Ken

I recently read the phrase "every life has a soundtrack" and it has stuck with me. My musical tastes were formed in part by being the youngest of five brothers.  While my friends in high school were listening to Human League and Wham!, I was listening to Neil Young, James Taylor, and Dan Fogelburg.  By the grace of God, I was spared from the techno-pop era. As I've aged, my musical interests have expanded to include such genres as bluegrass and alternative country.  I've added Lyle Lovett, John Prine, and others to my collection.  Of course, nothing can beat the Barenaked Ladies when you need feel-good music. "Every life has a soundtrack."   Indeed.   There is a melody behind each of us.  With nearly forty years of living under my belt, I've learned that the music changes ... as we change.  But it's still there. Each person we meet, even those…

Unless you're self-employed and have no one working with you, you have co-workers.  As someone who has hired staff, there are certain things you look for.  I've often used the 3C's I first heard It's been said talk about: character, chemistry, and competence.  These three attributes represent a great grid through which to view prospective employees or staff members. I just finished reading an excellent blog post entitled, "People I want to work with" by Stephen Brewster.  It adds another dimension to the discussion.  Here it is: People I want to work with I was reading a great post the other day from Todd Henry. He has a theory: Passion + Grace – Competence = Nice person, but can’t keep up with the team. Passion + Competence – Grace = Extreme performer that no one wants to be around. Competence + Grace – Passion = Really good performer, but no…

One-year-old birthdays are fun.  For each of our girls, we bought a cake with at least three inches of icing on the top.  The icing is a prerequisite for capturing a photograph you can use to embarrass them later. It's amazing how much children grow within the first twelve months of life.  Hair, fingers, toes.  Hair on their toes.  I don't remember sitting down with either Hannah or Hope and sharing three steps on how to grow taller.  I did have a few conversations about sleeping through the night! Growth happens naturally when the right environment is provided.  Spiritually speaking, we are told that growth happens when we are connected to the Vine (John 15:1-8).  Being connected to Jesus is the right environment for growing in our faith and love for God. This weekend I will be teaching at Mountainview about what spiritual growth is, and what it is not. …

Life is filled with adjustments. A good coach will be making constant adjustments.  A good teacher adjusts her teaching style to fit her students.  A good parent ... well, we all know how many adjustments we have to make. Not all adjustments are easy or obvious.  Sometimes we have to admit that our current course of action is not the correct course of action.  At that point, we can either continue down the same road or make an adjustment.  The adjustment may require additional time, energy, or money.  It's not always easy. Some necessary adjustments aren't obvious.  On the surface, life (or business or family) may appear to be running smoothly.  Or, at least it's running.  No bumps.  No conflicts.  Why rock the boat?  Why change course? Success can be seductive, especially past success. It's why the most dangerous words in a meeting are "We've never done it that way…

One of the items I've been working on for Mountainview is a new adult education initiative.  Our mission is similar to many other churches: "To turn unchurched people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ."  But what does a "fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ" look like?  Our new adult education thrust is designed to help move people towards maturity in Jesus by teaching everything from the basics to in-depth studies of all sorts. So ... we've begun looking for prospective teachers and assistant teachers.  I'm excited to think about the quality of experience that exists in a congregation such as ours.  Life experience, faith experience, job experience.  I'm also excited to envision different environments where people can encounter God and be changed by Him.  And I'm looking forward to teaching one of those classes (maybe the "Dummies Guide to Baseball and Breaking Bread"). If you're in or around Mountainview,…