Church

Here's a simple truth with great implications: the questions you ask will shape the answers you get. If you ask about problems, you'll hear about problems.   You may or may not hear solutions.  You may not hear about what has been accomplished or achieved. If you ask about opportunities, you will likely hear answers that deal with possibilities and potential. The key to growth is to ask the right questions ... and enough questions.  Many people ask too few questions, and then the questions they may ask are framed in a limited way.  Limited question, limited answer. As Christ-followers, we need to bring a holy curiosity to our relationships, our businesses, and our churches.  As church leaders, we often make the mistake of only asking questions of those who are already in the fold.  Remember, the questions we ask will shape the answers we get.  We need to be intentional…

Any life worth living will have its share of fears. In our current teaching series at Mountainview, we're using the story of Benaiah (2 Samuel 23:20-23) to highlight what a life of passion looks like.  In the course of one paragraph, Benaiah squares off against two Moabites, a 500-lb lion, and a huge Egyptian.  Given that the invention of Prozac is still centuries away, it's likely Benaiah had a few fears. This is an important point: a life of passion is not one in which fears are absent.  That sort of life would be mundane, not magnificent.  A life of passion is one in which our largest, scariest fears are out-sized by our faith in God. As we headed into communion, I shared a story about Abraham Lincoln that Walt Whitman first wrote about in 1882: In the gloomiest period of the war, he had a call from a large…

I read an interesting article about how to get over your glory days at the Art of Manliness Blog.  Tip number one: create new firsts.

At last, science creates something useful!  Check out this article in Popular Science.  It describes how you can convert a gasoline-powered car to run off coffee.  It's called the Carpuccino (no, I'm not making that up). This Car Runs on Coffee

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21). Without bounds.  Unable to be contained.  Beyond our wildest expectations. Our God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can think to ask.  He exceeds our most vivid imaginations.  When we think we've exhausted every possible angle, conceived every possible solution ... God stands there and says, "You're just getting started." The Westminster Catachism explains the ultimate aim of every Christ-follower in this way: "Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." The church was designed to bring glory to God.  As we trust in God to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine --…