a while to take life for granted, and stop... Read more

The best scene in any movie to me, is hands down, the ending of It’s a Wonderful Life. I know it’s sappy and sentimental and overdone, but I still watch the movie every year, and mainly for the last five minutes. To me it’s a vision of what it would look like to live a sacrificial life for the community around you, and what happens when that community does the same. When I watch it, I ache for that kind... Read more

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” –Every Preacher who’s ever talked about vision. (also a Proverb) For the next few weeks, I’d like to dedicate Friday’s to talk about the importance of vision in churches, and how to go about discerning what your church vision could be. Over the next couple of weeks, look forward to Steve Cloer and Josh Ross talking about practical ways of doing this. I know that vision and leadership are a bit of buzzwords... Read more

Tuesday I started a series reviewing the New York Times bestselling book Tribes by Michael Junger. I started with a story about Junger meeting a homeless man who took care of him while he was out hitchhiking, and how that one act of generosity changed Junger’s life. But what I found interesting was why Junger was out hitchhiking across America in the first place. As a teenager, who grew up in a privileged family from Boston, he was living the quintessential... Read more

“When I was a child I thought as a I child, but when I became a man I put away childish things.” -Paul When I first started working at a church, I was pretty set on wearing jeans to the office. And I didn’t want anyone to ever use the word “professional” to describe me. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. And I understand the reasoning for not wanting to be a “professional” in ministry, but too often... Read more