Loving stops leaving

Don’t Go to Church;Be the Church. Our church has embraced this slogan with a whole heart in the past year. We were grateful for the graphics at theFaith in Action website and adapted them for our use this past year.…

Taking a breath

At the end of July, I communicated to our church staff and membership that it was “all hands on deck” for August. It promised to be a hurricane of activity, and we needed everyone in place to serve. There are…

Review: Outliers

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell This is the third book of Malcolm Gladwell, and it’s three in a row for books of his that I’ve truly enjoyed. He has a unique way of unveiling the assumed and revealing the patterns and…

Communicating your opinion in a way that counts

This is a followup to my post Unopinionated. In it, I wrestled with the danger and necessity of voicing your opinion about public issues as a leader. I wasn’t referring to issues which are morally or biblically right or wrong…

Quiet on the home front

My family winged their way to parts west ten days ago. It’s part of their annual pilgrimage to New Mexico and west Texas. Some years I go; some years I don’t. It usually hinges on the activity level of August.…

How to leave your church

I hope I’ve made a case for asking significant questions and considering eternal issues as you consider “leaving your church.” If you are just stopping in, scroll down to the bottom and read the first entries in this series so…

Unopinionated

This is the tame version of the original quote: “Opinions are like buttholes; everyone’s got one.” Including pastors. Yes, we have buttholes. And yes, we have opinions. (I can sense my mom cringing from here.) Let’s clarify that I don’t…

Review: CrazyOnDigital Folio Case for iPad

It’s not too often that I review a product, and this will be short and sweet, but after plunking down a wad of dough for our iPad, I promptly began puttering around for some iPad protection. One thing you’ll discover…

A one year Virginia birthday

On July 15, 2009, we pulled out of our driveway at 320 W. Jefferson in Monticello, Arkansas for the last time as its owners. The last two months before our move to Virginia last year were a whirlwind of goodbyes,…