Matt Chandler, Derrick Roland & Thoughts on Fragility

Tonight a friend of mine here in Seattle hooked me up with 4 tickets to the University of Washington basketball game.  He knew I was a basketball fan, and thought I’d be especially interested since the hometown Huskies were playing Texas A&M.  I rounded up a few …

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Excuses Suck.

I was an athlete for a long time before I stopped making excuses.  In fact, the entirety of my high school and college career was full of them – many were word-for-word replicas of those in the video above.  I was always the guy who would kill himself in …

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The Silence of Sin

In Mark 7 Jesus’ travels bring him face-to-face with a man who is deaf and unable to speak properly.  Jesus pulls the man away from the crowd, speaks aloud, “Ephphatha” (Aramaic for “be opened”), and immediately the man can hear and starts speaking …

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May You Never Forget How Loved You Are

This semester in Shift our series on Jesus as our healer has been such a blessing to me.  We’ve been going miracle-by-miracle through the book of Mark, seeing how Jesus is superior over the physical and spiritual effects of sin.  Preparing for these messages has …

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You Always Remember Your First Rap Video, Right?

Just in case you made the mistake of thinking I have a real job.

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Possibly The Most Important Day Of The Rebelbase Year

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50,000

I think most people who ever start a blog think to themselves at some point, “No one is EVER going to read this.”  Whether the person is happy or depressed by this thought depends on the individual.  I can honestly say I never thought anyone would read any of my …

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How Will Amazing Happen This Year?

Check out our 30 second teasers for VISION NIGHT.  Feel free to email/facebook them to anyone you think should be there.

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A Chance For All Of Us To Literally Save Lives

In just a few days my good friend and brother-in-law, Jeremy Vallerand, will lead a group of climbers up all 14,411 vertical feet of Mt. Rainier, the tallest peak in the lower 48.  That in itself is impressive.  But when you hear that the group is doing so in an …

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Why Bored Christians Should Not Exist

This weekend I was privileged enough to preach three services in The Loft.  We are working our way through the Gospel of Mark, and Andy let me cover whatever I wanted from chapters 4-7.  After serveral read-throughs of the text, I couldn’t get past the first 20 …

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How Reading The Bible Becomes A Bad Thing

August 2002 was a big month in my life.  After spending two years of living my dream of playing D1 basketball, I packed up everything I owned into my 1996 Ford Crown Vic, and drove across the country to a tiny Christian school in Santa Clarita, California.  I had …

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What Does The Way You Tip Say About The Gospel?

This morning, just like every Tuesday, we had our weekly youth staff meeting.  We come together, we pray, we reflect, we look foward, we plan, and then…we eat.
Immediately after our meeting ends we start the most predictable conversation of the week; “So, where are …

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The Greater of Two Joys

My son is teaching me a lot these days.
He dishes out lessons pretty consistently.  Impressive for a six-week old, right?
Some of these lessons I’m talking about are fantastic to learn.  He sees me walk into the living room, makes eye contact with me, and …

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The Attractive Nature of a Preposterous Calling

For six of the last eight years of my life, I have spent the third week of July in Lindale, Texas.  Hardly a vacation destination, I must admit.  But still, almost every summer (including the last four in a row) I’ve made my way to Timberline Baptist Camp, where our …

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The Realized Love of a Father

I’ve realized something.
When it comes to my blog, I tend to wait for something important, something of note, before committing to post something long and in-depth.  Then, when something truly important happens, I face the fact that the most profound occurences in …

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BOSTON UPDATE!

Hey Everyone…
Thought I would write a quick note to keep you all in the loop, and let you know how you can stay informed as we head down the home stretch toward Boston’s arrival.
It is currently 12:30am on Wednesday, May 27th, and there is no major activity to …

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I Will Rise

Not too long ago I had the chance to speak in The Loft to introduce a series on Revelation.  The sermon was called “Love Wins,” and was one of my favorite messages I’ve had the chance to prepare and deliver.  In addition to having the chance to communicate some …

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Wedding Reflections

Two of my good friends married each other on Saturday.  Haley and Camilo blessed all of us by letting us be a part of their big day; it was just that…a huge blessing.
I have attended a few weddings since experiencing my own two years ago, and I am consistently …

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Psalm 139

Very rarely do I post anything just  for the “cute factor,” but my goodness, I had no choice on this one.

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Steve Harvey: “If I Got To Introduce Christ…”

Are you serious?
Did he just finish a stand-up routine like that?
I’m speechless.
Incredible.

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