When Meetings Go Deep

Yesterday I got to be part of a really good meeting. Yep, I said it - "good" and "meeting" in the same sentence. I actually like some meetings, but others drain the life out of me. (sidenote: if you lead many meetings, you should read Pat Lencioni's …

A Little Celebration

I recently completed something that took a lot of work for me.

I recognized a few months ago that I wasn't not filling my head, heart & soul with enough of God's Word. Memorizing Scripture has probably been the primary way that God has spoken to me in my life. I …

I'm back from our trip. It's cold, rainy & I have on a hideous suit coat.

Why do I have on such a hideous suit coat? It's cause it's rainy & cold outside today - and I forgot a jacket. But I had an old suit coat in my office from the mid 1970's. Not all suit coats from that era are hideous. This one is. I'd appreciate if you wouldn't ask why …

10 year anniversary

God gave me a gift in my wife.

We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this week. We are celebrating a little bit early because when we made plans, we were unsure of when our adoption stuff would be going down.

I'm so looking forward to the time away this …

"Listening to the Young" redefined

In the last blog I talked about "listening to the young." One friend sent me a message with a different angle that is so good that I asked her if I could quote her. She said yes, so here it is...

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I think in talking about the "young" maybe they're not just …

Listening to the Young & Old (Thoughts from Catalyst)

There seems to be common theme that I keep reading, hearing and witnessing. There must be something to it.
I've heard it or read it from people of different occupations and ages (I'm gonna guess on their ages):

Andy Stanley (preacher in his young 40's)
Jim Collins …

Here I Come to Save the Day (and a story about poor parenting)

On Saturday we went to Boo Ha Ha. It's a Tulsa tradition that follows the Tulsa Run (in which the Kenyan runners once again finished 1st, 2nd & 3rd). Brookside is a yuppy area with restaurants, art galleries & coffee shops that is about 1 mile long. Boo Ha Ha consists …

Within a Yard of Hell

C.T. Studd, a daring twentieth century missionary, said, "Some want to live within the sound of a church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."

This quote really grabbed hold of me this morning when I read it. It comes from Mark …

Leadership & Marketing (Thoughts from Catalyst)

Seth Godin is a marketing expert, best selling author, popular speaker and renowned blogger. He was described as being "someone from outside church circles." But he was very passionate about wanting to help church leaders. He even gave us all (12,000) a free book. His …

Sow like the wind (Thoughts from Catalyst)

I'm a big fan of 3 Amigos, which is where I first heard the line, "Sow very old one, sow like the wind." This phrase, however, is not to be confused as an accurate paraphrase of Galatians 6:7-10 ("you reap what you sow"). I read this passage today and it resonated with …

Camping Out

So we camped-out in our backyard. We borrowed a chiminea and a tent. We cooked hot dogs & roasted marshmellows. The boys were so excited that they jabbered all night. It was so cute. After listening to Levi tell us some stories and reading part of a book (until our …

John knew his identity

The disciple John referred to himself as, "The disciple whom Jesus loved." He does this first in John 13, then again in chapters 19 and 21. This was a unique way to think of his identity.

My question that I've been wrestling with is this:
Did John recognize that his …

Influence (Thoughts from Catalyst)

In the first session of the conference, Andy Stanley talked about moral authority. His text was Nehemiah 5:6-18. He explained how Nehemiah had lived righteously for years and years. So when it came time for him to lead, people trusted him.

When we become adults, most …

A Perfect Evening

On Saturday night we spent the evening with some of our closest friends. We had a great dinner made for us, a birthday celebration, and just time spent time visiting. Our kids were playing and having fun with their friends. We played with the baby. We ate too much …

The Shrewd Manager

My friend Kenneth blogged the following:
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I often wonder what my impact is on other people. The reality is most of the time I don't really know. The thing that I do know is that the way I live does impact other people. Probably more than I even realize. While I …

Old Friends

We met at church & enjoyed playing catch with little bean bags. That's my first memory with him. I have about 1000 memories sandwiched in between most recent from this past weekend. He got married this past weekend so we spent several days near Lake of the Ozarks in …

A great place to find music

https://www.noisetrade.com
It's a place to download artists for a small donation of your choice, or just by sending the info about the site to several friends. My friend Lane told me about it, and I gave it a try. I downloaded Alli Rogers' album, which is great. If you …

Politics & Church part 2 - A discussion with 3 Christian leaders

To read the article, follow the link. I don't have copyright permission to post it here.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/003/19.18.html

Politics & Church article

I found a really good article by a guy who leads a church in DC. It's worth the read if politics or church interests you. http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/003/15.44.html

The movie "Traitor" & a thought about humanity

I'd heard it was a bit like the Bourne movies. The filmography was similar (very good), their was a "spy" element, and it was intense. Maybe it could be a second-cousin to the Bourne movies, but not more closely-related.

The music & acting were both really fantastic …